Claude Code vs Cline

Claude Code: Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal, IDE and web. Cline: An open-source coding agent for VS Code that plans, edits files and runs commands. Here is how they compare on features, pricing, platforms, pros and cons.

Quick verdict

Claude Code

Best for: Developers who want to hand off larger coding tasks.

Stands out for: Handles large multi-step coding tasks; Works in the terminal, IDEs and web.

Cline

Best for: Developers who want a transparent, controllable coding agent.

Stands out for: Free and open source; You choose the model.

Side-by-side comparison

Comparison of Claude Code, Cline
	Claude Code Visit anthropic.com (opens in a new tab)	Cline Visit cline.bot (opens in a new tab)
What it is	Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal, IDE and web.	An open-source coding agent for VS Code that plans, edits files and runs commands.
Pricing	Paid	Open source
Free to use	No	Yes
Category	AI Coding	AI Coding
Editor rank	#3 in category	#16 in category
Made by	Anthropic	Cline Bot Inc.
Best for	Developers who want to hand off larger coding tasks.	Developers who want a transparent, controllable coding agent.
Key features	Works across the whole repository Runs commands and tests Terminal, IDE and web	Plan and act modes File edits with approval Terminal and browser actions Works with many model providers
Pros	Handles large multi-step coding tasks Works in the terminal, IDEs and web Can run commands and check its own work	Free and open source You choose the model
Cons	Needs a paid Claude plan or API usage Best used by people comfortable with code	API usage costs can add up on big tasks
Use it to	Fix bugs across a repository from the terminal Write and run tests for new features Explain how an unfamiliar codebase works	Have the agent add a feature across several files Debug a failing build step by step Use a local or cheaper model for coding
Web app
Windows
Mac
Linux
VS Code