Cline vs Cursor
Side-by-side, using only facts verified on each official site (2026-11-05). Rankings are never paid; some links are affiliate links.
 Cline |  Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Open-source AI coding agent with Plan/Act modes, MCP integration, and terminal-first workflows. Trusted by 11M+ developers worldwide. | Built to make you extraordinarily productive, agents turn ideas into code. Accelerate development by handing off tasks to Cursor. |
| Category | Coding agents | Coding agents |
| Pricing (as stated) | See official pricing → | Free tier · from $8/mo See official pricing → |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes · repo | No |
| Verified | 2026-11-05 | 2026-11-05 |
| Details | Cline listing → | Cursor listing → |
| Website | Visit Cline ↗ | Visit Cursor ↗ |
Which should you pick?
Pick Cline if…
- you want an open-source option you can inspect or self-host
Pick Cursor if…
- you want public, self-serve pricing
Our take on Cursor
Based on the official site, docs and public info checked 2026-10-26 — not hands-on testing.
An AI code editor with agents, cloud agents and code review; its current pricing bundles usage with Grok and X subscription features.
Pros
- Free tier with limited agent and chat requests
- Premium ($30/mo) adds cloud agents, code hosting via Origin and AI code reviews via Bugbot
- Privacy mode guarantees code isn't used for training
Cons / watch-outs
- Plus ($8/mo) includes Grok models only
- Third-party models are billed separately at API list price on top of the plan
- Plans bundle unrelated X/social features, which makes comparison with other editors harder
Who it's for
Developers who want an AI-first editor and are comfortable with usage-based extras for non-Grok models.Pricing notes
Free $0 · Plus $8/mo · Premium $30/mo · Super $100/mo · Ultra $200/mo · Teams $30+/user/mo · Enterprise custom. Usage allowance refreshes weekly.Sources: cursor.com/pricing. Prices change; confirm on the vendor site.
Both are listed under Coding agents. Prices change — confirm on the vendor sites.