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📖 The AI Tool Bible

Crush vs Cursor

A side-by-side look at pricing, capabilities, pros, cons, and our editorial scores.

 
Crush
Coding
Cursor
Coding
TaglineGlamourous agentic coding for your terminalAI-first VS Code fork — chat, edit, and agentic coding in one IDE.
CategoryCodingCoding
PricingFreemium· Free: $0 USD · Team: $4 USD per user/month · Enterprise: $21 USD per user/monthFreemium· Hobby: Free · Individual: $20 / mo. · Teams: $40 / user / mo. · Enterprise: Custom
ModelProvider-agnostic: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, Groq, Cerebras, OpenRouter, Bedrock, VertexAI, Azure OpenAI, Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio, and any OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible endpointClaude / GPT (configurable)
Editorial score—9.5 / 10
Use cases
Agentic code refactoring in the terminalMulti-file feature implementation with LSP contextLocal-model coding with Ollama or llama.cppMid-session model switching between Claude, GPT, and GeminiMCP-driven access to internal APIs and databasesGit commit message and pull request generationTest writing and iterative test-fix loopsHeadless agent workflows via 'crush serve'Cross-platform developer tooling on Windows, macOS, Linux, BSDCodebase exploration and onboarding to unfamiliar repos
codingrefactorsagentic editsIDE
Pros
  • Truly provider-agnostic: Claude, GPT, Gemini, Groq, Bedrock, VertexAI, Azure, OpenRouter, Ollama, llama.cpp, and any compatible endpoint
  • Switch models mid-session without losing context, making mixed local/frontier routing practical
  • First-class MCP support (stdio, HTTP, SSE) plus the Agent Skills standard for extensibility
  • LSP integration gives the agent real symbol-level context instead of blind grep
  • Single Go binary with installers for Homebrew, NPM, Arch, Nix, Winget, Scoop, and BSD pkg
  • Per-tool permission model keeps shell and file writes gated by default
  • Open source under FSL-1.1-MIT with an active, well-known maintainer (Charm) and 27k+ stars
  • Runs headlessly via 'crush serve' for shared workspaces and scripted automations
  • Best-in-class multi-file edits
  • Choice of underlying models
  • Composer agent is genuinely useful
  • Tab completion is faster than Copilot
Cons
  • Terminal-only UX; no VS Code, JetBrains, or GUI integration if you prefer an IDE-embedded assistant
  • Bring-your-own-key model means API costs land on you for any hosted frontier model
  • Bash-style .crushrc and MCP wiring have a learning curve compared with zero-config IDE plugins
  • FSL-1.1-MIT is source-available with usage restrictions before it converts to MIT, not a pure OSI license
  • Younger project than Aider or Continue, so edge-case bugs and breaking config changes still land
  • Quality of agentic edits depends heavily on which model you point it at; weak local models produce weak diffs
  • Heavier than vanilla VS Code
  • Pricing creeping up
  • Some extensions lag VS Code
Websitegithub.comcursor.com
Pick Crush if
  • ✅ Truly provider-agnostic: Claude, GPT, Gemini, Groq, Bedrock, VertexAI, Azure, OpenRouter, Ollama, llama.cpp, and any compatible endpoint
  • ✅ Switch models mid-session without losing context, making mixed local/frontier routing practical
  • ✅ First-class MCP support (stdio, HTTP, SSE) plus the Agent Skills standard for extensibility
  • ✅ LSP integration gives the agent real symbol-level context instead of blind grep
Pick Cursor if
  • ✅ Best-in-class multi-file edits
  • ✅ Choice of underlying models
  • ✅ Composer agent is genuinely useful
  • ✅ Tab completion is faster than Copilot
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