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Orbit vs Cursor

Cursor is an editor built around AI. Orbit is a workspace built around your AI chats. They overlap less than you might think, and plenty of people should use both.

What each one is

Cursor describes itself as "your coding agent for building ambitious software" (cursor.com). It is a full code editor with AI throughout: Tab, an autocomplete that suggests multi-line and cross-file edits as you type, an agent that plans and builds in the editor, a command-line agent, cloud agents that work on their own computers, a Slack integration and AI code reviews through Bugbot (pricing page).

Orbit is a desktop app where every AI chat is an Orb, filed under a project linked to a folder. Orbs run on Claude, Grok or Codex and you can switch model mid-chat. Around them sit a real Chromium browser the Orbs can drive, a terminal, a light file editor, a Changes pane for reviewing diffs, pull requests, and the tools for your day: Home, Planner, Tasks, the Board, Inbox and Journal. An always-on lead Orb, the Moon, keeps an eye on all of it. See what Orbit is.

So the honest framing is: Cursor is where you write code. Orbit is where you run your work, including the parts of it that are code.

Side by side

Where Cursor is better

• Writing code by hand. If you type a lot of code yourself, Tab is the feature that matters, and Orbit has nothing like it. Cursor predicts your next edit, adds missing imports and jumps you to the next place that needs changing. Orbit's editor shows files and handles small edits; it isn't trying to be your IDE.
• A real editor. Language features, extensions, a debugger, a file tree built for big codebases: an editor's whole job. Orbit opens files beside a chat, but if you live in your code all day you'll want a proper editor.
• Teams at scale. Cursor's Teams and Enterprise plans have SSO, SCIM, audit logs, spend controls and repository and model access controls (pricing). Orbit's Teams are built for small teams sharing projects, tasks, Chat and Docs, not for company-wide admin.
• A free way in. Cursor has a free plan with limited agent requests. Orbit has a 7-day free trial, then a subscription.
• Its own models. If you want one subscription that includes model usage, Cursor's plans include Grok model usage. Orbit never sells model usage: you bring your own plans.

Where Orbit is better

• Your Claude plan, not API prices. Orbit signs in with your own Claude plan and runs Claude Code on it, so heavy Claude use comes out of the plan you already pay Anthropic for. In Cursor, third-party models like Claude are billed by usage at API list price, or through your own API key (pricing, docs).
• Several model families in one chat. Start a job with Claude, switch the same chat to Grok for a second opinion, then to Codex, and each one reads everything said so far. A group chat can have two or three models answer every message in turn. See Switch models mid-chat.
• Everything that isn't code. Orbit has a Planner, Tasks, a Board for projects, leads and people, an Inbox that brings your email and chat apps together, briefings and a Journal, and Orbs can read and update all of it. Cursor is about the code.
• The Moon. An always-on lead Orb that checks in on your messages, calendar and Orbs, runs scheduled jobs, hands work to the right project and tells you what needs you. It never sends, publishes or pays without your OK. See your Moon.
• A browser you share with your Orbs. Orbs open your local site in their own tabs, click through it, read the console and run phone, speed and SEO checks, while you keep browsing in yours. See the browser.
• Many projects at once. Each project has a lead Orb that plans and hands pieces to sub-threads, which report back. That suits someone juggling a product, two client sites and a newsletter. See Lead Orbs and sub-threads.
• Your phone. The Android app shows your Orbs, Moon, Inbox and Planner live from your computer, with approvals from the notification. iPhone and iPad are in beta.

Using them together

Orbit and Cursor don't fight over the same job, and they don't fight over your AI plans either. Orbit runs on your own Claude plan, SuperGrok plan or OpenAI key; Cursor has its own plans. A setup that works well:

1. Point Orbit at the same folder you open in Cursor. It becomes a project, with a lead Orb.
2. Hand the long jobs to Orbs: "build the settle-up screen and test it on a phone width", "go through the open issues and draft fixes". Watch them in Orbit's terminal and browser.
3. Read the diff in Orbit's Changes pane, then open the files in Cursor when you want to rework something by hand with Tab.
4. Let the Moon keep the Board, Planner and your client replies up to date while you code.

Who should choose which

• Choose Cursor if you are a developer who writes most code yourself, works in one big codebase, or works in a company that needs SSO and admin controls.
• Choose Orbit if you already pay for Claude or SuperGrok, delegate most of the typing to AI, run several projects at once, and want the browser, terminal, planner and inbox in the same place as the chats.
• Use both if you want Cursor as the editor and Orbit as the place the work is planned, run, checked and reported.

Common questions

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Updated 24 October 2026