Head-to-head · profiles checked Sep 29, 2026
Pick Claude Code if you work in the terminal or already pay for a Claude plan; pick Cursor if you want an AI code editor you can try free. Claude Code and Cursor both list $20/mo as the first paid individual price. Cursor has a free Hobby plan with limited Agent requests, while Claude Code has no free tier.
We compared our verified Claude Code and Cursor profiles, both checked on 2026-09-29 against the vendors' own pricing, docs and privacy pages; we ran no benchmark of Cursor, and we used no third-party benchmarks and took no vendor payments.
Pick Claude Code if you work in the terminal or already pay for a Claude Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan that includes it. Pick Cursor if you want an AI code editor with a free Hobby plan, cloud agents and Bugbot pull request review. Both list $20/mo as the first paid individual price, but Claude Code has no free tier and Cursor's Pro+ and Ultra prices were not stated. Both say usage limits or on-demand billing apply, so check the caps before committing.
Based on our Claude Code and Cursor profiles, both verified on 2026-09-29 from the vendors' pricing, docs and privacy pages; no benchmark was run.
If you only want the answer, this is the table. Everything below is the evidence from the two documented profiles.
| You want to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fix a bug from a pasted error message | Either | Claude Code traces the cause in the repo and proposes a fix; Cursor's agent edits code from prompts and shows a diff. |
| Build a feature across several files | Either | Claude Code and Cursor both list multi-file edits shown as diffs for you to review. |
| Work entirely in the terminal | Claude Code | Claude Code starts with `claude` in a project folder; Cursor lists a CLI but is built around its editor. |
| Try an AI coding tool without paying | Cursor | Cursor Hobby is free with no credit card; Claude Code is not in the Free Claude plan. |
| Run long jobs while your laptop is closed | Either | Claude Code has cloud sessions on the web; Cursor has cloud agents on Individual and above. |
| Have pull requests reviewed automatically | Cursor | Cursor Bugbot reviews pull requests and is included in Teams; no equivalent is listed for Claude Code. |
| Start a task from Slack or GitHub | Either | Claude Code and Cursor both list Slack and GitHub entry points. |
| Code from a phone or browser | Claude Code | Claude Code lists web, iOS and Android apps; Cursor lists no web or mobile app. |
| Use models from several vendors in one tool | Cursor | Cursor lists models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, SpaceXAI and Cursor. |
| Work in JetBrains | Either | Claude Code has a JetBrains plugin; Cursor docs list JetBrains integration. |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Pro | Claude Code | $20/mo ($17/mo billed annually) | Usage limits apply; more usage than Free |
| Claude Max 5x | Claude Code | $100/mo | 5x the usage of Pro; usage limits apply |
| Claude Max 20x | Claude Code | $200/mo | 20x the usage of Pro; usage limits apply |
| Claude Team (standard seat) | Claude Code | $25 per seat per month billed monthly ($20 annual) | Teams of 2 to 150; more usage than Pro |
| Claude Enterprise | Claude Code | Seat plus usage at API rates | Spend limits set by admins |
| Cursor Hobby | Cursor | Free | Limited Agent requests |
| Cursor Individual (Pro) | Cursor | $20/mo | Extended limits on Agent; usage beyond included amount billed on demand |
| Cursor Individual (Pro+ / Ultra) | Cursor | Not stated | Pro+ recommended for daily agent users, Ultra for power users |
| Cursor Teams | Cursor | $40 per user per month | Included usage plus on-demand billing |
| Cursor Enterprise | Cursor | Custom | Pooled usage |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Sep 29, 2026. Claude Code pricing in full · Cursor pricing in full
| Claude Code | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / rate limits | Subscription usage limits apply; Max is 5x or 20x Pro | Limited Agent requests on Hobby; included usage, then on-demand billing |
| Context / file size | Up to 1M tokens, varies by model | Not stated |
| Seats / team | Team: 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise spend limits set by admins | Teams per user; Enterprise pooled usage |
| Feature | Claude Code | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Image generation | Not stated | Not stated |
| Voice | Not stated | Not stated |
| File upload | Not stated | Attached docs and files as input |
| Web search | Not stated | Not stated |
| Agents / tools | Yes: multi-file edits, shell commands, scheduled tasks | Yes: coding agent, cloud agents, MCPs, skills, hooks |
| API | Console use billed by token; API not included in subscriptions | Docs list an API and SDK; billing not verified |
| Mobile apps | Yes: iOS and Android | Not stated |
| Claude Code | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Opt-out on Free, Pro and Max; none by default on Team and Enterprise | Not used for training with privacy mode on, unless flagged for security review, reported as Feedback or explicitly agreed |
| Retention | Not stated (custom retention controls on Enterprise) | Not stated |
| Business controls | SSO and SCIM, audit logs and Compliance API, IP allowlisting, HIPAA-ready offering | Team-wide privacy mode, SAML/OIDC SSO, audit logs (Enterprise) |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
Anthropic's agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files and runs commands from the terminal, IDEs, desktop app or browser.
Watch out: Not included in the Free Claude plan, and usage on subscriptions is capped by plan limits.
Verified code.claude.com (opens Claude Code website in a new tab)
From $20/mo US · checked Sep 29
AI code editor with agents, cloud agents and code review, offered with a free Hobby tier and paid plans.
Free stops at: Limited Agent requests
Free · paid from $20/mo US · checked Sep 29
Cursor is free to start, Claude Code is not. Cursor has a free Hobby plan with no credit card required and limited Agent requests. Claude Code has no free tier: it is included in paid Claude plans or billed per token through the Anthropic Console.
Claude Code and Cursor both list $20/mo as the first paid individual price. Claude Code Pro is $20 billed monthly or $17 billed annually, with Max at $100 and $200. Cursor's Pro+ and Ultra prices were not stated in the data.
Yes, Claude Code runs inside Cursor and VS Code: Claude Code ships extensions for both editors with inline diffs and plan review, plus a JetBrains plugin. You still need a Claude subscription or an Anthropic Console account.
Claude Code Team seats are $25 per seat per month billed monthly ($20 annual) with SSO. Cursor Teams starts at $40 per user per month with SAML/OIDC SSO, team-wide privacy mode and Bugbot. Claude Code and Cursor both add usage-based costs beyond included amounts.
Claude Code is better for terminal-first work, and Cursor is better for editor-first work. Claude Code is a terminal-first agent included in Claude Pro and Max; Cursor is an AI code editor with a free Hobby plan, cloud agents and Bugbot pull request review.
This page compares Claude Code, the coding agent. Our Cursor vs Claude page compares Cursor with the Claude chat assistant for people choosing between a code editor and a general assistant.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
compare>
