OpenClaw vs Cursor: When to Use Each AI Tool

OpenClaw and Cursor are both AI-powered tools, but they solve completely different problems. This guide helps you understand when to use each.

Quick Comparison

| Aspect | OpenClaw | Cursor | |--------|----------|--------| | Type | Personal AI assistant | IDE with AI copilot | | Primary use | Multi-channel messaging | Code editing | | Runs on | Your devices (Gateway) | Your computer (IDE) | | Interface | WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Voice | VSCode-based editor | | Focus | General assistance | Code completion & editing |

OpenClaw: Personal AI Assistant

OpenClaw is a personal AI assistant that answers you on the channels you already use.

What It Does

• Responds on WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage, Teams
• Voice Wake + Talk Mode on macOS/iOS/Android
• Runs locally via the Gateway control plane
• Browser automation, Canvas, Skills

Best For

• Always-on assistant — Available 24/7 on all your channels
• Voice interaction — Talk naturally on your phone or Mac
• Multi-channel inbox — One assistant across all platforms
• Automation — Cron jobs, webhooks, Gmail triggers

Example Workflows

# WhatsApp
"What's on my calendar today?"
"Summarize these meeting notes"

# Voice (macOS)
"Hey Molty, what time is it in Tokyo?"

# Slack
@assistant draft a response to this email

Cursor: AI Code Editor

Cursor is a VSCode-based IDE with AI-powered code completion, editing, and chat.

What It Does

• Inline code completions as you type
• Chat with your codebase
• Edit code with natural language
• Understand context from your project

Best For

• Active coding sessions — Write and edit code faster
• Code understanding — Get explanations of unfamiliar code
• Refactoring — Transform code with natural language
• Pair programming — AI suggestions while you work

Example Workflows

# Tab completion
Write function, tab to accept completion

# Chat
"Explain what this function does"

# Edit
Select code → "Add error handling"

Key Differences

1. Purpose

| OpenClaw | Cursor | |----------|--------| | General assistant tasks | Code-specific tasks | | Every messaging channel | Inside the editor | | Voice and text | Keyboard and mouse |

2. When It Runs

| OpenClaw | Cursor | |----------|--------| | Always-on Gateway daemon | When you open the IDE | | Responds even when AFK | Active editing sessions | | Background automation | Foreground interaction |

3. Context

| OpenClaw | Cursor | |----------|--------| | Your messages, skills, automations | Your codebase | | Multi-turn conversations | File and project context | | Channel-specific history | Editor selection |

Using Both Together

They complement each other:

OpenClaw for...

• Drafting messages
• Quick questions on the go
• Voice interaction while walking
• Automation and scheduling
• Non-coding tasks

Cursor for...

• Writing new code
• Debugging with context
• Refactoring large files
• Understanding unfamiliar codebases
• Code reviews

Example Day

9:00 AM — Voice: "Hey Molty, what's my first meeting?"
9:30 AM — Cursor: Fix the auth bug mentioned in standup
12:00 PM — WhatsApp: "Summarize this article"
2:00 PM — Cursor: Implement new API endpoint
5:00 PM — Telegram: "Draft a status update for the team"

Pricing

OpenClaw

• Free — Self-hosted, open source
• You pay for LLM API keys (Anthropic, OpenAI)

Cursor

• Free tier — Limited completions
• Pro — $20/mo for full features
• Uses their API quota (or bring your own key)

Technical Setup

OpenClaw

npm install -g openclaw@latest
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

Cursor

Download from cursor.so and install.

Summary

| Use Case | Tool | |----------|------| | Code in an IDE | Cursor | | Text your assistant | OpenClaw | | Voice commands | OpenClaw | | Inline completions | Cursor | | Multi-channel inbox | OpenClaw | | Codebase chat | Cursor | | Always-on automation | OpenClaw |

They're not competitors—they serve different purposes. Use both for maximum productivity.

Next Steps

OpenClaw

• Getting Started — Install and configure
• Channels — Connect WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.
• Discord — Join the community

Cursor

• cursor.so — Download and install
• Cursor Docs — Full documentation