Cline vs Cursor
Auto-updated comparison · last refreshed September 3, 2026
TL;DR
| Cline | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | vscode-extension | ide-fork |
| Vendor | open source | Anysphere |
| Pricing | Free tier (you pay LLM API costs directly) | Free tier · Pro $20/month · Business $40/user |
| Autocomplete | No | Yes |
| Agent mode | Yes | Yes |
| MCP support | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No |
| Codebase indexing | No | Yes |
| Team features | No | Yes |
Where Cline wins
- works inside VS Code you already use
- MCP support
- local models
Where Cursor wins
- autocomplete speed
- MCP support
- composer for multi-file
Weaknesses
Cline: you pay API costs directly; no autocomplete
Cursor: can lose context on branch switch; fast-request quota depletes quickly
Best for
Pick Cline if you are VS Code users who want an agent without switching IDE.
Pick Cursor if you are experienced devs, or macOS users, or MCP-heavy workflows.
FAQ
Is Cline more expensive than Cursor?
Free tier (you pay LLM API costs directly) vs Free tier · Pro $20/month · Business $40/user. Compare the Pro tiers first if you're a solo dev; Business/Enterprise only matters for teams.
Do Cline and Cursor use the same AI models?
Cline supports: any via API. Cursor supports: claude-sonnet-4-6, claude-opus-4-7, gpt-4.1, gpt-5, gemini-2.5-pro. Most modern tools default to Claude Sonnet 4.6 in 2026.
Can I use both?
Yes. They don't conflict at the file level. Some devs use one for autocomplete and one for agent work.
Related comparisons
Best Cline and Cursor pairings by language
- Python: Cline for Python · Cursor for Python
- TypeScript: Cline for TypeScript · Cursor for TypeScript
- Rust: Cline for Rust · Cursor for Rust
- Go: Cline for Go · Cursor for Go