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Cline vs Cursor

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Cursor logo

Cursor

AI coding agent and VS Code-based editor for multi-file edits and cloud agents

5.0(1 review)Freemium
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Verdict

Cline and Cursor are both Coding AI tools. Cursor scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.7 vs 8.2 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only Cline is available on VS Code Extension and JetBrains Plugin and offers an API. Only Cursor is available on Web and iOS.

Best overall

Cursor

  • Software engineers
  • Full-stack developers
  • Engineering teams
  • Enterprises

Choose Cline if

  • You want a tool built for developers who want an open-source agent with a choice of model providers, human approval at each step, and extensibility through MCP servers.
  • Open source under Apache 2.0, with a large public community of 250+ contributors.
  • No subscription needed: pay only for inference, or bring your own API key.

Choose Cursor if

  • You want a tool built for Multi-file feature work, codebase-wide refactoring, delegating tasks to background agents, reviewing pull requests.
  • Familiar VS Code-based editor with extension and keybinding support.
  • Local and cloud agents that can run in parallel on multi-file tasks.
Best for beginners
Cline
Best for business
Cline

Features

19 features compared.

  • Plan and Act Modes
    Cline
    Available
    Cursor
    Not available
  • Multi-File Editing with Checkpoints
    Cline
    Available
    Cursor
    Not available
  • Terminal and Browser Use
    Cline
    Available
    Cursor
    Not available
  • Bring Your Own Model
    Cline
    Available
    Cursor
    Not available
  • MCP Servers and Marketplace
    Cline
    Available
    Cursor
    Not available
  • Rules Files
    Cline
    Available
    Cursor
    Not available
  • Multi-Agent Teams and Scheduling
    Cline
    Available
    Cursor
    Not available
  • Headless and Chat Access
    Cline
    Available
    Cursor
    Not available
  • SDK
    Cline
    Available
    Cursor
    Not available
  • Agents
    Cline
    Not available
    Cursor
    Available
  • Cloud agents
    Cline
    Not available
    Cursor
    Available
  • Tab and inline edits
    Cline
    Not available
    Cursor
    Available
  • Codebase indexing
    Cline
    Not available
    Cursor
    Available
  • Model choice
    Cline
    Not available
    Cursor
    Available
  • Bugbot code review
    Cline
    Not available
    Cursor
    Available
  • CLI
    Cline
    Limited
    Cursor
    Available
  • Slack app and iOS app
    Cline
    Not available
    Cursor
    Available
  • Marketplace and rules
    Cline
    Not available
    Cursor
    Available
  • Privacy mode
    Cline
    Not available
    Cursor
    Available

Limited means partial support or a paid add-on.

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Cline
    Freemium
    Cursor
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Cline
    Yes
    Cursor
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Cline
    $0
    Cursor
    $0
  • Plans
    Cline
    3 plans
    Cursor
    7 plans

Cline plans

  • Open Source

    Most popular

    $0

    Free for individual developers; pay only for model inference

    • VS Code extension
    • CLI
    • MCP Marketplace
    • multi-root workspaces
    • bring your own key
    • community support

  • ClinePass

    $9.99/month

    Optional flat subscription for open coding models via the Cline provider

    • Curated open coding models
    • 2-5x usage versus standard API rates
    • 5-hour
    • weekly and monthly limits

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Organizations needing security and administration controls

    • JetBrains extension
    • SSO
    • SLA
    • dedicated support
    • centralized billing
    • role-based access control
    • authentication logs

Cursor plans

  • Free

    $0

    Limited usage for trying Cursor and Grok.

    • Limited usage
    • Limited chat requests
    • Limited agent requests

  • Plus

    $8/month

    Basic usage pool, Grok models only.

    • Basic shared usage pool
    • Grok models only
    • Cursor agent
    • Grok API access

  • Premium

    Most popular

    $30/month

    4x the usage of Plus, recommended for new AI users.

    • 4x Plus usage
    • Latest Grok models
    • Cloud agents and automations
    • Bugbot code reviews
    • Third-party models at API list price

  • Super

    $100/month

    15x the usage of Plus, for daily agent users.

    • 15x Plus usage
    • Everything in Premium
    • Priority model access at peak times

  • Ultra

    $200/month

    50x the usage of Plus, for power users.

    • 50x Plus usage
    • Everything in Super
    • Earliest access to new products and models

  • Teams

    $30/user/mo

    Per-seat plans with pooled admin controls; seats are Premium $30, Super $100 or Ultra $200 per user per month.

