Comparison
Frontman vs Cursor
For Website Owners and Product Teams vs a Full Developer Environment
Quick answer: Both tools can select rendered elements, inspect runtime context, make real changes, and show the result in the browser. The key difference is who must operate the tool. Frontman is built for non-technical website owners and product teams who want to change a live site without learning an IDE or terminal. Cursor Design Mode puts visual editing inside Cursor's full developer environment, alongside its codebase, terminal, and general-purpose agent tools.
Frontman starts from the website itself. WordPress site owners install its plugin from wp-admin; developers add its Next.js, Astro, or Vite integration to code-backed sites. From there, site owners, marketers, designers, PMs, and engineers request and review changes from the live site without opening an editor, navigating a source tree, or using a terminal.
Cursor Design Mode lives in the browser inside the Cursor Agents Window. It supports element selection, multi-select, drawing, and voice prompts. Cursor supplies the agent with the selected element's attributes, computed styles, component information, React Fiber props when available, and a screenshot. Its native Browser also exposes console logs and network traffic without an external MCP installation.
The honest difference is no longer "browser versus files." It is a website-first tool for the people responsible for a site versus visual features inside a full developer platform. Cursor includes a broader developer surface with autocomplete and a terminal; Frontman keeps the person requesting the change on the website while its full agent harness works across the codebase.
Disclosure: This page is published by the Frontman team. We've done our best to present Frontman and Cursor accurately and fairly, but we are naturally biased toward our own product. We encourage you to try both tools and decide for yourself.
Capability and product-positioning facts last checked: . Pricing figures retain their publication snapshots and are not covered by this review date. Sources: Frontman documentation, Frontman source repository, Cursor Design Mode documentation, Cursor Browser documentation, Cursor Agents Window documentation, Cursor pricing, Cursor BYOK documentation
How Frontman and Cursor Work
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Frontman | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Built for non-technical users | Site owners and product teams work from the live site | Visual controls inside a developer environment |
| Visual editing interface | Runs alongside the app in a normal browser | Design Mode in the Cursor Agents Window browser |
| Click-to-select elements | Single- and multi-element selection | Single- and multi-element selection |
| Drawing and voice prompts | Draw on the page or narrate changes | |
| Live DOM and computed styles | Browser tools inspect the running page | Captures element attributes and computed styles |
| Screenshot context | Screenshots and device emulation | Includes a screenshot of the current page state |
| Runtime diagnostics | Framework integrations expose server logs and build errors | Native Browser reads console logs and network traffic |
| Hot reload feedback loop | Changes appear in the running app | Design Mode shows changes as the app hot reloads |
| Dedicated site integration | WordPress plugin plus Next.js, Astro, and Vite integrations | General code, terminal, and browser tools |
| IDE-free day-to-day workflow | Site owners and visual users work in the browser | Requires the Cursor developer application and Agents Window |
| Source-file editing for code projects | Edits Next.js, Astro, and Vite project files | Full file system access |
| WordPress-native editing | Posts, pages, blocks, Elementor, menus, settings, and more | No WordPress-native tools documented |
| Autocomplete | Tab completion, inline suggestions | |
| Multi-file refactoring | Full agent harness with cross-file tools; capability follows the selected model | Cross-file edits, Composer, agent mode |
| Terminal integration | Built-in terminal, agent mode, cloud agents | |
| Backend coding | Can read/write any project file, but frontend-focused | Any language, any framework |
| Source availability | Source-available: Apache-2.0 browser/JS; GPL-2.0-or-later WordPress; AGPL-3.0-only server plus AI Supplementary Terms | Proprietary |
| BYOK (bring your own key) | OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI | Chat models only; requests route through Cursor servers |
| Self-hostable |
Built for non-technical users
Visual editing interface
Click-to-select elements
Drawing and voice prompts
Live DOM and computed styles
Screenshot context
Runtime diagnostics
Hot reload feedback loop
Dedicated site integration
IDE-free day-to-day workflow
Source-file editing for code projects
WordPress-native editing
Autocomplete
Multi-file refactoring
Terminal integration
Backend coding
Source availability
BYOK (bring your own key)
Self-hostable
What Cursor Does Well
Cursor is no longer limited to reasoning from source files. Its visual workflow now overlaps directly with Frontman's core interaction model.
Design Mode is a capable visual editor. Select one or more elements, draw on a frozen viewport, or describe a change by voice. Cursor gives the agent element identity, attributes, computed styles, component context, React Fiber props when available, and a screenshot. Multiple requests can run in parallel while the app hot reloads.
The native Browser closes the runtime gap. Cursor Agent can navigate and interact with pages, capture screenshots, inspect console output and network traffic, detect development servers, and verify its work without installing a separate browser MCP server.
