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!

19K 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
Jamie

I think the real answer is workflow plus visibility.

Cursor usually feels better to me when I want tighter control inside the IDE.

Claude Code often feels better when I want bigger jumps and I am okay working more from the terminal.

The part I think people underrate is cost visibility. A tool can feel amazing in the moment, but if you cannot tell what a coding session is actually burning while you are in it, your preference gets biased by vibes instead of tradeoffs.

That pain is what pushed me to build a tiny menu bar app for myself so I could see token usage live while working. It changed how I use both tools because I got more intentional about when to stay in Cursor and when to hand a chunk of work to Claude Code.

So for me it is not really Cursor or Claude Code. It is knowing when each one is worth the cost.

First
Previous
1234