Cline vs Cursor: open source agent or ai editor?
updated · #2 vs #5 in ai coding agents & IDEs · prices checked
$ which one should you use?
want ai woven through a whole editor, with tab, an agent and cloud agents under one bill? Cursor. want an open source agent where you pick the model, bring your own key and only pay for tokens? Cline.
Cursor ranks higher on our board: #2 vs #5 of 13 coding agents, 8.5/10 vs 8.0/10.
#2 of 13 in coding agents
Cursor
numptr says8.5/10
Tab, agent and cloud agents in one editor. Plus is $8/mo, Grok models only.
- best for
- developers who want ai inside a full editor
- why 8.5
- Plus at $8 is Grok models only. Premium at $30 is where it gets proper.
#5 of 13 in coding agents
Cline
numptr says8.0/10
open source, no subscription. you just pay for the tokens.
- best for
- BYO-key developers who want control
- why 8.0
- full control, BYO key. your bill is only as big as your habits.
who wins for which job
you want ai inside a full editor
Cursor
best for: developers who want ai inside a full editor.
you want to bring your own API key
Cline
best for: BYO-key developers who want control.
no subscription at all
Cline
Cline free tier: free open-source extension (VS Code + CLI). Cursor: limited ai usage.
overall, on our scores
Cursor
#2 of 13 coding agents, 8.5/10. Cline: #5, 8.0/10.
the differences, side by side
rank
Cursor#2 of 13 in coding agents
Cline#5 of 13 in coding agents
numptr score
Cursor8.5/10
Cline8.0/10
best for
Cursordevelopers who want ai inside a full editor
ClineBYO-key developers who want control
free tier
Cursorlimited ai usage
Clinefree open-source extension (VS Code + CLI)
paid plans
CursorPlus $8/mo, Grok models only; Premium $30/mo (4x usage; third-party models billed by usage); Super $100/mo; Ultra $200/mo; Teams $30+/user/mo
Clineno subscription; pay for inference at cost or bring your own key; Enterprise custom
affiliate
Cursorno affiliate programme found. doesn't touch the rank.
Clineno affiliate programme found. doesn't touch the rank.
# straight from our rankings data. prices from each vendor's own page.
pick neither if
go deeper
quick answer: Cline vs Cursor is really "agent you plug in" vs "editor built around ai". Cursor ranks higher on our board (#2 of 13 coding agents, 8.5/10) because it's the best place to have ai inside a full editor: tab, an agent and cloud agents in one window. Cline (#5, 8.0/10) wins if you want control: it's open source, works with almost any model, and there's no subscription, you just pay for the tokens.
the short version
| Cursor | Cline | |
|---|---|---|
| our rank | #2, 8.5/10 | #5, 8.0/10 |
| what it is | an ai editor, with an agent, cloud agents and Bugbot reviews | an open source (Apache 2.0) coding agent: VS Code extension, CLI, desktop app and SDK |
| free | limited ai usage | free open-source extension (VS Code + CLI) |
| how you pay | a plan: Plus $8/mo (Grok models only), Premium $30, Super $100, Ultra $200, Teams $30+/user | no subscription: bring your own key, or buy inference at cost through Cline |
| models | Grok models in the plan; third-party models at API list price, billed separately (Premium and up) | Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, Bedrock, vertex, Groq, Ollama, LM Studio, any OpenAI-compatible API |
| cloud agents | Premium and up | not on the pricing page; the desktop app can schedule routines on your machine |
| teams | Teams plan with SSO, usage analytics and shared rules | Enterprise: SSO, central billing, role-based access, JetBrains extension |
ranks and scores come straight from our coding agents board, and nobody pays to move up it.
why Cursor ranks higher
it's a whole editor, not a sidebar. tab completions, an agent and cloud agents all live where you read and edit code. if you want to steer every diff without leaving the keyboard, it's the smoother day out.
the extras come bundled. on Premium and up you get cloud agents and automations, Bugbot code reviews and code hosting via origin under one bill, with a usage pool that refreshes weekly so one heavy day doesn't eat the month.
