Cursor vs Trae (2026): Which Vibe Coding App Is Better?

Both are popular AI code editors. Here is how Cursor and Trae stack up on price, strengths and weaknesses, and which one we would pick.

Cursor

The AI-first code editor with agents, background agents and fast autocomplete

9.0 /10

Pricing: Free plan, paid from $20/mo

Pros

Best-in-class autocomplete plus a capable agent
Familiar VS Code interface and extensions
Background agents in the cloud

Cons

Usage-based pricing on top of the plan can surprise heavy users
Referral programme discontinued

Visit Cursor ↗

Trae

AI IDE from ByteDance with builder and chat modes

7.2 /10

Pricing: Free plan, paid from $20/mo

Pros

Low price and a free plan
Builder mode for whole features
MCP support

Cons

Data-handling questions for some organisations
Smaller community

Visit Trae ↗

Cursor vs Trae at a glance

	Cursor	Trae
Editor score	9.0 / 10	7.2 / 10
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starting price	$20/mo	$20/mo
Reader upvotes	0	0
Best for	editor, ide	editor
Agent Skills support	Yes	No
Subagents support	Yes	No
MCP support	Yes	Yes
AGENTS.md support	Yes	Yes
Plugins support	Yes	No
Hooks support	Yes	No
Rules support	Yes	Yes
Agent skills in this directory	53	4
Subagents & agents in this directory	23	5
MCP servers in this directory	74	72

Our pick

Cursor edges it with a score of 9.0 versus 7.2. Cursor is the better fit if you value: best-in-class autocomplete plus a capable agent, familiar vs code interface and extensions. Choose Trae instead if you need: low price and a free plan, builder mode for whole features.