Continue vs Cursor
Auto-updated comparison · last refreshed September 3, 2026
TL;DR
| Continue | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | vscode-extension | ide-fork |
| Vendor | open source | Anysphere |
| Pricing | Free tier (OSS extension, BYO API keys) | Free tier · Pro $20/month · Business $40/user |
| Autocomplete | Yes | Yes |
| Agent mode | Yes | Yes |
| MCP support | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No |
| Codebase indexing | Yes | Yes |
| Team features | Yes | Yes |
Where Continue wins
- fully OSS
- config-file driven
- local model support
Where Cursor wins
- autocomplete speed
- MCP support
- composer for multi-file
Weaknesses
Continue: config-heavy; slower to add new features than Cursor
Cursor: can lose context on branch switch; fast-request quota depletes quickly
Best for
Pick Continue if you are teams that need OSS auditable AI tooling, or local LLM users.
Pick Cursor if you are experienced devs, or macOS users, or MCP-heavy workflows.
FAQ
Is Continue more expensive than Cursor?
Free tier (OSS extension, BYO API keys) 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 Continue and Cursor use the same AI models?
Continue 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.
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Best Continue and Cursor pairings by language
- Python: Continue for Python · Cursor for Python
- TypeScript: Continue for TypeScript · Cursor for TypeScript
- Rust: Continue for Rust · Cursor for Rust
- Go: Continue for Go · Cursor for Go