2026-06-20

Cursor vs Claude Code — Which Should You Use with Sonnet 5?

Both Cursor and Claude Code are top-tier ways to code with Claude Sonnet 5 — but they feel very different.

Cursor: the editor

Cursor is a VS Code-based editor. You get inline edits, chat and a background agent inside a familiar GUI with your extensions. Best if you want a visual, file-by-file workflow.

Claude Code: the agent

Claude Code lives in your terminal and excels at autonomous, multi-step tasks across a whole repository. Best for larger refactors and CI-style automation.

The verdict

Use Cursor for everyday, interactive editing; reach for Claude Code when you want to hand off a bigger job. Many developers keep both. See the full coding assistants ranking.