Poolside

Enterprise AI coding platform with on-premise and VPC deployment for secure software development

Continue

Open-source AI code assistant for VS Code and JetBrains that works with any LLM

Poolside

Strong

17/25

Continue

Strong

17/25

Score Breakdown

DimensionPoolsideContinue

Data Residency

Where is your data stored and processed?

Poolside: On-premise and VPC deployment with zero data egress. Customer code never leaves the customer's environment. EU organisations can deploy on their own EU infrastructure. Maximum data sovereignty.

Continue: Fully self-hosted with local model inference. Source code never leaves the developer's machine when using local models. Maximum data sovereignty achievable.

5/5

On-premise and VPC deployment with zero data egress. Customer code never leaves the customer's environment. EU organisations can deploy on their own EU infrastructure. Maximum data sovereignty.

5/5

Fully self-hosted with local model inference. Source code never leaves the developer's machine when using local models. Maximum data sovereignty achievable.

Legal Jurisdiction

Which laws govern the company and your data?

Poolside: Delaware incorporation (US). French SAS entity exists but parent is US. CLOUD Act applies to the corporate entity, though on-premise deployment means code never reaches Poolside's infrastructure.

Continue: Delaware incorporation. However, the open-source licence and self-hosting capability mean the product can be used with zero dependency on the company's cloud infrastructure.

2/5

Delaware incorporation (US). French SAS entity exists but parent is US. CLOUD Act applies to the corporate entity, though on-premise deployment means code never reaches Poolside's infrastructure.

2/5

Delaware incorporation. However, the open-source licence and self-hosting capability mean the product can be used with zero dependency on the company's cloud infrastructure.

Data Retention & Training

Is your data used for model training?

Poolside: On-premise/VPC mode: customer has full control, no data leaves their environment. Training uses synthetic data (RLCEF), not customer-contributed code. Structural separation.

Continue: Open-source, self-hosted, no telemetry when configured for local use. Complete data lifecycle control. Code is auditable.

5/5

On-premise/VPC mode: customer has full control, no data leaves their environment. Training uses synthetic data (RLCEF), not customer-contributed code. Structural separation.

5/5

Open-source, self-hosted, no telemetry when configured for local use. Complete data lifecycle control. Code is auditable.

Certifications

ISO 27001, SOC 2, Cyber Essentials, etc.

Poolside: Drata trust centre exists, suggesting SOC 2 is in progress. No public confirmation of SOC 2 or ISO 27001. US government ATO achieved (military/public sector).

Continue: No formal certifications. Early-stage open-source project. Self-hosted model means organisations apply their own security controls.

2/5

Drata trust centre exists, suggesting SOC 2 is in progress. No public confirmation of SOC 2 or ISO 27001. US government ATO achieved (military/public sector).

1/5

No formal certifications. Early-stage open-source project. Self-hosted model means organisations apply their own security controls.

Regulatory Fit

Suitability for regulated industries and professional services

Poolside: On-premise deployment model is excellent for regulated industries. US jurisdiction is the main concern. French entity provides some EU connection. Public sector certifications (ATO, IL5) demonstrate security maturity.

Continue: Self-hosted with local models is the gold standard for code sovereignty. Used by defence, government, and financial services teams. Lack of certifications offset by self-hosting and open-source auditability.

3/5

On-premise deployment model is excellent for regulated industries. US jurisdiction is the main concern. French entity provides some EU connection. Public sector certifications (ATO, IL5) demonstrate security maturity.

4/5

Self-hosted with local models is the gold standard for code sovereignty. Used by defence, government, and financial services teams. Lack of certifications offset by self-hosting and open-source auditability.

Total Score

17/25

Best For

Poolside

Best for privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; organisations that need self-hosted or on-premise deployment; teams on a tight budget.

Continue

Best for privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; organisations that need self-hosted or on-premise deployment; enterprises requiring SSO integration.

Detailed Comparison

Continue vs Poolside: Trust & Compliance Comparison

Continue (Continue, US) scores 17/25 overall with a Silver (Strong) trust badge. Open-source AI code assistant for VS Code and JetBrains that works with any LLM. Poolside (Poolside, US) scores 17/25 with a Silver (Strong) trust badge. Enterprise AI coding platform with on-premise and VPC deployment for secure software development.

Dimension-by-Dimension Breakdown

#### Data Residency

Both score equally at 5/5.

●Continue (5/5): Fully self-hosted with local model inference. Source code never leaves the developer's machine when using local models. Maximum data sovereignty achievable.

●Poolside (5/5): On-premise and VPC deployment with zero data egress. Customer code never leaves the customer's environment. EU organisations can deploy on their own EU infrastructure. Maximum data sovereignty.

#### Legal Jurisdiction

Both score equally at 2/5.

●Continue (2/5): Delaware incorporation. However, the open-source licence and self-hosting capability mean the product can be used with zero dependency on the company's cloud infrastructure.

●Poolside (2/5): Delaware incorporation (US). French SAS entity exists but parent is US. CLOUD Act applies to the corporate entity, though on-premise deployment means code never reaches Poolside's infrastructure.

#### Data Retention & Training

Both score equally at 5/5.

●Continue (5/5): Open-source, self-hosted, no telemetry when configured for local use. Complete data lifecycle control. Code is auditable.

●Poolside (5/5): On-premise/VPC mode: customer has full control, no data leaves their environment. Training uses synthetic data (RLCEF), not customer-contributed code. Structural separation.

#### Certifications

Poolside leads with 2/5 vs 1/5.

●Continue (1/5): No formal certifications. Early-stage open-source project. Self-hosted model means organisations apply their own security controls.

●Poolside (2/5): Drata trust centre exists, suggesting SOC 2 is in progress. No public confirmation of SOC 2 or ISO 27001. US government ATO achieved (military/public sector).

#### Regulatory Fit

Continue leads with 4/5 vs 3/5.

●Continue (4/5): Self-hosted with local models is the gold standard for code sovereignty. Used by defence, government, and financial services teams. Lack of certifications offset by self-hosting and open-source auditability.

●Poolside (3/5): On-premise deployment model is excellent for regulated industries. US jurisdiction is the main concern. French entity provides some EU connection. Public sector certifications (ATO, IL5) demonstrate security maturity.

Overall Verdict

Continue and Poolside are closely matched on trust and compliance, with scores of 17/25 and 17/25 respectively. The right choice depends on your specific regulatory requirements and existing technology stack.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for EU compliance, Poolside or Continue?

Poolside has a TrustKit score of 17/25 while Continue scores 17/25. Both tools are currently rated equally across data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention, certifications, and regulatory fit.

How do Poolside and Continue compare on data residency?

Poolside scores 5/5 for data residency (On-premise and VPC deployment with zero data egress. Customer code never leaves the customer's environment. EU organisations can deploy on their own EU infrastructure. Maximum data sovereignty.), while Continue scores 5/5 (Fully self-hosted with local model inference. Source code never leaves the developer's machine when using local models. Maximum data sovereignty achievable.).

Are Poolside and Continue GDPR compliant?

Both tools are assessed across five compliance dimensions. Poolside has a regulatory fit score of 3/5 and Continue scores 4/5. Check the full comparison above for a detailed breakdown.

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