Cursor or Claude Code?

Product Hunt

•8mo ago

I love @Cursor. It's enabled me to build (vibe code) so many web apps, sites, extensions, and little things quickly that 1. bring me joy and 2. help me with work or realize personal projects.

However... I'm seeing a TON of movement around @Claude by Anthropic's Claude Code. I haven't personally tried it but it's apparently insane (and can also be expensive?)

I'm curious. Should I switch? What are you currently using? Or do they both have their own use case. I right now like cursor because I can build directly in a GitHub repo or locally and it helps me learn my way around an IDE.

Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!

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The thread debates whether developers should stick with Cursor or switch to Claude Code, with a loose consensus emerging: Claude Code often delivers higher-quality, first-try results, but Cursor excels for IDE-native control, visibility, and cost efficiency.

Several makers reported moving from Cursor to Claude Code for accuracy and fewer iterations—one even cites a ~30% reduction in rework across users (syedahmedz), who also notes a VS Code extension for Claude Code (follow-up). Others echo that Claude Code feels “next level” on the Claude Max plan (sharvin_zlife) and consistently strong in terminal-centric workflows (martin_rue, kyle_gani). Still, price and CLI heaviness are recurring drawbacks (steveb).

Cursor loyalists value its IDE diff view, GitHub repo flow, and hands-on learning, preferring a UI over terminal for control and understanding changes (hi_caicai; priyanka_gosai1). Some blend tools: run Claude Code inside VS Code/Cursor until hitting token limits, then fall back to Cursor (_tijs); use Cursor for planning and MCP tools, then Claude Code for execution (gyasi_sutton). Budget-minded alternatives like Cline + Gemini also surfaced (conduit_design, leandro_sardi).

Takeaway: If you prioritize accuracy, CLI integration, and faster iteration, Claude Code shines; if you value IDE-native control, visual diffs, and steady velocity on small projects, Cursor remains a great choice—many find the best setup is using both, depending on task complexity, budget, and workflow.

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I love Cursor too, but lately it feels like it's slowing down and making wide-sweeping code changes for simple things. I've heard Claude Code is really good and more lightweight. I pay for Cursor and Claude and think it will be nice to go all in on just Claude and go back to coding in VS code. Cursor also has to make an API request to Claude via its servers so that can be slower. Makes sense to go direct to the source with Claude Code.

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7mo ago

I really like using cursor, it solves most of the repetitive and simple problems

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5mo ago

I am using Claude Code terminal for coding. Usually run even up to 6-9 terminal windows across 2-3 different projects + github integration where it does final Code Reviews. It is a powerhouse!

I added cursor plan on top recently as I really lake the browser feature where I can pinpoint exact UI issues I am having (found this harder to do in Claude) and tell it how to fix it. Definitely worth the $20 plan for that alone.

But for work Opus 4.5 on MAX plan. Not even testing other things as I have fineduned my workflows and rules/skills around it so much it just works insanely well.

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22d ago

neither for me — VS Code with Claude (through GitHub Copilot) + Codex. never touched Cursor. shipped 4 SaaS products in 25 days with zero coding background — was literally pouring concrete before this. the IDE matters way less than people think. what actually matters is knowing what you want to build and being clear when you talk to the AI. actually launching one of those products on PH today — VibeShips, a toolkit for vibe coders to ship and validate faster. would love thoughts from this crew

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7d ago

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