Cursor vs Bolt: AI Coding Tools Feature Comparison

If you’re choosing between Cursor (an AI-first desktop IDE based on VS Code) and Bolt (bolt.new by StackBlitz, an in-browser AI app builder), this guide breaks down features, workflows, strengths, trade-offs, and where each shines with practical examples you can try.

Cursor vs Bolt

• Cursor: best for professional developers who need deep, repo-wide edits, local toolchains, terminals, tests, and multi-file refactors inside a familiar IDE. Strong agents, context, and autocompletion. Paid tiers meter heavy agent usage.
  
• Bolt (bolt.new): best for rapid prototyping and shipping demos from the browser type a prompt, get a runnable full-stack app, edit live, deploy quickly. Great for founders/designers, hackathons, and “zero setup” teams. An open-source core exists (bolt.diy).

What each tool is

• Cursor: A desktop IDE built on VS Code with AI-native features—inline code completions (“Tab”), chat/agents that can read & change multiple files, bug fixing (“Bugbot”), background agents, and large context windows.
• ‍Bolt (bolt.new): A browser-based coding agent that can generate, run, edit, and deploy full-stack projects directly online (no local setup). It’s from StackBlitz (WebContainers folks) and has an OSS flavor (bolt.diy).

Cursor vs Bolt Side-by-side comparison

Real-world examples

1) “Refactor a 2-year-old Node/Express service” → Cursor wins

Scenario: You’ve got 30k+ LOC, flaky tests, and a new requirement to add per-tenant rate limiting.

Cursor workflow

1. Explain the change: “Add tenant-aware rate limiting (Redis), update middleware, instrument metrics, add tests.”
   
2. Use Agent to scan routes/, middleware/, and services/. Let it propose a design and patch multiple files.
   
3. Run your test suite in the integrated terminal; ask Bugbot to fix failing tests.
   
4. Ask the agent to add a migration script and docs.
   

Why Cursor: Multi-file, repo-aware edits + local test runs keep you grounded in reality. Background agents can chunk through tedious changes safely. 

2) “Pitch demo in 30 minutes: SaaS dashboard with auth + payments” → Bolt wins

Scenario: Founder needs a clickable, hosted demo with login, a dashboard, and a fake Stripe checkout.

Bolt workflow

1. Prompt: “Build a SaaS dashboard (Next.js + Tailwind) with email/password auth, a metrics page (line chart), and a fake checkout flow. Seed sample data.”
   
2. Bolt creates a runnable app, spins it up in the browser.
   
3. Chat “Make the dashboard 2-column, add a settings page, and a CSV import.”
   
4. Click deploy → share the live link.
   

Why Bolt: No local setup; one prompt to a runnable app; iterate visually and ship a link. Great for user testing and stakeholder demos.

3) “Bootstrapping a greenfield monorepo” → Tie, different flavors (h4)

• Cursor if you want full control from day one: pnpm workspaces, Turborepo, local DB, Storybook, tests, pre-commit hooks agents help scaffold and keep everything consistent.
  
• Bolt if you want a working baseline in minutes: ask for Next.js app + admin panel + REST API + Supabase; get a live environment you can export/hand off later.

Cursor vs Bolt: Strengths & weaknesses

Cursor Advantages

• Deep codebase understanding; multi-file, repo-wide edits.
  
• Works with your real toolchain (DBs, Docker, CI).
  
• Great Tab autocomplete + agents for complex changes.
  

Cursor Disadvantages

• Heavy agent use can exceed base plan credits; cost can climb for power users.
  
• Occasional community complaints about pricing changes/opacity (as with many AI tools—market is evolving).
  

Best for: Professional devs, large or legacy codebases, test-driven workflows, security-sensitive orgs that need local control.

Bolt Advantages

• “Zero-install” browser environment; instantly prompt → run → iterate → deploy.
  
• Fantastic for demos, prototypes, hackathons, and onboarding non-devs.
  
• Open-source variant (bolt.diy) if you want to self-host or swap models.
  

Bolt Disadvantages

• Browser runtime is ideal for web stacks; deep native dependencies, complex local infra, or giant monorepos can be awkward.
  
• More optimized for creating new apps than performing surgical refactors on huge existing codebases.
  

Best for: Startups validating ideas, PMs/designers, agencies cranking out proofs of concept, educator workshops.

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Example prompts you can copy

Cursor (inside your repo)

• “Scan /src/middleware and /src/routes. Introduce tenant-aware rate limiting using Redis, with config in config/rateLimit.ts. Add unit tests in __tests__/rateLimit.test.ts. Update README with setup steps.”
  
• “Migrate from Mongoose callbacks to async/await across /models/*.ts and /services/*.ts. Keep behavior identical; show a diff summary.”
  

Bolt

• “Create a Next.js 14 app with a dashboard (card grid + line chart), email/password auth, a /settings page, mock API routes, and a /pricing page. Add Tailwind and a minimal design system. Seed 25 sample items.”
• “Add file upload with Supabase storage and a table view with pagination and CSV export.”

Integration notes & team fit

• Version control: Cursor plugs into your existing Git + CI with no new platform lock-in. Bolt can export projects to GitHub and share live links, which is great for review and teaching.
  
• Security & compliance: If you must keep code local and control model usage tightly, Cursor’s local-first development model will fit more naturally. Bolt’s browser model is excellent for non-sensitive prototypes.
  
• Hiring & onboarding: Bolt helps non-specialists get moving; Cursor helps engineers move faster on real code.
  

Buyer’s checklist

• Do you mostly refactor/extend big codebases? → Cursor
  
• Do you need to ship a demo today from a clean slate? → Bolt
  
• Will heavy agent usage be daily? Budget for Cursor overages or Ultra.
  
• Do PMs/designers need to build without a local setup? Bolt
• ‍Do you require terminal/DB/Docker parity with production? Cursor

Cursor vs Bolt: Pricing snapshot (Aug 31, 2025)

Cursor:

• Hobby (Free) – limited completions
  
• Pro – $20/mo (or $16/mo annual) with 500 “fast” requests + unlimited slow requests
  
• Pro+ – ~$60/mo for heavier agent use
  
• Ultra – $200/mo with much higher usage quotas
  
• Business – $40/user/mo for teams
  

Heavy agent users often exceed the base $20 credit and may pay $60–100+ monthly in practice.
Sources: Cursor site, docs, community reports

Bolt (StackBlitz):

• Free personal usage available
  
• Entry tier – $25/mo includes dev env + hosting + domains + DB + functions + auth + analytics
  
• Paid team/org tiers scale with usage
  

Flat monthly fee covers most features; only very high traffic incurs extra costs.
Sources: StackBlitz, Business Insider

Note: AI tool pricing is rapidly changing in 2025. Expect limits, credits, or usage-based charges to evolve.

Verdict

• Choose Cursor if your primary work is editing, maintaining, and safely evolving existing codebases with strong IDE ergonomics and local tooling.
  
• Choose Bolt if your priority is speed to something live, prototype, iterate, and share from the browser with minimal friction.
  

Both can co-exist: prototype in Bolt, then harden and scale in Cursor once your idea sticks.