No. 4 of 26 ·Pair Programming Software

Saros

Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Three barsScore 6.5

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Saros is ranked #4 of 26 in pair programming software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

Saros plans and pricing

All plans

Saros Free Completely open source; no paid plans or price listed saros-project.org · 2 Oct 2026

Compared on pair programming software

Editor support: Eclipse; IntelliJ IDEA and IntelliJ-platform IDEs
Voice audio: No
Screen sharing: No
Integrated chat: Yes
Self-hosted option: Yes

Best Saros alternatives

See all 12

Two bars Drovio Free tier No. 1$15/mo6.6 Two bars Pop Free tier No. 2$25/mo6.6 Two bars Zed Free tier No. 3$10/mo6.6 One bar Coterm Free tier No. 5Free6.4 One bar Duckly Free tier No. 6$6/mo6.4 Two bars Remote Collab Free tier No. 7Free6.4

The record

Purpose: Saros is an open-source IDE plugin for distributed collaborative software development.
Real-time editing: It synchronizes collaborative text-file editing among participants.
Concurrent writers: Participants with write access can edit shared files at the same time.
Follow mode: Follow mode lets a participant observe another team member’s navigation and editing activity.
Awareness: During a session, users can see where others are working and what they have changed.
Communication: Saros provides instant messaging and supports multi-user or one-to-one chat; its documentation recommends using a separate VoIP or audio conferencing tool.
Integrations: The documented IDE integrations are Eclipse and IntelliJ-platform IDEs, and sessions use an XMPP/Jabber account.
Platforms: Saros is distributed as IDE plugins for Eclipse and IntelliJ-platform IDEs; the installation guide lists Eclipse 4.8 or newer and IntelliJ 2019.2.3 or newer.
Self-hosting: Users can host their own server and keep session communication within their network.
Security and privacy: The project recommends setting up an own XMPP server for company use or sessions with more than one peer; it does not state a security certification on the pages reviewed.
Session limit: The homepage says a session can include up to five team members, while the Saros/I release notes limit that plugin to two participants.
IntelliJ limitations: Saros/I currently shares only one module, which must have exactly one content root, and does not include sub-modules when sharing.
Support: The project directs users to its GitHub issue tracker to report bugs.
Connection requirements: Saros requires higher bandwidth and lower latency than normal chatting, and public chat servers may be too slow for smooth operation.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Pair Programming Software in 2026#4 of 26

Is Saros yours?

Claim it for free: prove the domain, then correct facts, plans and screenshots. An editor reviews every change.

Claim it free Promote Saros

Sources

saros-project.org/documentation/· checked 2 Oct 2026
saros-project.org/documentation/features.html· checked 2 Oct 2026
saros-project.org/documentation/installation.html· checked 2 Oct 2026
saros-project.org· checked 2 Oct 2026
saros-project.org/documentation/how-tos/setup-xmpp.html· checked 2 Oct 2026
saros-project.org/releases/saros-i_0.3.0.html· checked 2 Oct 2026