Factory AI vs Cursor: autonomy stack or daily editor

Verdict and criteria matrix

A buyer should decide which loop deserves first-class treatment. Cursor optimizes the loop where a developer sees the file, accepts or rejects predictions, asks an agent to change a bounded area, and inspects the diff in the same editor. Factory optimizes the loop where a developer or system provides an outcome, Droid plans and executes it, and the organization governs the models, tools, environments, telemetry, and review path around that work.

The product boundary decides the purchase

Cursor replaces or becomes the primary editor. Its economic claim starts with seconds saved during every coding hour: predictions, multi-file edits, indexed repository context, an agent beside the current buffer, and a review surface already open when the change arrives. Background Agents extend that editor account into asynchronous work, yet the editor remains the anchor.

Factory begins with a software-development agent. Droid runs interactively in the terminal, through a desktop experience, through SDKs, in headless execution, and on connected computers. Factory then sells the organizational layer around those agents: model policy, identity, telemetry, remote execution, deployment options, and workflows that cover planning, implementation, review, and operations.

This boundary also explains why feature checklists overstate substitution. Cursor can dispatch autonomous background agents, and Factory has interactive developer surfaces. Those capabilities are real. The daily default remains different. Evaluate the default, because teams revert to it after the pilot excitement ends.

Specs, prompts, and the cost of ambiguity

Factory Specification Mode asks for a short feature description, inspects the repository in a read-only planning phase, produces acceptance criteria and an implementation plan, and waits for approval before writing code. Approved plans can be saved under .factory/docs. The workflow is explicit enough to become an organizational artifact and to carry security or testing requirements into implementation.

Cursor can plan inside Agent, use project rules, read indexed code, and execute a multi-file change. Its advantage appears when the specification develops while the engineer reads the code. The developer can highlight a function, ask a question, accept a small change, revise the direction, and keep moving. A formal plan can feel heavy for this class of work.

Local and cloud execution

Both vendors have moved past a simple local-versus-cloud distinction. Cursor foreground work runs in the editor on the developer machine. Its Background Agents clone a GitHub repository into an isolated Ubuntu VM, work on a separate branch, run commands automatically, and push for handoff. Cursor documents that these environments have internet access and require repository permissions, which belongs in a security review.

Factory Droid can run on a developer machine through the CLI. Droid Computers add persistent targets in two forms. BYOM registers a Linux, macOS, or Windows machine the customer manages. Managed Computers are provisioned by Factory and retain files, packages, configuration, services, and process state between sessions. That persistence reduces repeated environment setup and increases the value of careful credential and state management.

A startup may prefer Cursor because a GitHub-connected VM is quick to understand. A bank may prefer Factory because deployment and network patterns are part of the product contract. A team with proprietary toolchains may prefer BYOM because the environment already exists. The phrase cloud agent is too broad to settle any of these cases.

Governance and security are different purchases

Factory documents cloud-managed, hybrid, and fully airgapped patterns. Its enterprise material covers SSO and SCIM, model and tool policy, LLM gateways, OTEL signals, auditability, network controls, and deployment inside customer infrastructure. Those capabilities make sense for an autonomy program where agents are an organizational runtime rather than an individual developer preference.

Cursor Teams and Enterprise cover centralized billing, privacy controls, SSO, SCIM at the enterprise level, usage visibility, and product administration. Cursor also publishes the material security conditions of Background Agents: repository access through the GitHub app, code in AWS-hosted isolated VMs, internet access, and automatic terminal commands. That candor makes the tradeoff reviewable.

• Factory wins when the security architecture requires an approved deployment pattern, customer-controlled gateways, airgapped operation, or a central policy plane for models and tools.
• Cursor wins when the company already accepts its SaaS and GitHub integration, and the largest adoption risk is disrupting the developer editor.
• Both require repository controls. Agent permissions, secrets, branch protection, dependency installation, and outbound network access deserve explicit ownership.
• Neither removes human accountability. A branch produced inside an approved environment still needs evidence and review proportional to its risk.

Security claims should be evaluated against the exact plan and deployment under consideration. An enterprise deployment option says little about a $20 individual account. A privacy toggle says little about an internet-enabled autonomous VM with broad repository access. Build the data-flow diagram for the pilot configuration, then send that diagram through review.

Pricing and usage shape

Factory Pro is $20 a month. Plus is $100 with about five times the standard usage and access to managed Droid Computers. Max is $200 with about ten times the Pro usage and early feature access. Public Teams and Enterprise prices require sales contact. Factory meters standard usage across rolling five-hour, weekly, and monthly windows, then offers a separate Droid Core pool or prepaid Extra Usage when standard capacity runs out.

Cursor lets an individual start on Hobby for free. Its paid individual plans include unlimited Tab completion and a model-inference allowance for agent use. Pro is $20, Pro Plus is $60, and Ultra is $200 on the current documentation. Background Agents are charged at the selected model API rate, and Cursor asks the user to set a spend limit before first use. Team plans add administration and enterprise controls.

When to pick each

Pick both only when the roles stay distinct. A coherent pairing uses Cursor for reading, editing, and review, then Factory for approved autonomous jobs that run through Droid. An incoherent pairing pays twice for loosely defined agent work and leaves developers guessing where each task belongs.

Migration notes in both directions

Moving from Cursor to Factory changes the center of gravity. Export or rewrite Cursor rules as repository instructions Droid can read. Convert repeated prompt habits into Factory skills or documented workflows. Select a local, BYOM, or managed-computer execution path. Recreate secrets through the approved Factory route. Require Specification Mode on the first large tasks. Keep Cursor available during the pilot because Factory does not replace Tab, editor navigation, or the familiar review loop.

Moving from Factory to Cursor requires a different decomposition. Bring approved specifications into repository docs or issue descriptions. Translate reusable Droid instructions into Cursor rules and project documentation. Replace computer-backed jobs with Background Agents only after their setup scripts, dependencies, repository permissions, and network assumptions pass a dry run. Keep CI automation separate until the Cursor API or CLI workflow has equivalent exit codes, evidence, and spend controls.

Questions people ask

Keep reading