The argument is pointless because these are tools of different shapes. Here is where each is stronger and why plenty of people keep both.
The difference in one sentence
Cursor is an editor with AI in it. Claude Code is an agent in your terminal that walks the project itself.
Everything else follows from that.
Where Cursor wins
When the edit is local and you want to see it with your own eyes. Inline completion, a targeted change in an open file, a quick question about a selection.
The diff is right there, accepting or reverting is one motion. High control, low barrier.
Where Claude Code wins
When the task does not fit in one file. Understanding an unfamiliar repository, refactoring coherently across a dozen places, getting tests running and fixing them, chasing a race condition.
The agent decides what to read, runs commands and looks at the output. You frame the task and check the result rather than leading it by the hand.
A separate strength is work outside the editor: git, migrations, scripts, CI.
How they coexist
A pattern that works for many:
- Claude Code for reconnaissance and large changes
- Cursor for finishing touches and small edits once you know what to change
Switching between them is fine. This is not a choice of religion.
What about spend
Cursor costs less in ordinary use because requests are short and local. Claude Code on a large task makes dozens of calls, and each one carries the accumulated context.
Hence the practice: break large tasks up. Five two-file tasks cost less than one ten-file task and review more easily.
One key for both
Cursor and Claude Code both accept a custom base URL, so one key covers both.
For Claude Code:
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.claudexia.tech
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=sk_cdx_your_key
For Cursor, set the base in model settings under the OpenAI Base URL override:
https://api.claudexia.tech/v1
This works because we keep both formats on one endpoint: Anthropic Messages and OpenAI Chat Completions.
In short
Local edits with visual control means Cursor. A task that does not fit in a file means Claude Code. Keeping both is normal, and one key is enough.