[rorads]

I think it’s fundamentally about context management and business model. Claude Code is expensive because it will happily put very large volumes into context because Anthropic are paid by the token. Cursor makes the bet that it can pay less per token whilst giving you enough value to still make margins on your $20 per month (assuming you’re using their default models).

This all becomes very clear when you do something that feels like magic in Claude Code and then run /cost and see you’ve blown through $10 in a single hour long session. Which is honestly worth it for me.

[tom_m]

Roo Code manages context a LOT better than Cursor or Windsurf. Cursor and Windsurf don't care about this because they want people to use more tokens. Their investors want more people to use tokens.

Think about this one. They don't even tell you what your usage is! Look at Roo Code showing you the context usage and cost of each conversation. Features to compact the context. It's built around bringing awareness to the unit economics of AI and built to give users choice. The tools that work to keep users in the dark are serving someone else's interests.

[mahmoudimus]

Cursor does. It tells you how many tokens right above the chat box in the upper right hand corner.