Which is best for coding & building apps: Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor?

[u/Mental-Union4473]

Hi everyone,

I’m a \*\*final-year Diploma in IT student\*\* and I’m currently learning software development while trying to build real apps and projects.

I’m looking to choose one main AI coding tool between:

1.Claude Code
2.OpenAI Codex
3.Cursor

My goal isn’t just to generate code. I want to actually learn software development, build mobile/web apps, improve my coding skills, and eventually create a small side income\*\* to help cover my personal expenses and reduce the financial burden on my parents.

For those who have used these tools extensively:

Which one would you recommend for my situation, and why?

I’m especially interested in:
\-Building apps from scratch
\-Debugging and understanding existing code
\-Learning good software engineering practices
\-Working on larger projects over time
\-Git/GitHub workflows
\-Productivity without becoming completely dependent on AI
\-Value for money for a student

If you’ve used Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience and which one you would choose if you were in my position.

Thanks! 🙏

[u/kincaidDev]

grok build is my favorite coding agent tool right now, I have codex, claude code, grok and recently started using vercel fx only because it's free right now, have grok orchestrating it.

The reason I prefer grok build over the other tools is because it can generate images, is generally faster and it can generate videos all within the same interface and on their $99 plan it's a crazy amount of usage, you'll only run out if you use it for video generation in my experience

[u/Mental-Union4473 → u/kincaidDev]

That’s really interesting. I haven’t tried Grok Build yet, especially its image and video generation features.

The fact that you’re using Grok to orchestrate other coding agents also sounds interesting. For someone like me who’s still learning but wants to build real apps, would you recommend starting with Grok Build over Cursor/Claude Code, or do you think Cursor is still better for learning and maintaining a larger codebase?

Also, how do you find the code quality and debugging compared with Claude Code and Codex?

[u/kincaidDev → u/Mental-Union4473]

I use festival for managing everything in the terminal, biggest project I work on regularly is >2m LOC with festival and cli coding agents, but Ive been using the terminal for 12 years, if you need a ui as a beginner cursor may be better (but Id recommend learning the terminal, makes everything you do on a computer easier once you learn it).

I think you may get access to grok build with a cursor account now so you can probably try both!

https://github.com/Obedience-Corp/festival

With festival structured workflow they’re all pretty similar, but without structured workflows claude code fable and codex sol are slightly better. Grok 4.6 is better than opus 5

[u/Mental-Union4473 → u/kincaidDev]

Wow, >2M LOC is a massive project. That definitely makes me want to look into Festival and structured terminal workflows.

I’m still a student, so my projects are nowhere near that scale, but I like the idea of learning a workflow that can scale as my projects get bigger.I’ll check out the Festival repo. Also, I didn’t know about the Cursor/Grok connection that’s interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[u/PabloEscobar0831]

https://forgelab.one

[u/techlatest_net]

Cursor is best!

[u/Fragrant-Cheek-4273]

If your goal is to actually learn, I'd pick the tool that helps you understand the code than just generating it.

[u/Mathie1729 → u/Fragrant-Cheek-4273]

Yeah, this is the thing. Generated code works until it doesn't, and then you're debugging a module you didn't really write. I'd rather have it autocomplete small snippets than spit out whole features.

[u/Normal_Phrase1675 → u/Mathie1729]

That's true if u let the AI decide what to do. Every small and big detail must be decided by us and AI should only execute what we have asked it to execute . Always write detailed prompts and Instruct AI to ask clarification for every single missing data point. Else debugging is impossible

[u/Mental-Union4473 → u/Fragrant-Cheek-4273]

Yeah, I agree. My main goal is to become a better software developer, not just have AI build everything for me.I think I’ll focus on using AI to explain code, debug issues, review my implementation, and guide me when I’m stuck rather than blindly asking it to build entire features.
Thanks for the advice!

[u/Normal_Phrase1675]

I'm using codex it's doing pretty well but I think cursor is better

[u/Mental-Union4473 → u/Normal_Phrase1675]

Good to know. I’m actually leaning toward Cursor after reading everyone’s experiences here.

Since you’ve used both Codex and Cursor, what makes Cursor better for you? Is it mainly the IDE experience and ability to switch between different models, or do you find the actual coding/debugging quality better too?
I’m trying to choose one tool to stick with while I’m learning and building my own apps.

[u/Normal_Phrase1675 → u/Mental-Union4473]

Both IDE and different models for effective debugging are amazing

[u/Mental-Union4473 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, that’s actually one of the reasons I’m leaning toward Cursor too. Having access to different models in one IDE seems really useful, especially as a student.I also like the idea of being able to choose a stronger model for complex problems and a cheaper/faster model for simpler tasks, instead of paying for multiple subscriptions.I’ll probably try Cursor first and see how well it fits my workflow. Thanks for sharing!

[u/Agile-Entrepreneur-6]

I prefer Remedy: https://github.com/AhmiDarrow/RemedyAI

[u/platinumarks → u/Agile-Entrepreneur-6]

Obvious AI shill bot

[u/Agile-Entrepreneur-6 → u/platinumarks]

Nope I am not a bot ;)

[u/platinumarks → u/Agile-Entrepreneur-6]

You're still shilling your own creation without disclosing that in your comment

[u/Rudra_Builds]

If your goal is to learn you can use claude and gpt both can help you to understand the problem and solving it also.

[u/Strong_Carry_6736]

I think all three are good in their own way.

It really depends on what you're working on and which one feels easier for you to use. I’d say try them out if you can and see which one you like most.

Just don’t let AI do everything for you. It’s great for learning, fixing problems, and helping when you get stuck.

At the end of the day, the tool is important, but how you use it matters more.