Claude Code vs Cursor, July ‘25

Today, I ran Anthropic Claude Code side by side with Cursor. Here is my take:

👉 Cursor operates within its own VSCode-like editor, while Claude Code functions as a command line tool.
👉 With Cursor, I find it convenient to paste UI snapshots, especially when coding in React.
👉 Claude Code allows for pasting screenshot images into the shell on Mac, but this feature is not available on Linux terminals.
👉 The agentic flow in Claude Code outperforms that of Cursor. The latter often gets stuck in a loop.
👉 The diff application in Cursor is superior to the text interface in Claude Code. I can easily amend diffs in Cursor. In Claude Code, that is not possible.
👉 Claude Code excels in locating relevant files within the repository, including those in node modules that are not checked in.
👉 However, Claude Code searches the sandbox each time, whereas Cursor builds an index for efficiency. Cursor is thus faster, and also pretty accurate.
👉 I rarely rely on the Cursor file index. Instead of letting Cursor find the files it needs, I always pass them myself. It’s a lot more accurate.
👉 Cursor simplifies manual file attachment to the context compared to Claude Code.
👉 While Cursor automatically attaches modified files in subsequent steps, Claude Code requires manual re-entry or dynamic file detection.
👉 Both tools require active user involvement and problem-solving rather than just running as agents in the background.

In a recent coding task involving FormIO integration into DocRouter, Claude Code successfully resolved two challenging issues that Cursor couldn’t tackle, and vice versa for another problem.

Our platform, DocRouter.AI, utilizes Tailwind, while FormIO relies on Bootstrap, posing compatibility challenges.

Transitioning FormIO to Tailwind is complex, presenting difficulties for both Claude Code and Cursor.

More about Claude Code

👉 At the AWS Summit in NYC I attended, Anthropic demonstrated Claude Code, but did not dwell on Claude Code agents – presumably, b/c they are not quite Enterprise grade.
👉 But Anthropic uses Claude code agents internally, for sure.
👉 They use Claude code to develop Claude code.
👉 Claude code is implemented in Typescript directly, and installs as an npm package.

Conclusion

👉 Each tool is better in different areas. At this point, I use both together – Cursor when I can, and Claude Code when Cursor can’t solve it.
👉 Claude Code could enhance its functionality with editor integration. It has a VSCode add-on, but that is still in its early stages.