kitio.aiButterfish vs Marmot
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Butterfish starts at Free and Marmot starts at Free. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
At a glance
Best for
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- AI prompts inside bash and zsh
- Shell history as context
- Command autocomplete from AI
- Goal mode agent
- Neovim plugin
- Text generation from the shell
- Web search and scraping
- Text to speech
- Person and company enrichment
- JSON output
- Agent skill
| Feature | Butterfish | Marmot |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Open-source shell wrapper that adds AI prompts to bash and zsh | Open-source CLI for AI models, web search and data enrichment |
| Category | Coding | Coding |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes, fully free | Yes, fully free |
| Made by | Peter Bakkum | Marmot |
| Based in | – | – |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Butterfish starts at Free and Marmot starts at Free. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
Prices in USD, checked Nov 5, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Butterfish
- Free and MIT licensed
- No copy and paste between tools
- Keeps your existing shell setup
- Needs your own OpenAI-compatible API key
- No Windows support
- Agent mode can run commands on your system
Marmot
- One interface for many providers
- Composable with Unix pipes
- MIT licensed
- Command-line only
- Provider usage may cost extra
Which one should you choose?
Choose Butterfish if you want:
- Free and MIT licensed
- No copy and paste between tools
- Keeps your existing shell setup
Watch out: needs your own openai-compatible api key.
Choose Marmot if you want:
- One interface for many providers
- Composable with Unix pipes
- MIT licensed
Watch out: command-line only.
Butterfish vs Marmot FAQ
What is the difference between Butterfish and Marmot?
Butterfish: Open-source shell wrapper that adds AI prompts to bash and zsh. Marmot: Open-source CLI for AI models, web search and data enrichment. Both are coding tools.
Is Butterfish or Marmot cheaper?
Butterfish starts at Free and Marmot starts at Free. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do Butterfish and Marmot have free plans?
Butterfish: Yes, fully free. Marmot: Yes, fully free.
Who makes Butterfish?
Butterfish is made by Peter Bakkum.
Who makes Marmot?
Marmot is made by Marmot.
Which should I choose, Butterfish or Marmot?
Choose Butterfish if you value free and mit licensed and no copy and paste between tools. Choose Marmot if you value one interface for many providers and composable with unix pipes.