Cursor vs Roo Code
A side-by-side comparison of Cursor and Roo Code — pricing, free tiers, and who each tool is genuinely best for.
| Tagline | The AI-first code editor built for working at the speed of thought | AI coding agent with multi-mode and multi-model support |
| Category | AI Coding | AI Coding |
| Pricing | Free Hobby tier; Pro ~$20/user/mo; Business ~$40/user/mo | Free and open-source; costs depend on LLM API usage |
| Free tier | ||
| Best for | Professional developers who want a full AI-native IDE with strong multi-file agentic editing and model choice. | Power users who want a flexible, open-source agent with specialized modes and multi-model support for complex coding workflows |
| Not for | Developers unwilling to switch away from their current editor or who only need lightweight inline suggestions. | Teams needing a managed SaaS solution with enterprise support, compliance, or centralized billing |
| Use cases | Multi-file refactoring Codebase-wide chat Agentic feature building Predictive multi-line autocomplete Debugging with context | Architect mode for high-level system design Debug mode for iterative error diagnosis Multi-model task orchestration with sub-agents Open-source self-hosted AI agent customization |
| Visit Cursor | Visit Roo Code |