    • Premium $30
    • Super $100 or Ultra $200 seats
    • Weekly usage pool per seat
    • Centralized billing
    • Usage analytics
    • Team privacy settings
    • SAML/OIDC SSO
    • Team marketplace

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Invoicing, pooled usage and advanced security.

    • Invoice and PO billing
    • SCIM
    • Audit logs
    • Granular spend controls
    • Repository and MCP access controls
    • Priority support

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed November 2026.

Cline
8.2overall
Cursor
8.7overall

  • Ease of Use

    Cline
    7.8
    Cursor
    Not rated

  • Feature Depth

    Cline
    8.8
    Cursor
    Not rated

  • Value for Money

    Cline
    8.6
    Cursor
    Not rated

  • Performance & Speed

    Cline
    8.0
    Cursor
    Not rated

  • Documentation & Support

    Cline
    8.0
    Cursor
    Not rated

  • Inline Code Completion

    Cline
    Not rated
    Cursor
    9.2

  • Codebase Indexing & Context

    Cline
    Not rated
    Cursor
    9.0

  • Multi-file Agentic Edits

    Cline
    Not rated
    Cursor
    9.3

  • IDE & Extension Compatibility

    Cline
    Not rated
    Cursor
    9.0

  • Pricing Clarity

    Cline
    Not rated
    Cursor
    6.8

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Cline

Pros

  • Open source under Apache 2.0, with a large public community of 250+ contributors.
  • No subscription needed: pay only for inference, or bring your own API key.
  • Works with many model providers, including local models through Ollama and LM Studio.
  • Approval at every step, plus checkpoints and undo, keeps changes reviewable.
  • Available in VS Code, a desktop app, CLI, SDK and CI, so it fits several workflows.

Cons

  • Costs depend on token usage and are not capped on the free plan, so heavy agentic sessions can be hard to predict.
  • JetBrains support is listed as early access and as an Enterprise feature.
  • Documentation does not state specific ClinePass token or request allowances.

Cursor

Pros

  • Familiar VS Code-based editor with extension and keybinding support
  • Local and cloud agents that can run in parallel on multi-file tasks
  • Choice of models from several providers, including Cursor's own
  • Covers editor, CLI, web, Slack, iOS and PR review in one product
  • Privacy mode and SOC 2 and ISO certifications for team use

Cons

  • Third-party model usage is billed separately from the plan at API list price
  • Pricing is bundled with Grok and uses weekly usage pools, which makes costs harder to predict
  • No Android app, and the iOS app only controls local agents
  • Indexing can be heavy on very large repositories

Platforms

  • Web
    Cline
    Not supported
    Cursor
    Supported
  • Windows
    Cline
    Supported
    Cursor
    Supported
  • macOS
    Cline
    Supported
    Cursor
    Supported
  • iOS
    Cline
    Not supported
    Cursor
    Supported
  • Android
    Cline
    Not supported
    Cursor
    Not supported
  • API
    Cline
    Supported
    Cursor
    Not supported
  • Browser Extension
    Cline
    Not supported
    Cursor
    Not supported
  • Linux
    Cline
    Supported
    Cursor
    Supported
  • VS Code Extension
    Cline
    Supported
    Cursor
    Not supported
  • JetBrains Plugin
    Cline
    Supported
    Cursor
    Not supported
  • CLI
    Cline
    Supported
    Cursor
    Supported

Integrations

Cline

17 integrations
  • VS Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cursor
  • Windsurf
  • Slack
  • Discord
  • Telegram
  • Linear
  • GitHub Actions
  • GitLab
  • Ollama
  • LM Studio
  • OpenRouter
  • AWS Bedrock
  • Anthropic
  • OpenAI
  • Google Gemini

Cursor

4 integrations
  • GitHub
  • Slack
  • VS Code extensions
  • MCP servers

Company

  • Company
    Cline
    Cline Bot Inc.
    Cursor
    Anysphere
  • Founded
    Cline
    2024
    Cursor
    Not listed
  • Headquarters
    Cline
    Not listed
    Cursor
    San Francisco, CA
  • Listing
    Cline
    Claimed
    Cursor
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Cline better than Cursor?

It depends on your workflow. Cline is built for developers who want an open-source agent with a choice of model providers, human approval at each step, and extensibility through MCP servers. Cursor is built for Multi-file feature work, codebase-wide refactoring, delegating tasks to background agents, reviewing pull requests.

What are the key feature differences between Cline and Cursor?

Cline: Open-source autonomous coding agent for your editor, terminal, and CI pipelines. Cursor: AI coding agent and VS Code-based editor for multi-file edits and cloud agents. Cursor is rated 5.0/5 from 1 user review.

Does Cline or Cursor have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Cline is freemium and Cursor is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Cline or Cursor?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.