Autocomplete is best-in-class. Tab completion understands your codebase, predicts multi-line edits, and learns from your patterns. For raw typing speed, nothing in this comparison comes close.
Agent mode is powerful. Cursor's agent can plan multi-step changes, run terminal commands, interpret output, and iterate on errors — all within the IDE. Cloud agents and background agents let work continue asynchronously. Frontman's full agent harness can also plan and edit across a codebase, but it does not provide arbitrary terminal execution.
Multi-file refactoring works in both tools. Cursor's Composer and agent mode can rename a prop across 15 files, update imports, and fix type errors in one pass. Frontman is model-agnostic and provides a full agent harness with codebase search, file reading, and cross-file editing tools, so it can perform the same class of refactor. The practical result depends on the selected model, not a Frontman limitation.
Backend and general-purpose coding. Cursor handles Python, Go, Rust, SQL, infrastructure-as-code — any language, any project. Frontman is frontend-focused. It can read and write any project file, but its strengths are in visual editing where browser context matters.
Terminal integration. Cursor's terminal agent can run commands, read output, and fix errors automatically. Frontman has no terminal — it captures console logs and build errors from the dev server, but cannot run arbitrary commands.
Cursor supports plugins, skills, hooks, rules, and MCP servers for project-specific workflows and external integrations.
Cursor has millions of users, extensive documentation, and a mature extension ecosystem inherited from VS Code.
Where Frontman Is Different
Frontman is designed for people who own and maintain websites, not necessarily codebases. A site owner, marketer, designer, or PM starts from the interface they already understand: the live site. They point at what should change and describe the result instead of finding a component, opening an editor, or translating the request into a developer ticket.
Setup does not force every user into a developer workflow. A WordPress administrator can install the plugin through the familiar wp-admin flow. For Next.js, Astro, and Vite, an engineer installs the project integration. The people making day-to-day site changes then work in a normal browser without adopting Cursor's Agents Window, classic editor, terminal, or code-navigation workflow.
Site context comes from a dedicated integration. Frontman's WordPress plugin exposes WordPress-native content and settings tools. Its Next.js, Astro, and Vite packages connect browser selection to component metadata, source maps, dev-server build errors, and filesystem operations. Cursor instead combines browser observations with its general-purpose codebase and terminal tools.
The product surface is deliberately narrower, not the editing harness. Frontman does not try to replace autocomplete, a terminal, cloud agents, or a general-purpose IDE. Its model-agnostic agent still has codebase search, file reading, and cross-file editing tools; non-technical users simply are not dropped into a full development environment to use them.
Both tools produce reviewable changes. On code projects, click-to-edit, screenshots, computed styles, source edits, and hot reload are shared capabilities now. On WordPress, Frontman makes supported changes through WordPress-native tools while the site stays visible for review. The choice is about where the workflow lives and how much of the surrounding development platform your team wants.
Source-available and BYOK. The browser client and JavaScript framework integrations are Apache-2.0, the WordPress plugin is GPL-2.0-or-later, and the server is AGPL-3.0-only with AI Supplementary Terms. Self-hosting remains available and puts server orchestration and task-history persistence on your infrastructure; relevant context may still be transmitted to your configured LLM provider. Hosted Frontman Pro is available now. You bring your own API keys to Anthropic, OpenAI, or OpenRouter, or sign in with your Claude or ChatGPT subscription via OAuth.
Who Should Use Cursor
Cursor is the better choice when visual editing should be one capability inside a broader engineering platform. Specifically:
- Developers and technical users who are comfortable working inside a codebase-oriented development environment
- Backend developers working in Python, Go, Rust, or any non-frontend language
- Terminal-assisted refactoring — when the workflow depends on arbitrary commands, test runners, or migrations inside the agent session
- Agentic coding workflows — if you want the AI to plan, execute, and iterate across files and terminal
- Autocomplete-dependent workflows — if inline suggestions are core to how you code
- Full-stack work where you move between frontend and backend in the same session
- Advanced visual prompting using multi-select, page drawing, voice input, parallel agents, and native browser automation
- Teams standardized on VS Code — Cursor inherits the entire VS Code extension ecosystem
Who Should Use Frontman
Frontman is built for people responsible for a website who need to make real changes without becoming IDE users. Specifically:
- WordPress site owners and maintainers — update supported pages, blocks, Elementor content, menus, templates, settings, and store data from the site preview
- Marketers and content teams — change website copy and supported page content without waiting for a developer ticket
- Design system teams at growing startups — your system is live, your components are real, and you need designers and engineers iterating on them together without a Figma-to-ticket-to-PR bottleneck
- Designers who want to iterate directly on the product — click elements in the running app, describe changes, and see results without learning an IDE, terminal, or source tree
- PMs who ship small UI changes themselves — update copy, adjust spacing, or tweak supported components and review the result in the live site
- Engineering leads reducing design-to-code handoff friction — fewer "make it match the Figma" tickets, more direct iteration on the actual product
- Teams using Next.js, Astro, or Vite — deep framework plugin integration means Frontman understands your component structure, not just file contents
- Companies that need infrastructure control — source-available, self-hostable, and BYOK, with hosted Frontman Pro also available
Many organizations can use both tools. Engineers can use Cursor for broad implementation work while site owners and the wider product team use Frontman for a website-first workflow. Teams already standardized on Cursor should test Design Mode before adding another tool; its overlap with Frontman is now substantial for developer-led visual work.
