Cursor vs Claude Code vs Darce: IDE or terminal agent?

Cursor is an AI code editor with agents built in; Claude Code is Anthropic's terminal-first agent that runs only Claude models; Darce is an open source terminal agent with 250+ models and an undo that also reverses what shell commands did. Pick Cursor if you want to live in an editor, a terminal agent if you don't.

Last checked: October 2026. Facts about Cursor and Claude Code come from their official docs and pricing pages, linked in the sources below. Both change often, so check them before you buy.

At a glance

Cursor vs Claude Code: is it really IDE vs terminal?

Mostly, yes, though the line has blurred. Cursor is a desktop editor first: you read code, accept diffs inline, use tab completion and chat with an agent in the same window. It now also ships a terminal CLI, invoked as agent, with the same Agent, Plan and Ask modes as the editor, and an agent -p print mode for scripts and CI (Cursor CLI docs).

Claude Code went the other way. It started in the terminal and added a VS Code extension (which also installs in Cursor), a JetBrains plugin, a desktop app and a web version (Claude Code overview).

So the practical question is where you want to spend your day. If you like reviewing every change in an editor with completions and a file tree, Cursor is built for that. If you'd rather describe a task, let the agent work, and review a diff or a test run at the end, a terminal agent such as Claude Code or Darce fits better. Darce is terminal-only; it has no editor or IDE plugin.

Models and pricing

Cursor

Cursor's plans, from its pricing docs:

Paid plans include a pool of model usage; Cursor doesn't publish the allowance as a fixed number of requests, and notes that pricier models use it up faster. After the pool runs out you can turn on on-demand usage, billed in arrears (cursor.com/pricing). Cursor supports models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others, plus its own Composer models, and an Auto mode that routes each request to a model (Cursor models docs). Cloud agents are charged at API pricing for the model you pick and need a paid plan (cloud agents docs).

Claude Code

Claude Code comes with a Claude subscription: Pro at $20/month ($17/month billed yearly) or Max from $100/month. The Free plan doesn't include it (claude.com/pricing). You can also pay per token with an Anthropic Console API key, or route through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud or Microsoft Foundry. Every option runs Claude models only (model configuration).

Darce

Darce has a free trial with no account (npx darce-cli), a Free plan with a daily allowance, Builder at $15/month (adds Claude Sonnet and Opus, GPT and Gemini Pro) and Power at $65/month (every model). Usage is measured by the real cost of model calls, limits are hard, and there are no overage bills. One plan covers all 250+ models, and you can switch mid-task with Shift+Up/Down. Details are on the pricing page.

The honest trade-off: Cursor's Ultra and Claude Code's Max plans are built for heavy all-day use of frontier models. Darce's plans are cheaper and stretch furthest on fast models like Claude Haiku or Qwen3 Coder; if you want Claude Opus all day, the bigger Claude or Cursor plans may give you more of it.

How each one edits files and runs commands

Cursor shows agent edits as diffs in the editor, where you can accept or reject them. Terminal commands run in your terminal, governed by a run mode (run modes):

• Auto-review (the default): allowlisted calls run immediately, other shell commands run in a sandbox when possible, and calls that can't be sandboxed go to a classifier that decides whether they run.
• Allowlist: only actions on your allowlist run without approval.
• Run Everything: every tool call runs, with no sandbox and no classifier.

The sandbox uses Seatbelt on macOS and Landlock plus seccomp on Linux (kernel 6.2+). Cursor's own docs say "Auto-review is not a security boundary."

Claude Code has six permission modes: Manual (reads only without asking), acceptEdits, plan, auto (a classifier reviews actions instead of you), dontAsk for locked-down CI, and bypassPermissions for isolated containers. With recent versions, auto is the starting mode for interactive sessions. An optional Bash sandbox runs on macOS, Linux and WSL2 (permission modes).

