A terminal-first coding agent and an AI-first code editor, compared for making coordinated repository changes. This guidance is based on company pages linked from the profiles below.
Your development workflow centers on a terminal, repository tools, and coordinated file changes.
Look elsewhere if: You need a dedicated AI-first editor rather than an agent that also integrates with IDEs, or cannot send code context to a supported hosted model service.
You want repository chat, agents, and multi-file editing in Cursor's editor, from its CLI in an existing IDE workflow, or through a documented ACP integration.
Look elsewhere if: You need Cursor inside an editor beyond the documented JetBrains, Zed, or Neovim paths without building a custom ACP client, need confirmed JetBrains ACP access on Cursor's free Hobby plan, or cannot route code context through Cursor's hosted backend.
| Detail | Claude CodeAnthropic | CursorAnysphere |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | Developer tool | Developer tool |
| US price | Pro $20/mo; Max 5x $100/mo; Max 20x $200/mo; Team Standard $20–$25/seat/mo (opens in a new tab) Full Claude Code plan detailsClaude Code access is included with Pro, Max, every Team seat, and eligible Enterprise seats. Pro, Max, Team, and seat-based Enterprise have included usage limits; usage-based Enterprise has no included allowance and bills usage at API rates from the first token. Pro is $20 monthly or $200 yearly. Max 5x is listed at $100 per month and Max 20x at $200 per month. Anthropic's plan guide and pricing FAQ say both Max tiers are monthly only, but its pricing comparison table lists monthly and annual billing; confirm the available billing interval before subscribing. Team Standard is $20 per seat monthly when billed annually or $25 month to month, with a two-seat minimum; Premium is $100 or $125 and adds 5× more usage. New and self-serve Enterprise seats include Claude Code; older Enterprise plans may require a Chat + Claude Code or Premium seat. Individual Pro, Max 5x, and Max 20x subscribers can prepay usage credits to continue Claude Code terminal use after included limits at standard API rates, with a configurable monthly spending cap. Pay-as-you-go API usage through a Console account is a separate path. | Free; Pro $20/mo; Pro+ $60/mo; Ultra $200/mo (opens in a new tab) Full Cursor plan detailsHobby is free. Pro costs $20 monthly and includes $20 of third-party model usage; Pro+ costs $60 and includes $70; Ultra costs $200 and includes $400. On individual plans, third-party model usage is charged at the model's API price. On Teams and Enterprise, Cursor adds $0.25 per million tokens to third-party model API pricing for included, on-demand, and BYOK usage; Auto Cost and Cursor's first-party models are exempt. Cursor describes each plan's separate allowance for its own models only as ‘generous included usage,’ without a number. Teams Standard is $40 per user monthly. Pro, Pro+, and Ultra can continue after included usage with monthly on-demand billing; Start does not include on-demand usage. On Teams, usage is allocated per user and does not transfer; on-demand is enabled by default, with a configurable monthly team-wide spending limit. Cloud Agents are charged at the selected model's API price, and Cursor asks you to set a spend limit before first use. |
| Ways to use it | Web, macOS, Linux, Windows, iOS, Android, Terminal | Web, Phone browser, macOS, Windows, Linux, Desktop editor, CLI, JetBrains IDEs, Zed, Neovim |
| Access | Terminal, IDE, web, mobile, GitHub, and Slack access. | Desktop editor and terminal, ACP support for JetBrains IDEs, Zed, Neovim, and custom clients, plus cloud agents through a browser, phone, Slack, GitHub, or Linear. Cursor says JetBrains ACP is free for users on paid plans; the checked pages do not state whether Hobby users can use it. |
| Where it runs | The terminal client runs locally and talks directly to model APIs. Cloud sessions run on Anthropic-managed infrastructure from web, mobile, desktop, or --cloud; that path is a research preview for Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise Premium or Chat + Claude Code seats. | Desktop and terminal clients plus cloud agents. |
| Profile evidence | Capabilities · Access · Limits · collected Aug 1, 2026 | Capabilities · Access · Limits · collected Aug 2, 2026 |
Start with Claude Code when you want a terminal-first agent centered on repository commands and tools. It also runs through native VS Code and JetBrains extensions, plus desktop, web, and mobile clients. Start with Cursor when you want its editor, its CLI in an existing IDE workflow, or documented ACP paths for JetBrains IDEs, Zed, Neovim, and custom clients. Cursor says JetBrains ACP is free for users on paid plans; its checked pages do not state whether Hobby users can use it.
