On smaller screens, scroll sideways to compare both tools.
| Compare features | Claude Code | Cline |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Anthropic’s coding agent for repository work, file changes and command execution. Review billing and action permissions separately. | A coding agent with editor and terminal workflows, configurable model access and action approval controls. |
| Category | AI coding & development | AI coding & development |
| Paid entry price | Check official pricingUsage-based or variable · Subscription or API access Costs depend on subscription or API access. Check included usage and extra charges for the route you choose. | Check official pricingUsage-based or variable · Usage billing, ClinePass or BYOK Usage billing, ClinePass and your own provider have different terms. Check models and limits for the selected route. |
| Free plan | Not supported | Unverified |
| Japanese support | Unverified | Unverified |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud / self-hosted |
| Reasons to choose |
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| Pricing checked | 2026-10-27 | 2026-10-27 |
| Official pricing | Check pricing | Check pricing |
Prices exclude tax, currency conversion and introductory discounts. Different currencies and billing periods are not directly comparable. Japanese support can apply to input, output or the interface; check each tool’s scope.
Use the same reproducible defect
Use a reproducible defect such as a missing search result. Give both tools equivalent repository copies, acceptance criteria and restrictions. Record any clarification supplied later so unequal prompts do not masquerade as a product difference. The result is evidence for your environment, not a universal performance ranking.
Compare provider administration
Check Claude Code’s access route and Cline’s selected provider and payment route. If managing several providers is part of your requirements, test switching and billing reconciliation. A longer list of available models is not sufficient evidence: the required model must also produce reviewable changes in your actual workflow.
Measure supervision effort
Record where investigation, edits and command execution need attention. Fewer prompts are not automatically better if a reviewer cannot explain what was authorized. Ask the person who normally reviews changes to supervise the pilot and identify which information is missing when a decision must be made.
Define what recovery means
Keep the initial recovery test to local changes and preserve the diff through Git. An editor recovery feature should not be assumed to reverse external database or deployment effects. Add remote integrations only after each service has its own recovery procedure and explicitly scoped access.
Example: recording supervision differences
For the same filter addition, record time spent understanding the investigation, inspecting edits and interrupting unwanted scope. Keep answer quality separate from interface clarity in your notes. Require either supervisor to explain the modified behavior and remaining limitations. The tool with fewer prompts is not automatically preferable if its operator has less understanding of what happened.
Leave an explicit decision record
Write a concise selection reason, supported by cost, review time and repair effort. If both pass your acceptance criteria, reuse of an existing contract or familiar workflow can be a sensible deciding factor. Prefer an explainable operational choice over declaring one product inherently more intelligent.
Official sources
Pricing, availability and feature limits can change. Check the linked official pages before subscribing.
- Claude Code permissionsInformation checked: 2026-10-27
- Claude Code costsInformation checked: 2026-10-27
- Cline authorization and model accessInformation checked: 2026-10-27
- Cline tool approval controlsInformation checked: 2026-10-27
- Claude Code overviewInformation checked: 2026-10-27
- Cline overviewInformation checked: 2026-10-27
- Cline local modelsInformation checked: 2026-10-27