Jules vs Open Interpreter (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Jules if

• Fits if your code lives on GitHub and you want chores done in the background
• Works for solo developers who can live inside 15 tasks a day

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you use GitLab or Bitbucket, because the docs describe GitHub only
• Watch out: the docs say limits and features may change, as it is an experimental beta
• Tight if you want more, since paid tiers come only through Google AI Pro or Ultra
• Watch out: paid tiers are for individual gmail.com accounts for now, and their prices are not on the Jules pages

Pick Open Interpreter if

• Fits if you work in a terminal and want to pick your own model
• Works for people who want a coding agent that can run on a local model

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a phone or web app, as it runs on computers only
• Not for you if you avoid the command line, since the terminal agent lives there
• Tight if you need a stated price for the desktop app, because the pages read give none
• Watch out: hosted models receive your instructions and file excerpts, and only a local profile keeps everything on the machine

Jules

• It works with GitHub repositories; the docs describe no other code host.
• Paid tiers come only through Google AI Pro or Ultra, and for now only for individual @gmail.com accounts.
• The Jules pages do not state the Google AI plan prices, so no monthly figure is recorded here.
• The docs call Jules an experimental coding agent in public beta, and say limits and features may change.

Open Interpreter

• Model costs are paid to whichever provider is connected; the vendor's pages list no hosted plan.
• No price for the desktop app is stated on the pages read, so only the open-source terminal agent is recorded as free.
• Neither the terminal agent nor the desktop app is listed for iOS or Android, and neither runs as a hosted web app.
• Hosted models receive the instructions and the file excerpts the agent needs; only a local profile keeps everything on the machine.

Jules

Plan before changes

After a prompt, Jules writes a plan that you can review and approve before any code is edited.

Cloud virtual machine

Jules clones the repository into a virtual machine, installs dependencies and edits files there, so work continues while you are away.

Pull requests on GitHub

Finished work arrives as a diff you can browse and approve, then as a pull request. Adding a 'jules' label to an issue also assigns it a task.

AGENTS.md support

Jules reads an AGENTS.md file in the repository root to learn conventions and how to work with the codebase.

Scheduled and suggested tasks

The docs describe scheduled tasks and suggested tasks, and there is a command-line tool and a REST API alongside the web app.

Open Interpreter

Harness emulation

The /harness command switches between agent harnesses such as native, claude-code, kimi-code, qwen-code and swe-agent, aimed at getting better results from low-cost models.

Provider and model switching

The /model command picks a provider and model from the terminal. The docs cover Kimi, DeepSeek, Z.AI and Google AI Studio, and any OpenAI-compatible provider can be used through Chat Completions.

Sandboxed command execution

Commands run inside native sandboxing on macOS, Linux and Windows, with permissions and approval settings.

Editor and SDK compatibility

Runs as an Agent Client Protocol agent for compatible editors, and speaks the Codex exec protocol so the Codex SDK can point at it.

Desktop app for cross-app work

The Interpreter desktop app opens apps, reads files in a chosen workspace, runs web tasks and takes voice instructions, pausing for review before it submits, sends, deletes or overwrites.

Local models and MCP

Profiles can point at Ollama or LM Studio for local-only use, and MCP servers and skills extend what the agent can reach.

Jules

• Jules$0

  15 tasks per day, 3 concurrent tasks, powered by Gemini 2.5 Pro.

• Jules in ProIncluded

  with a Google AI Pro subscription

  100 tasks per day, 15 concurrent tasks and higher access to the latest models, starting with Gemini 3 Pro.

• Jules in UltraIncluded

  with a Google AI Ultra subscription

  300 tasks per day, 60 concurrent tasks and priority access to the latest models.

Open Interpreter

• Open source terminal agent$0

  Apache-2.0 licensed and installed locally; you pay your chosen model provider separately.