Which fits your task?
Choose Cursor if you want to review agent changes inside a full code editor, switch between models from several vendors, or run cloud agents and AI code review from the same subscription. Its paid plans include usage of Grok models; models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google are available from Premium upward and billed on top at API list price.
Choose Claude Code if you already pay for a Claude plan, prefer to start from the terminal, or mainly want to work with Anthropic's Claude models. Claude Code is included in every paid Claude plan and draws on the same usage pool as your Claude chats.
If you want Claude models inside an editor, the cost difference matters most: in Cursor they count as third-party models, available from Premium ($30 per month) upward, so you pay API rates on top of the subscription.
What we compared
We compared both tools for the same task: making a scoped change in an existing repository and reviewing it before merging. The criteria are where you can run the agent, which models it uses, how it fits into code review, what it costs and which limits apply.
This comparison is based on the official product pages, documentation and pricing pages checked on October 22, 2026. AppFor.ai has not run both tools on the same benchmark task, so it contains no scores or winner from our own testing.
The differences that matter
Where you work: Cursor is a desktop code editor built around agents, with a Cursor CLI for the terminal, scripts and GitHub Actions, cloud agents that work in their own environments and can also be started from mobile. Its documentation lists integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket, JetBrains, Xcode, Slack, Linear and Jira. Claude Code starts in the terminal and is also available in VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, a desktop app, on the web and on mobile, with tasks that can be handed off from Slack and GitHub.
Models: Cursor lets you choose models from several vendors, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI and its own Composer models. Claude Code is built around Anthropic's Claude models; its CLI and IDE extensions can also connect through supported third-party cloud providers.
Review: Cursor offers AI code review through Bugbot on Premium and higher plans. Claude Code offers code review and GitHub Actions integration. With both, you should still read the diff and run the tests yourself before merging.
Cost and constraints
Cursor (monthly prices, excluding tax): Free with limited agent and chat requests; Plus at $8 with Grok models only; Premium at $30, Super at $100 and Ultra at $200 with 4x, 15x and 50x the usage of Plus; Teams from $30 per user. Third-party models are not included in these prices and are billed separately at API list price. The usage pool is shared between Cursor and Grok and refreshes weekly. Subscriptions are sold through X Subscription Corp.
Claude Code (monthly prices, excluding tax): not on the Free plan; Pro at $20 ($17 per month with annual billing); Max from $100 with 5x or 20x the usage of Pro; also included in Team and Enterprise. Usage is shared with your Claude chats. Developers can instead pay per token through an Anthropic Console account.
Cursor's cheapest paid plan, Plus at $8, covers Grok models only; to use Claude, GPT or Gemini you need Premium ($30) or higher and pay API list price on top. Claude Pro at $20 covers Claude usage in both chat and Claude Code, with limits shared between them.
Choose based on your needs
You want one editor and freedom to switch models: start with Cursor, set a spending cap for third-party models and check your usage after a week of normal work.
You already use Claude and work mostly in the terminal or in VS Code or JetBrains: start with Claude Code on your existing plan and watch how quickly coding sessions use up the pool you share with chat.
You are not sure: give both the same small task on a clean branch, such as tests for one file, and compare how much you had to correct, which files each tool touched and what the session cost. See our profiles of Cursor and Claude Code for details on each tool.
Go to the source
Sources & further reading
Based on the official documentation below. Features and access can change; check the provider before making a decision.
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