Claude Code vs Cursor: which should you use?

Claude Code and Cursor are different kinds of tool that increasingly overlap. Claude Code is Anthropic's coding agent: it runs in the terminal, VS Code, JetBrains, a desktop app and the web, uses only Claude models, and comes with Claude plans from $17 a month. Cursor is an AI code editor built on VS Code, part of SpaceX since August 2026, with its own agents and cloud agents, its own Composer and Grok models alongside Claude, GPT and Gemini, and plans from free to $200 a month. They aren't either-or: Claude Code installs as an extension inside Cursor. Pick Cursor for an editor with many models and usage billed at API prices; pick Claude Code for Anthropic's agent on a subscription allowance shared with Claude chat.

Key takeaways

• Both start at $20 a month. Cursor has Pro+ at $60 and Ultra at $200; Claude has Max at $100 or $200.
• Cursor splits usage into its own models, with more included, and other models at API prices; Claude Code shares a five-hour and weekly allowance with Claude chat. Neither publishes exact amounts.
• Cursor offers Composer 2.5, Grok, Claude, GPT-5.6, Gemini and Muse models; Claude Code runs Claude.
• Claude Code runs inside Cursor through its VS Code extension, so many developers use both.

What's the difference?

Claude Code is an agent that works wherever you are: the terminal, VS Code and JetBrains, the Claude desktop app, the web and Slack. It has permission modes from Manual to Auto, subagents, hooks, skills, plugins and MCP, and reviews pull requests.

Cursor is an editor with agents built in: an agents window, plan and debug modes, subagents, cloud agents that can also run on your own machines, a CLI, and Bugbot for code review, with MCP, rules, skills, hooks and plugins (Cursor). Projects, in beta since September 2026, lets one agent direct many others. Cursor said in August 2026 that it had been acquired by SpaceX (Cursor).

How much do they cost?

• Cursor: Hobby free with limited agent requests; Pro $20, Pro+ $60 and Ultra $200 a month; Teams $40 per user a month ($32 billed annually) and Teams Premium $120 ($96) with five times the usage (Cursor). On Teams and Enterprise, Cursor adds $0.25 per million tokens to calls to other companies' models. Bugbot is billed per run, about $1 to $1.50.
• Claude Code: Claude Pro at $17 a month billed annually or $20 monthly, Max at $100 or $200, Team seats at $20 to $25 or $100 to $125 for premium. Is Claude Code free? and Claude Code for teams.

How do their usage limits compare?

Cursor gives each plan two monthly pools: Cursor's own models (Composer and Grok) with more included, and other companies' models charged at their API prices. It doesn't publish the dollar amounts. Past them, extra usage is billed at the same API rates, opt-in on individual plans and on by default on Teams. Cursor's own guidance is that daily agent users typically spend $60 to $100 a month, and power users $200 or more (Cursor).

Claude Code draws on your Claude plan's allowance, which resets on a rolling five-hour window with weekly limits on top and is shared with Claude on the web, desktop and phone; Anthropic publishes no fixed message count (Anthropic). Past it, you can buy usage credits at API rates.

Which models can each use?

• Cursor: its own Composer 2.5 ($0.50 / $2.50 per million tokens) and Grok 4.5 to 4.7, which Cursor calls its most capable model, plus Claude Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5, GPT-5.6, Gemini 3.1 Pro and 3.8 Flash, and Muse Spark 1.3. Auto mode routes requests by cost, balance or intelligence. OpenAI plans to stop supplying its models to Cursor, proposing a transition period to November 12, 2026 (OpenAI).
• Claude Code: Claude only, with Opus 5.5 by default, Sonnet 5.5 and Fable 5.1 a /model away. Sonnet 5.5 vs Opus 5.5.

Can you use Claude Code inside Cursor?

Yes. Anthropic's VS Code extension installs in Cursor and in other editors built on VS Code, such as Devin Desktop and Kiro, through the Open VSX registry. A common setup is Cursor for editing and completions, and Claude Code for longer agent work on your Claude plan.

Which should you use?

• You want an editor with many models in one place: Cursor.
• You want Anthropic's agent everywhere, including the terminal, the web and Slack: Claude Code.
• You use Claude heavily and want one subscription for chat and code: Claude Code.
• You want both: run Claude Code inside Cursor.

OpenAI's agent is compared in Claude Code vs Codex, and other editors in Cursor alternatives.

Can a team share one session in either?

Not really. Cursor lets teammates view a shared cloud agent run, and send it follow-ups if an admin allows, but those run under the creator's credentials (Poly vs Cursor); Claude Code is single-user. Poly (usepoly.co) runs Claude Code and Codex in a browser room where a group steers one agent together, and any member can approve each change. What is Poly?