Claude Code vs Cursor
A Fair Fight: the same criteria, the same evidence standards, and no overall winner. Which is better depends on what you need.
Both can: Agentic coding, Coding assistant
| Criterion | Claude Code | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | US$20/moSupp. | US$20/moSupp. |
| Free plan | noUnver. | yes✓ (best on this point)Supp. |
| Free trial | unknown | unknown |
| Pricing model | PaidSupp. | Free + paidSupp. |
| Platforms | Terminal (CLI), VS Code, JetBrains, WebUnver. | Windows, macOS, LinuxUnver. |
| API | unknown | unknown |
| Open source | unknown | unknown |
| Self-hostable | unknown | unknown |
| EU data residency | unknown | unknown |
| Data processing agreement | unknown | unknown |
| Dutch | unknown | unknown |
| Trains on your data | unknown | unknown |
| Watermark (free) | unknown | unknown |
| Commercial use (free) | unknown | unknown |
| Level | Advanced | Intermediate✓ (best on this point) |
| Capabilities | Agentic coding, Coding assistant | Agentic coding, Coding assistant |
| Visit Claude Code | Visit Cursor |
When to choose which?
Choose Claude Code if you…
- → work on Terminal (CLI)
- → work on VS Code
- → work on JetBrains
Choose Cursor if you…
- → want to start for free
- → want a tool that's easy to learn
- → work on Windows
- → work on macOS
- → work on Linux
Prefer advice for your situation? Describe what you want to do →