Cursor
The AI-first code editor most startups switched to
Cursor is a VS Code fork rebuilt around AI: predictive Tab edits, codebase-aware chat and background agents that take a task and return a diff. It is…
Claude Code
Anthropic's terminal agent that works across your whole repo
Claude Code runs in your terminal or IDE and takes on multi-file tasks: read the codebase, plan, edit, run tests, open a PR. It is included with Claude Pro and Max plans or billed via API usage, and it is the tool many senior engineers now use for real feature work.
Best for: agentic, multi-file coding tasks
What works
- Handles large, multi-step changes
- Works from any terminal, no IDE lock-in
- Bundled with Claude subscriptions
What to know
- Pro usage limits fill up on big sessions
- Terminal-first interface is not for everyone
Alternatives
GitHub Copilot
The most widely used AI pair programmer, inside your editor
Copilot lives in VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim and GitHub itself, offering completions, chat and an agent mode that opens pull requests. The free tier…
Windsurf
AI IDE with the Cascade agent, now part of Cognition
Windsurf (renamed Devin Desktop in mid-2026 after Cognition acquired it) is a VS Code-based editor whose Cascade agent keeps deep context on your…
