I'm a lifelong developer comfortable with IDEs and the command line, and I'm trying to understand the advantages of using Claude Code and Claude Max over just a regular IDE that has a Claude agent. I've been using Cursor for $20/month, which integrates with Claude and is useful for small experiments, but now I'm considering Claude Code, which seems to start at $100/month or requires a Claude API key. My experience with the API has shown me that costs can quickly add up, so I'm worried that using Claude Code via API would be more expensive than Cursor in the long run. While it seems Claude Code offers additional capabilities that might justify its price, like better knowledge retention and smarter tool functions, I'm unsure whether that additional cost is worth it. Could anyone share insights on why Claude Max might be more beneficial than just using an IDE with an integrated agent?
1 Answer
Claude Code is way better at retaining context and seems to offer more intelligent features compared to Cursor. Since they've improved it so much, I feel like I can get to the right solution much faster. I wouldn't bother with Cursor anymore—even at just $5/month—if it takes longer to solve problems or produces code that's not up to par.
Totally agree! The context management in Claude really makes a difference, especially with larger projects where you need reliable results.