You want inline suggestions while you type
Cursor or Copilot. Both fit naturally into an editor. Cursor pushes further on inline agent behavior; Copilot tends to make more sense if your work already lives inside GitHub.
The short version
Pick the tool that fits how you work, not the one with the best marketing.
These six tools overlap, but not in a boring interchangeable way. Cursor, Windsurf, and Copilot CLI are the easiest fits for everyday coding if you want something that settles into your routine quickly. Claude Code is still the most convincing option here for long, autonomous, multi-file work. Goose and Cline are the more flexible choices if you care about model control and trust boundaries. I would be suspicious of anyone claiming there is one obvious winner for every person and every repo.
Side by side
What each one is and is not.
| Tool | Made by | Where it runs | Model(s) | MCP support | Cost to start | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot CLI | GitHub/Microsoft | IDE + terminal | GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini (configurable) | Yes (Copilot extensions) | Free tier available | Daily coding in VS Code/terminal with tight GitHub integration |
| Claude Code | Anthropic | Terminal / agentic | Claude (Anthropic-hosted) | Yes (native MCP client) | API credits required | Long autonomous tasks, large codebases, deep file edits |
| Cursor | Cursor (independent) | IDE (fork of VS Code) | GPT-4o, Claude, others | Yes (MCP client) | Free tier, then $20/mo | Full IDE experience with inline suggestions + agent mode |
| Goose | Block (Square) | Terminal / local | Configurable (Ollama, OpenAI, etc.) | Yes (MCP client) | Free, open source | Local-first, open, extensible; good if you want control over the model |
| Windsurf | Codeium | IDE (fork of VS Code) | Codeium-hosted models | Some agent/tool integrations, but not MCP-first | Free tier, then lower-cost paid plans | People who want Cursor-style agentic editing in a familiar VS Code-shaped IDE |
| Cline | Open source community | VS Code extension | BYO endpoint (Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, others) | Yes | Extension is free; model costs depend on your provider | Developers who want agentic coding with control over privacy, cost, and model routing |
Decision guide
The question is what you're trying to do.
You want to hand off a multi-file task
Claude Code. It is the one I would reach for when the task sprawls. You can hand it a multi-file job, let it investigate, and come back to a real attempt instead of a half-step.
You want a polished VS Code fork without Cursor pricing
Windsurf. It has the same general "AI-native editor" appeal, feels familiar if you already live in VS Code, and usually lands at a friendlier price point. The tradeoff is that model access runs through Codeium's cloud.
You want to control the model and keep things local
Goose. Point it at Ollama, choose your model, extend it with MCP tools, and keep the trust boundary close to home. That is a different kind of value than raw convenience.
You want endpoint control more than setup simplicity
Cline. It is the strongest fit here if privacy, compliance, or cost controls mean you need to choose the model provider yourself. Fair warning: the flexibility is also a configuration burden.
You're already deep in GitHub
Copilot CLI. PR summaries, issue triage, code review, editor context — it is the path of least resistance if GitHub is already the center of your day.
Common ground
Under the hood, they're all the same pattern.
Underneath the product differences, all six follow the same broad pattern: model access, tool use, and a host that wires the experience together. What changes is the UX, the model path, and the trust boundary. Once that clicks, the comparison gets a lot less mystical.
Ready to build
Try the one you're most likely to actually use.
The fastest path to a real opinion is still the boring one: pick one and use it for a week on actual work. If you are starting from scratch, Cursor or Windsurf probably has the easiest onramp. If you want to understand what sits underneath all six, Lab 03b shows you how to build a tool any of them can call.