Bonfire Terminal vs Augment Code
Augment Code is a cloud-hosted AI coding assistant, freemium from $0-$60/mo and backed by a $227M Series B, promising no training on your code with SOC 2. Bonfire Terminal is a sovereign on-device agent instead, keeping code and prompts local, using your own Anthropic or OpenAI key at cost, on one perpetual license.
Bonfire Terminal vs Augment Code: the 16-factor comparison
| Rating factor | Augment Code | Bonfire Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Coding Assistant | AI Terminal / Local Agent |
| Popularity | Series B $227M | Growing · indie |
| Hosting architecture | Cloud-Hosted | On-Device Local |
| Licensing model | Freemium | One-Time Perpetual |
| Data / training policy | No training on your code (SOC 2) | Fully local — nothing leaves device |
| Offline capability | No | Yes |
| Pricing tier range | $0-$60/mo | One-time license |
| Execution unit cost | Subscription | Unlimited Local Compute |
| API-key markup | N/A | No — BYO key at cost |
| Supported LLM providers | Anthropic;OpenAI | OpenAI; Anthropic; Google; Local; Any |
| Auth / permission types | OAuth;SSO | API Key; Local/None |
| Phone / messaging bridges | None | Telegram; WhatsApp |
| Speech recognition engine | None | Whisper (local) |
| Local media processing | No | Yes |
| Sovereign score | 40 / 100 | 93 / 100 |
The sovereignty gap
Where Augment Code lands on each weighted pillar (its bar) — the red marker is Bonfire's score. Auto-derived from the 16 factors above.
Which should you choose?
Choose Augment Code if…
Choose Augment Code if you want a deep codebase-aware assistant with Anthropic and OpenAI models, SOC 2 assurance, and tight IDE integration delivered from the cloud.
Choose Bonfire Terminal if…
Choose Bonfire Terminal if you want a local agent and terminal that keeps your code on-device, with your own model key at cost and no subscription.
Bonfire Terminal vs Augment Code: FAQ
Is Augment Code private?
Augment Code is cloud-hosted and states it does not train on your code, backed by SOC 2, but your code is still transmitted to its servers. Bonfire Terminal processes on your device, so your code never leaves your machine at all.
Is Bonfire Terminal cheaper than Augment Code?
Augment Code bills a recurring subscription up to $60/mo per user. Bonfire Terminal is a one-time perpetual license, and you pay Anthropic or OpenAI directly at cost with no markup, so it is cheaper across the life of the tool.
Can Bonfire Terminal replace Augment Code?
Partly. Bonfire Terminal offers a local coding-capable agent and terminal with your own model. Augment Code's strength is deep whole-codebase indexing and IDE-native completions; Bonfire trades that for full local privacy and no subscription rather than matching every IDE feature.
What can Bonfire Terminal do that Augment Code can't?
Bonfire Terminal works offline on-device, includes local Whisper speech and local media processing, bridges to Telegram and WhatsApp, and lets you bring any LLM key at cost. Augment Code is cloud-only with no offline mode or messaging bridges.
How do I switch from Augment Code to Bonfire Terminal?
Install Bonfire Terminal, add your Anthropic or OpenAI key, and point it at your local repositories. Your code stays on your device, so there is no cloud project to export; you simply run coding and agent tasks locally instead.
Does Bonfire Terminal work offline vs Augment Code?
Yes for local features. Bonfire Terminal's on-device speech and media processing run without internet, and only external model calls need connectivity. Augment Code is cloud-hosted with no offline capability, requiring a connection to function.