Compare
Claude Code vs Cursor
Claude Code is an agent you run in the terminal and plug into your editor; Cursor is a full code editor with the agent built in. Choose by whether you want to keep your editor or switch to one designed around AI.
At a glance
| Fact | Claude Code | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Anthropic | Anysphere (part of SpaceX) |
| What it is | Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal and IDE. | An AI-first code editor with a built-in coding agent. |
| Price | Paid from $17/month | Free plan, paid from $8/month |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows, Linux, Web, CLI, Slack, iOS, Android | macOS, Windows, Linux, Web, CLI, Slack, iOS |
| Open source | No | No |
| Models | Opus, Sonnet, Haiku | Composer |
| Last verified | October 14, 2026 | October 14, 2026 |
| Official site | claude.com/product/claude-code | cursor.com |
Where they differ
- Shape: Claude Code works from the terminal with IDE extensions; Cursor is its own editor, plus a CLI and cloud agents.
- Price: Cursor has a free plan and paid tiers from $8/month; Claude Code needs a paid Claude plan from $17/month.
- Models: Claude Code runs Anthropic's Opus, Sonnet and Haiku; Cursor lists its own Composer model.
Which to pick
Choose Claude Code if you want to keep VS Code or JetBrains and drive an agent from the terminal.
Choose Cursor if you want one AI-first editor with a free plan, cloud agents and code reviews built in.
Keep looking
- Claude Code listing
- Cursor listing
- Claude Code alternatives
- Cursor alternatives
- Aider vs Claude Code
- Claude Code vs Claude Cowork
- Claude Code vs Cline
- Claude Code vs Codex
Facts from each maker's official pages, last verified October 14, 2026. How we verify.