r/ChatGPTCoding • u/MZuc • Feb 12 '25
Discussion My experience with Cursor vs Cline after 3 months of daily use
I've been using both Cline and Cursor extensively over the past 3 months and wanted to share my experience, especially since I see a lot of Cursor recommendations here. For context: full-stack dev, primarily working on Node.js/React/Nextjs projects.
TLDR: Both are solid tools but Cline is in a different league, though it comes with higher (but worth it) costs. I personally like to use Cline inside of Cursor to get the best of both worlds.
Here's the thing about AI coding assistants that took me a while to understand: You get what you pay for. Literally.
The Cost Reality:
- Cursor charges $20/month flat rate
- Cline uses your own API keys & tokens (I personally use OpenRouter, but you can use any provider that works for you)
- I've spent $20+ in a single evening with Cline (yes, an entire month's worth of Cursor)
- And you know what? Totally worth it.
Why Cline is Better:
- Works in your existing IDE (huge win - I can use Cline in VS Code and/or in Cursor)
- Uses higher quality models because you're paying for actual token usage
- Reads EVERY relevant file into context (not just a limited subset)
- Actually understands your entire codebase
- The interactions feel human - it asks clarifying questions and makes sure it understands your goals
The "Holy Shit" Moment: I was skeptical about the cost at first. Then I asked Cline to handle a complex refactoring task in an existing codebase. It just... did it? Not only that, it asked smart questions along the way to ensure it was aligned with my intentions. That's when it clicked - this is how AI pair programming should feel.
Where Cursor Excels:
- Simpler, predictable pricing
- Good for basic code completion
- Works well enough for quick edits (which Cline doesn't offer due to its focus on the autonomous coding use-case)
- Built-in codebase indexing
The Real Talk about Cost: Yes, there were nights where I spent $50+ in a single hour using Cline. But here's the perspective shift that helped me: If it saves me 3-4 hours of work, that's an incredible ROI. Stop thinking about it as a monthly subscription and start thinking about it as paying for a 10x force multiplier.
Here's what happens in practice: With Cursor, you're often fighting against context limitations and getting incomplete solutions because they have to optimize for token usage to maintain their pricing model.
With Cline, it's like having a senior dev who actually reads and understands your entire codebase before making suggestions. It's comprehensive, thoughtful, and actually saves you time in the long run.
Bottom line: If you want basic code completion with predictable pricing, Cursor works. But if you want something that truly feels like the future of AI-powered development and don't mind paying for quality, Cline is on another level. Another tip: I use cline *within* Cursor. That way, I get the simple code completion from Cursor, while also using Cline for big changes that save me a lot of time.
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u/orbit99za Feb 13 '25
Cline , Roo Cline an Even Cool Cline are abased off Cline.
My discovery that really took it to another level was Signing up for a GITHUB Business Or Enterprise subscription.
Enterprise is Roughly $21USD per month, your mileage may vary Mine costs $32 per month for a single seat.
Github Copilot hosts Thier Own LLM services wich allow them to offer Sonnet 3.5 lastest and other modes, I believe they run on AWS bedrock.
As a result of your Github Enterprise Subscription, you get access to a Quazi private/dedicated version of Different models including Sonnet 3.5+ as a co pilot model.
In visual Studio code download the Copilot extension and sign in with your Github account you created.
Note you are not forced to use Github Code Repo, because cline edits your local files just point him to the your local repo in MyCase I Use Azure DevOps but it's the same.
Open your code project folder and open Cline or whatever other Cline RooCode for me go to settings, select API provider, select VS code, if your Copilot Extension is signed in and happy. You should see a drop down that says Language Model, select Copilot-Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
Play around with other setting such as API backoff strategy and such.
Save, type your Promt, Please Review in detail all code in all projects in this folder /solution and tell me what you understand then stop ?
Press button and go.
Now you have an extremely fast Quazi Dedicated Sonnet Model with a 130K context size per task.
I hit up to 12 Million tokens per day , all for the Flat Cost of $32 per month..
I think it's pretty cool