the catch is models. Plus at $8 is Grok models only. Premium and up give you Grok usage but no allowance for third-party models: Claude or GPT in Cursor is billed separately at API list price. so a Claude-all-day habit means a plan and a meter. more in Cursor pricing.
where Cline wins
you pick the model, and the key. Cline isn't tied to one provider. bring an Anthropic, OpenAI or Google key, route through OpenRouter, or point it at Ollama or LM Studio and run local models. if you've already got API credits, Cline spends them, with no seat fee on top.
no subscription. the open source extension is free for individual developers. you pay for inference and that's it. the flip side, as our verdict puts it: your bill is only as big as your habits. long agent sessions on top models add up, so set a spending limit with your provider.
you approve what it does. plan mode explores the codebase and lays out a strategy, act mode does the work, and every file edit and terminal command waits for your OK unless you switch on auto-approve. edits show up as diffs with checkpoints to roll back.
it's open source. Apache 2.0 on GitHub, with a headless CLI for CI and scripting, .clinerules for project conventions, and MCP servers for extra tools.
which should you pick?
- you want ai in every corner of your editor: Cursor
- you want to bring your own API key and pay only for tokens: Cline
- you want to run local models in your agent: Cline, via Ollama or LM Studio. see Ollama vs llama.cpp
- you want cloud agents and PR reviews under one bill: Cursor Premium and up
- you want the strongest agent for big multi-file changes: neither: Claude Code is #1 on our board (9.0/10). see Cursor vs Claude Code
- you want open source in the terminal, any model: OpenCode (#3)
the rest of the field
| rank | tool | best for | free tier | paid from | numptr score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2 | Cursor | developers who want ai inside a full editor | limited ai usage | Plus $8/mo, Grok models only | 8.5/10 |
| #5 | Cline | BYO-key developers who want control | free open-source extension (VS Code + CLI) | no subscription | 8.0/10 |
| #1 | Claude Code | delegating multi-file features from terminal or IDE | no free access: Claude Code needs a paid Claude plan (Pro and up) | Pro $20/mo | 9.0/10 |
| #3 | OpenCode | devs who want a Claude Code-style agent without being tied to one model | free and open source (MIT); free models included, or bring your own key, or log in with GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT Plus/Pro | optional OpenCode Go $10/mo or Go Plus $40/mo | 8.5/10 |
| #4 | GitHub Copilot | teams already on GitHub; budget-conscious devs | limited chat and agent usage | Pro $10/mo | 8.0/10 |
faq
is Cline better than Cursor?
not on our board. Cursor is #2 with 8.5/10 and Cline is #5 with 8.0/10. Cursor wins on the editor and the bundled cloud features; Cline wins on control, model choice and having no subscription.
is Cline free?
the open source extension is free for individual developers. you pay for the model you use, either with your own API key or by buying inference at cost through Cline.
is Cursor free?
there's a free plan with limited agent and chat requests. Plus is $8 a month (Grok models only), Premium is $30.
can i use Claude in Cline?
yes. Anthropic is one of Cline's listed providers, so you can plug in your own Anthropic key, or reach Claude through OpenRouter, Bedrock or vertex.
which is cheaper, Cline or Cursor?
depends on your habits. Cline has no subscription, but every token is billed by your provider. Cursor's plans include a usage pool, with third-party models billed on top. if you mostly want Claude or GPT models, you're paying API rates in both, so the question is whether Cursor's editor and cloud extras are worth the plan on top.
sources
checked 2026-10-23
- Cline pricing (free open source extension, inference at cost or BYOK, Enterprise features): https://cline.bot/pricing
- Cline README (Apache 2.0, VS Code, CLI, desktop app, SDK, plan and act, providers incl. Ollama and LM Studio): https://github.com/cline/cline
- Cursor pricing (plans, usage pool, third-party models, cloud agents, Bugbot, Teams): https://cursor.com/pricing
- Claude plans (Claude Code needs Pro or Max): https://claude.com/pricing
- ranks, scores, verdicts and free tiers: numptr data/tools.json (coding agents board)