agent · ai-coding-agents
Cline vs Cursor
55 fields both were evaluated on, 22 of them different — including where one discloses something the other does not. Every value links to the document it came from. 33 further fields are disclosed by neither and are listed at the end rather than tabled.
Assurance
| Field | Cline | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Audit trail· | no public information cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 | |
| Explainability· | “Toggle Plan mode to align on a strategy, then Act to execute.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | no public information cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Permission scopes· | “Ship .clinerules with your repo to teach the agent your coding standards, architecture, and deployment conventions.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | no public information cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
Agency
| Field | Cline | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomy level· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | full autonomy agentic version “In Cursor, you can do Cmd+K for targeted edits, or let it rip with the full autonomy agentic version.”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Human oversight· | “Approve every step, or flip auto-approve for autopilot.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “Agents use their own computers to build, test, and demo features end to end for you to review.”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Goal complexity· | ||
| Action space· | “Edits across your project Coordinated multi-file changes with linter-aware fixes, diffs, checkpoints, and one-click undo on every step. Runs bash commands Executes in your terminal and reacts to output as it appears. Long-running dev servers, tests, deploys, all handled live.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | |
| Operating environment· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “Cursor runs in your terminal, collaborates in Slack, and reviews PRs in GitHub.”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Initiative· | “Set up always-on agents that run on schedules or triggers to build, maintain, and fix your software.”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
Practicality
| Field | Cline | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment options· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | Desktop application; macOS download offered on the homepage “Download for macOS”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Integrations· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “Cursor runs in your terminal, collaborates in Slack, and reviews PRs in GitHub.”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Supported regions· | “Works on macOS, Windows, Linux.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 Not in our latest capture. We captured this page again on Sep 17, 2026 and this quote was not there. How we re-check citations | no public information cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
Foundation models
| Field | Cline | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Base models· | “Claude, GPT, Gemini, local Ollama / LM Studio, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | Models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, SpaceXAI and Cursor's own; named as written on the page “Choose between every cutting-edge model from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, SpaceXAI, and Cursor.”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Model provider· | “Choose between every cutting-edge model from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, SpaceXAI, and Cursor.”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 | |
| Model swappable· |
Ecosystem
| Field | Cline | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Protocols supported· | “Plug in MCP servers for databases, APIs, and infrastructure.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | |
| Tool use· | “Extend with MCP and plugins Register custom tools and lifecycle hooks via the SDK.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “type @ for tools & MCPs, / for skills and commands”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Multi-agent· | “Multi-agent teams and schedules Coordinator agents delegate to specialists with their own tools and context.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | no public information cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Open source· | no public information cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 | |
| Marketplace presence· | “8.0M + installs across all platforms marketplace + open vsx registry 65.9k stars ★ 4.1 /5 from 307 VS Code Marketplace ratings”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 Not in our latest capture. We captured this page again on Sep 17, 2026 and this quote was not there. How we re-check citations | no public information cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
Impact
| Field | Cline | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment scale· | “8.0M + installs across all platforms marketplace + open vsx registry 65.9k stars ★ 4.1 /5 from 307 VS Code Marketplace ratings”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 Not in our latest capture. We captured this page again on Sep 17, 2026 and this quote was not there. How we re-check citations | “Trusted by over half of the Fortune 500 to accelerate development, securely and at scale.”cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
| Target sectors· | no public information cursor.com · checked Aug 3, 2026 |
Disclosed by neither
Both Cline and Cursor publish nothing on these 33 fields. That is a finding about the category rather than a difference between them, so it is recorded here instead of as 33 identical table rows. Each is shown with its source check on the individual profiles.
- User base
- High-risk domains
- Documented incidents
- Pricing model
- Price point
- Availability
- Support model
- Open weights
- Fine-tuning
- Context window
- API access
- Safety evaluations
- Red teaming
- Safety policy
- Usage restrictions
- Model or system card
- Incident reporting
- Third-party evaluations
- Data handling
- Insurance available
- Insurance carriers
- Coverage limits
- Indemnification
- Liability cap
- Tamper-evident log
- Runtime governance
- Compliance certifications
- Regulatory alignment
- Outcome-based pricing
- Settlement mechanism
- Dispute process
- SLA terms
- Evaluation coverage
Questions
- How do Cline and Cursor compare on autonomy level?
- Cline: no public information disclosed. Cursor: full autonomy agentic version.
- How do Cline and Cursor compare on deployment options?
- Cline: no public information disclosed. Cursor: Desktop application; macOS download offered on the homepage.