New and confused. With cursor I can use any AI. If I use Claude code, then what? I don't have it yet just wondering.

Feeling a little dumb and hoping someone can clarify the value proposition here.

For context, I'm a lifelong developer and comfortable in both IDEs and at the CLI.

I've been playing around with Cursor at $20/mo which interfaces with Claude and, although it gets weird sometimes, it's quite helpful, especially for small throwaway experiments that I tend to make a lot of. Well worth the price IMHO.

I'm now looking at Claude Code, with as I understand is included with Claude Max ("from" $100/month) or usable with a Claude API key.

My (limited) experience with Claude's API is that I can hit several dollars worth of usage VERY quickly, like within an hour or two. So, I would expect the cost of Claude Code via the API to be extremely high. I haven't tried, but I feel like I would blow through the equivalent of Cursor's $20/mo within a few days. Is this the case?

Using Claude Code via a plan like Max makes more sense, but it's still so much more expensive than a simple Cursor subscription.

So... what tips the scales for getting Claude Max vs. an IDE with an integrated agent? What justifies the substantially higher price?

I know and have experienced that Cursor gets kicked into the slow lane sometimes, but it still seems fast enough even then. It sure feels like having a more-or-less fixed-cost low-ish monthly subscription for what seems to be unlimited usage vs. something that "starts" at 5x more expensive and doesn't really even clearly spell out the usage limits.

I see that Claude Code can do operations at the CLI level but ... so does Cursor? I've had it move files around, refactor projects, etc.

I just feel like I'm missing something key here and would love to know what!

I'm not affiliated with any of these companies, just a confused user. Thanks in advance.