AI-powered developer tools are transforming how engineers write and manage code. Among them, Tabnine and Continue.dev stand out as leading solutions for AI-powered code generation.
Tabnine is known for its enterprise-grade security, private deployments, and fine-tuned AI models, while Continue.dev offers an open-source, flexible approach with broader model integrations.
But AI-generated code is only as valuable as its quality and maintainability. If you're looking for a tool to automate AI-driven code reviews, Greptile provides smart code review automation to help teams catch issues early, enforce best practices, and improve code reliability.
This comparison will break down their features, pricing, and ideal use cases to help you decide which AI coding assistant is best for you.
π Feature Comparison
π Code completion
Tabnine
Tabnine offers sophisticated code completion with whole-line and full-function suggestions. Its AI models adapt to your coding style and provide context-aware completions that can be accepted partially or completely. The tool excels at converting natural language comments into functional code and learns from your codebase to provide increasingly accurate suggestions.
Continue.dev
Continue.dev provides inline code suggestions with real-time completion recommendations through its autocomplete feature. It includes status bar integration with enable/disable toggle functionality and supports tab completion. The tool streams live diffs and offers an accept/reject interface for suggested changes.
π¬ AI Chat Capabilities
Tabnine
While specific chat features aren't explicitly detailed in Tabnine's documentation, it offers comment-to-code conversion capabilities and contextual assistance through its AI models. The focus appears to be more on integrated code completion rather than conversational interaction.
Continue.dev
Continue.dev features a robust built-in IDE chat interface that provides contextual code assistance without leaving the development environment. It supports interactive follow-up questions to refine responses and allows direct code integration from chat responses. The chat functionality is deeply integrated with the coding experience.
π Context Awareness
Tabnine
Tabnine's AI models are designed to learn from your codebase and adapt to your coding style. The tool provides context-aware suggestions that improve over time through personalization and fine-tuning capabilities for specific use cases.
Continue.dev
Continue.dev demonstrates strong context awareness through its edit mode and actions features. It understands the surrounding code context and provides relevant suggestions for modifications, documentation, and testing based on the current codebase.
π Privacy and Security
Tabnine
Tabnine places a strong emphasis on privacy and security with multiple deployment options, including cloud-based and self-hosted solutions. It features end-to-end encryption, protected universal models, and compliance with data protection regulations. The tool ensures code privacy with no unauthorized access to source code.
Continue.dev
Continue.dev takes a transparent approach to security through its open-source nature. It offers self-hosted options and is transparent about model usage. The Apache 2.0 license ensures code visibility and security through community oversight.
π° Pricing
Tabnine
- Dev Plan
- $9 per month
- AI agents personalized to your coding standards
- Integration with Atlassian Jira
- Enterprise-grade security, safety, and privacy
- Enterprise Plans
- $39 per user, per month
- SaaS and Private Installation options
- Full control over infrastructure
- Maximum security features
Continue.dev
- Free Open Source
- Free forever
- Real-time code suggestions
- Automated refactoring
- Testing and debugging assistance
- Seamless IDE integration
- Enterprise
- Enhanced features
- Scalability
- Enhanced security and privacy
- Dedicated support
- Collaboration tools
π Verdict: Which One Should You Choose?
Tabnine and Continue.dev serve different developer needs while both providing powerful AI-assisted coding capabilities.
- Choose Tabnine if you need a security-focused, enterprise-ready AI coding assistant with private deployments and compliance features.
- Choose Continue.dev if you prefer an open-source, flexible AI assistant with broader model integrations and a free-tier option.
Regardless of which AI coding assistant you use, maintaining code quality is essential. If you're looking for a way to automate AI code reviews, Greptileβs AI review system ensures better security, maintainability, and accuracy for your projects.