Claude Code doesn't just suggest code; it acts as an autonomous operator in your terminal, executing commands, running tests, and fixing its own mistakes until the build passes. Access requires an Anthropic Pro subscription ($20/month), but serious work will quickly push you into API pay-as-you-go territory. The real cost isn't the subscription—it's the token burn.
Calculated practically: A typical refactoring loop (reading 5 files, 3 distinct "think-edit-test-fix" cycles) consumes roughly 40k input tokens and 4k output tokens. On Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s pricing ($3/1M input, $15/1M output), that single task costs about $0.18. If you run 20 such tasks daily, you’re looking at ~$100/month in API fees on top of your subscription. Unlike Cursor’s flat-rate "unlimited" model, Claude Code’s agentic nature makes it a variable-cost utility that scales with your incompetence—the more errors it has to fix, the more you pay.
Technically, it’s impressive. The CLAUDE.md context file system is a brilliant, low-tech way to persist project knowledge without complex vector databases. Its integration with the Model Context Protocol (MCP) means it can natively query your Postgres database or check Jira tickets if you set up the servers. The CLI UX is polished, handling diffs and interactive approvals smoothly, though it lacks the immediate visual feedback of a GUI IDE like Cursor. It shines in "janitorial" work—updating dependencies, fixing linter errors, or writing test boilerplate—tasks that require execution loops rather than deep architectural insight.
However, the lack of a visual interface is a double-edged sword. Reviewing large diffs in a terminal buffer is painful compared to VS Code’s side-by-side view. It also demands trust; giving an AI permission to rm files or git push requires a psychological leap that many senior engineers aren't ready to take.
Skip Claude Code if you’re on a strict budget or rely heavily on visual IDE features. Use it if you’re a terminal-native developer who wants an AI that acts less like a autocomplete and more like a junior engineer who costs $5/day.
Pricing
The $20/month Pro subscription is merely an entry fee. While it includes some usage, the "agentic" loops (think/edit/test/retry) burn through rate limits roughly 5x faster than standard chat. Most power users will be forced to switch to API billing within the first week. Compared to Cursor's $20/month flat fee which effectively subsidizes heavy model usage, Claude Code is significantly more expensive for heavy daily use. There is no true free tier; the "Free" plan generally blocks CLI access.
Technical Verdict
The @anthropic-ai/claude-code package is a robust Node.js CLI that installs in seconds. It defaults to the latest Sonnet model, which offers the best balance of reasoning and speed. Latency can be high (10-30s) during multi-step planning phases. Security is granular—you can whitelist commands—but requires initial configuration to avoid constant "Approve this?" prompts. It creates a CLAUDE.md file in your root for persistent memory, which is a clever, text-based alternative to hidden vector stores.
Quick Start
# Install global binary
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
# Authenticate with Pro account
claude login
# Run an autonomous task
claude "Run tests, fix any failures, and commit the changes"Watch Out
- Default security settings allow file deletion; run
claude configto restrict destructive actions immediately. - Heavy usage triggers rate limits rapidly on the Pro plan, forcing a switch to paid API keys.
- Interactive terminal commands (like
toporvim) inside the agent session can cause the interface to hang. - The agent sometimes gets stuck in a loop of 'running tests -> failing -> retrying' without changing strategy, burning credits.