Darce parses and scores every command before it runs: read-only, changes the project, reaches outside (network, installs, unknown commands), or destructive (rm -rf, sudo, force-push). In the default auto mode, the first two run and the rest ask first, with the reason shown. Scripts like npm run x or make y get a second look from a fast classifier that reads the real script line, and anything /undo can't reverse (deploys, migrations, releases) always asks. Destructive commands can never be "always allowed". There's no OS-level sandbox; the protection is approvals plus undo. See Safety.

Undo and checkpoints: what can each one roll back?

This is where the three differ most.

• Cursor creates checkpoints automatically "before making significant changes, capturing the state of all modified files". They're stored locally, separate from git, and restoring reverts files but keeps the conversation. The docs don't say whether files changed by terminal commands are included (checkpoints docs).
• Claude Code makes a checkpoint per prompt; /rewind or Esc twice restores code, conversation or both. Its docs state that changes made by Bash commands (rm, mv, cp) aren't tracked, and neither are external changes. More in Claude Code rewind vs Darce undo.
• Darce snapshots your working tree before every step, so /undo also reverses files that a shell command created, changed or deleted: a code generator, a formatter, an rm. Snapshots live in private git refs and never touch your branch, index or stash.

Darce's undo has real limits too. Shell-command coverage needs a git repository. Undo history lasts for the session. Gitignored files such as node_modules aren't snapshotted. And nothing local can undo a deploy, a migration or a git push, which is why those ask first.

Parallel agents and background work

Cursor is strongest here. Locally, each parallel agent can run in its own git worktree, and /best-of-n sonnet,gpt,composer <task> runs one task across several models so you can compare (it doesn't merge for you) (worktrees docs). Cloud agents run in isolated VMs, work on a branch and open pull requests, and you can launch them from the web, iOS, Slack, GitHub, Linear or the API.

Claude Code has subagents coordinated by a lead agent, background agents you can watch from one screen, and cloud sessions on the web and mobile.

Darce runs locally only. /swarm splits a task into 2-4 agents in separate git worktrees, then merges them, and /undo reverts the whole swarm in one step. /derby races three models on the same task and lets you apply the diff you'd merge after comparing diffs, test results and cost. Darce has no cloud agents, Slack bot or mobile app.

Cursor alternative for the terminal

If you like Cursor's agent but want it in a terminal, you have three realistic options: Cursor's own agent CLI (same account and models), Claude Code (Claude only, deep Anthropic integration), or an open source agent such as Darce, OpenCode or Cline's CLI. Darce reads .cursorrules, AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md, so your existing project instructions carry over, and Claude Code skills work as-is.

Who Cursor is for

Cursor suits developers who want an editor first: inline diffs, tab completion, a visual review of each change, and agents in the same window. It's also the best fit if you want cloud agents that open pull requests while your laptop is closed, or one tool for a team with SSO, shared rules and usage analytics.

Who Claude Code is for

Claude Code suits developers who are happy to use Claude models only and want Anthropic's own harness, with the widest set of surfaces: terminal, IDE, desktop, web, mobile and Slack. If you already pay for Claude Pro or Max, it's included.

Who Darce is for

Darce suits developers who prefer the terminal, want to use models from many vendors without managing provider keys, and want to be able to undo anything the agent did on their machine, including what its shell commands changed. It's open source (MIT), so you can read exactly what it does, and you can try it with npx darce-cli with no account. See Getting started.

Bottom line

Pick Cursor if you want an AI editor with cloud agents and best-of-n model comparisons. Pick Claude Code if you want Claude, everywhere, from Anthropic. Pick Darce if you want an open source terminal agent with 250+ models, risk-scored approvals, and an undo that covers shell commands too. For a deeper look at the terminal option, read the Claude Code alternative page.

Sources

• Cursor pricing
• Cursor pricing docs
• Cursor models
• Cursor CLI overview
• Cursor checkpoints
• Cursor run modes
• Cursor worktrees
• Cursor cloud agents
• Cursor download
• Claude Code overview
• Claude Code permission modes
• Claude Code model configuration
• Claude Code checkpointing
• Claude pricing
• Claude Code license

Frequently asked questions