Company sources: Claude Code product page (opens in a new tab) · Cursor download (opens in a new tab) · Cursor CLI (opens in a new tab) · Cursor ACP (opens in a new tab) · Cursor in JetBrains IDEs (opens in a new tab)In local Claude Code, Manual mode asks before file edits and most shell commands. Claude cloud sessions differ: Manual is unavailable, file edits are pre-approved in every mode, and other permission prompts appear in claude.ai. Auto mode instead runs without routine prompts while a separate classifier reviews actions; it requires a supported model and provider, Team or Enterprise administrators can disable it, and Anthropic says it does not guarantee safety. Permission rules still apply. Its Bash sandbox is optional and, when enabled, enforces filesystem and network boundaries. Cursor’s desktop Agent can edit workspace files without approval. Cursor says Auto-review is the default for new users; existing users can enable it in settings. For Shell, MCP, and Fetch calls, Auto-review runs allowlisted calls immediately, sandboxes calls it can, and uses a classifier to decide whether to allow the rest, try another approach, or ask for approval. Allowlist and Run Everything remain alternatives, while Run Everything removes prompts and sandboxing. Cursor Cloud Agents are different: they auto-run terminal commands in isolated virtual machines with internet access on by default. Choose and test the exact client, mode, and repository policy your team would use.
Company sources: Claude Code permissions (opens in a new tab) · Claude Code permission modes (opens in a new tab) · Claude Code sandboxing (opens in a new tab) · Cursor Agent security (opens in a new tab) · Cursor run modes (opens in a new tab) · Cursor Auto-review (opens in a new tab) · Cursor Auto-review default (opens in a new tab) · Cursor Cloud Agent security (opens in a new tab)Claude Code runs locally, but Anthropic says it sends all user prompts and model outputs over the network to interact with the LLM. Its data-use page lists the Anthropic API, Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud’s Agent Platform, and Microsoft Foundry as providers. Cursor says requests still go through its backend for final prompt building, including when you use your own API key. Neither page documents a local-model or air-gapped path. Choose the exact provider and client your organization permits before opening a private repository.
Company sources: Claude Code data usage (opens in a new tab) · Cursor data use (opens in a new tab)On Claude Free, Pro, and Max, Claude Code data may be used for training when the privacy setting is on; Anthropic says Team, Enterprise, and API content is not used for training by default. With Privacy Mode on, Cursor says it and its model providers do not train on customer data; with it off, Cursor may use codebase data, prompts, editor actions, and code snippets for training.
Company sources: Claude Code data usage (opens in a new tab) · Cursor data use (opens in a new tab)Anthropic says Claude Code shares Claude's included usage pool. Pro, Max 5x, and Max 20x subscribers can prepay credits after their limits at standard API rates and set a monthly cap; Team owners can prepay credits and cap organization-wide overage. An API key instead bills per token with no hard stop. Cursor says Pro, Pro+, and Ultra split included use into two monthly pools: third-party models are metered at API rates, while its own-model allowance is described only as ‘generous.’ Their on-demand overage is billed monthly. Start has only the own-model pool and no on-demand usage. On Teams, allowances are per user and do not transfer; on-demand billing is enabled by default but can be capped team-wide, and third-party model use adds Cursor's token surcharge. Estimate a normal week's model mix before choosing.
Company sources: Claude pricing (opens in a new tab) · Usage credits for paid Claude plans (opens in a new tab) · Models, usage, and limits in Claude Code (opens in a new tab) · Usage credits for Team and seat-based Enterprise plans (opens in a new tab) · Cursor models and pricing (opens in a new tab) · Cursor team pricing (opens in a new tab)