Cline vs Claude Code vs Continue.dev: Which AI Coding Tool Costs Less in 2026?

Cline, Claude Code, and Continue.dev are the three most popular "bring-your-own-key" AI coding assistants in 2026, and the biggest cost difference between them isn't the tool itself — it's how each one burns tokens and which API endpoint you point it at. Claude Code's terminal-agent loop reads more context per turn, Cline's diff-and-apply workflow triggers more round trips, and Continue.dev sits closest to a plain chat-completion cost. Pick the tool based on your workflow, then fix the bill with prompt caching and a cheaper relay endpoint.

What each tool actually is

All three let you supply your own API key instead of paying a bundled subscription, but they're built differently:

• Claude Code — Anthropic's official terminal agent. Runs multi-step tasks (read files, run tests, edit, commit) with minimal hand-holding. Reads via ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL / ANTHROPIC_API_KEY.
• Cline — a VS Code extension that shows every proposed diff before applying it. More interactive, more back-and-forth per task, configured through its OpenAI-compatible provider settings.
• Continue.dev — a VS Code/JetBrains extension driven by a single config.yaml. Closest to a "chat + autocomplete" tool rather than a full autonomous agent, so it tends to use fewer tokens per session.

Setup cost comparison

None of the three forces you to buy credits from a specific provider — all three accept any OpenAI-compatible base URL. That single fact is what makes the "which is cheaper" question really a "which endpoint are you calling" question.

Where the real cost difference comes from

Three variables matter far more than the extension you pick:

1. Agent loop depth

Claude Code's autonomous multi-step tasks can re-send large chunks of file context on every turn. Without prompt caching, a single feature request can rack up 200K+ input tokens across a session. Cline is similar but usually shorter per task since it pauses for your approval more often.

2. Model tier

All three tools let you swap models freely. Running everyday refactors on a cheaper model (e.g., a Haiku-class or GPT mini-class model) and reserving Opus/Sonnet-class models for genuinely hard problems is the single biggest lever — often a 5-10x cost difference for the same task volume.

3. Prompt caching

Anthropic's prompt caching can cut repeated input-token cost by 70-90% when the same system prompt, file tree, or long context gets reused across turns — which is exactly the pattern all three tools produce. If your relay or API key doesn't support cache writes/reads, you're paying full price on context you're sending over and over.

Which one should you pick

• Want full autonomy, comfortable reviewing diffs less often: Claude Code.
• Want to approve every change before it lands: Cline.
• Want a lightweight chat/autocomplete assistant with minimal token overhead: Continue.dev.

You can also run more than one — many developers use Continue.dev for quick edits and switch to Claude Code for larger multi-file tasks, pointed at the same backend key so usage stays in one place.

Since all three tools accept a custom OpenAI-compatible base URL, the endpoint you connect them to matters more than the tool itself. A relay like Safa API works as a drop-in backend for Claude Code, Cline, and Continue.dev at once: one API key routes to Claude, GPT, and Gemini models, prompt caching is supported so repeated agent-loop context doesn't get billed at full price every turn, pricing runs lower than official per-token rates, and sign-up doesn't require a US credit card — Alipay works, which matters if you're outside the US. Point ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL (Claude Code), the provider base URL (Cline), or apiBase in config.yaml (Continue.dev) at the same relay and switch models per task without juggling three separate provider accounts.

# Claude Code
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://aisafa.xyz/v1"
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-your-key"

# Continue.dev config.yaml
models:
  - name: claude
    provider: openai
    apiBase: https://aisafa.xyz/v1
    apiKey: sk-your-key

常见问题

Which of the three uses the fewest tokens per task?

Continue.dev generally uses the least, since it's mostly single-turn chat/autocomplete rather than a multi-step autonomous loop. Cline sits in the middle due to diff-review round trips, and Claude Code uses the most because its agent loop re-reads larger context across multi-step tasks.

Do I need separate API keys for Claude Code, Cline, and Continue.dev?

No — all three accept a custom OpenAI-compatible base URL and key, so one relay endpoint and one key can back all three tools, as long as the relay exposes the model names each tool expects.

Does prompt caching actually work through a third-party relay?

It depends on the relay. Some strip caching headers or don't forward cache-control fields, which silently removes the savings. Confirm the relay explicitly supports prompt cache pass-through before assuming you're getting the discount.