Cursor
The AI Code Editor
Start new thread
Gabe Perez

Cursor or Claude Code?

by
Product Hunt
•

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!

17K views
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.
Summarized with AI

Add a comment

Replies

Best
Vineel Sai Meesala

When we started developing our project TMH, we decided to use AI to speed up the development process.

We tried @Claude by Anthropic Code, @Google Gemini, and @ChatGPT by OpenAI . Out of all these, Claude stood out as the best. It understands requirements and issues clearly, and it generates code that actually matches what we were thinking in our mind about the functionality.

The way Claude follows industry standards and delivers accurate code is insane. It feels like it is reading our thoughts and writing them into proper code.

One of my colleagues suggested trying @Cursor. We used it for some time and I must say, it’s one of the best AI-powered code editors. Personally, I feel it is better than VS Code with GitHub Copilot. I was amazed at how Cursor shows the changes with clear highlights and even takes approval before applying them. Because of this, we could actually understand what the AI was modifying.

Of course, every tool has its own strengths and limitations, and people prefer different ones. But for me, without doubt, Claude is the best AI tool in the market right now.

xchen

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

J.T.

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.

Mykola Kondratiuk

Different tools for different vibes honestly. Claude Code when I want to explore a quick idea or refactor something small. Cursor when I need full project context - it handles multi-file changes way better.

Biggest pain with both: they'll happily add dependencies without checking if they're maintained or have known CVEs.

Kurt

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

First
Previous
123