For a deeper technical comparison including Claude Code, read our full comparison of Frontman, Cursor, and Claude Code. Also see: Frontman vs Stagewise for a comparison with another browser-based tool.
Pricing Comparison
Frontman
Source-available, BYOK
- Unlimited usage, no caps or credits
- Bring your own API keys (Claude, ChatGPT, OpenRouter)
- Or sign in with Claude/ChatGPT subscription via OAuth
- Apache-2.0 browser/JS; GPL-2.0-or-later WordPress; AGPL-3.0-only server plus AI Supplementary Terms
- You pay your LLM provider directly
Cursor
Freemium, proprietary
- Hobby: Free — limited Agent requests and Composer access
- Pro: $20/mo — extended Agent limits, frontier models, cloud agents
- Pro+: 3x Pro limits on Agent
- Ultra: 20x Pro limits on Agent and priority access to new features
- Teams Standard: $40/user/mo — administration, analytics, and SSO
- BYOK for supported chat models; Tab still uses Cursor models
Cursor Alternatives
If Cursor isn't the right fit, here are other tools worth evaluating — and how they compare to Frontman.
Frontman
Source-available AI website editor. Site owners and product teams describe changes from the live site without using an IDE.
Frontman vs Claude Code
Terminal-based AI coding agent from Anthropic. Powerful for backend and full-stack work.
Frontman vs GitHub Copilot
AI pair programmer in VS Code and JetBrains. Autocomplete-focused with chat and agent features.
Frontman vs Windsurf
Now Devin Desktop: full IDE and command center for local and cloud coding agents.
Frontman vs Stagewise
Open-source agentic desktop IDE with filesystem agents, browser previews, terminals, and plugins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can non-technical site owners use Frontman without learning an IDE?+
Yes. A WordPress administrator can install Frontman from the Plugin Directory in wp-admin. For Next.js, Astro, or Vite, a developer installs the project integration and runs the site. After setup, site owners, marketers, designers, and PMs work from the live site in a normal browser without navigating source files, using a terminal, or learning an IDE. Cursor Design Mode instead requires users to work inside the Cursor developer application and Agents Window.
Does Cursor have a visual editor like Frontman?+
Yes. Cursor Design Mode lets users select one or more elements in a running app, draw on the page, or dictate a prompt. It gives the agent element attributes, computed styles, component information, React Fiber props when available, and a screenshot, then shows edits through hot reload. Frontman is no longer differentiated simply by seeing the browser.
Why use Frontman if Cursor already has Design Mode?+
Frontman is designed for people responsible for a website or product who do not work in a development environment. Site owners, marketers, designers, and PMs make changes from the live site without adopting Cursor, an IDE, a terminal, or a code-navigation workflow. Cursor Design Mode is a strong choice for developers who already want Cursor's broader coding platform.
Do Frontman and Cursor Design Mode edit real source code?+
On Next.js, Astro, and Vite projects, both tools use browser context to guide changes to project source files rather than applying a separate production-only CSS override layer. On WordPress, Frontman uses WordPress-native tools for posts, pages, blocks, Elementor content, menus, templates, settings, and other supported site data. AI-generated changes still require review and testing.
Can Frontman replace Cursor for our engineering team?+
Usually not. Cursor now overlaps directly with Frontman on visual editing and also provides autocomplete, terminal access, browser automation, and cloud agents. Both provide agent harnesses capable of broad multi-file engineering workflows; Frontman is model-agnostic and adds dedicated browser and local framework context, while Cursor integrates the workflow into its developer environment.
Does Frontman work alongside Cursor?+
Yes. Engineers use Cursor as their IDE for backend and general coding. Designers and PMs use Frontman in the browser for visual changes. Both edit the same source files. Changes from either tool are reflected through normal file watching and hot reload.
What is the technical difference between Frontman and Cursor Design Mode?+
Both can inspect a running page, capture computed styles and screenshots, and make project changes. Frontman combines browser tools with dedicated Next.js, Astro, and Vite integrations for code-backed sites, or a WordPress plugin with WordPress-native content and settings tools. Cursor combines its Agents Window browser with a general-purpose coding agent, terminal, codebase tools, and cloud workflows.
How does pricing work for a team with designers, PMs, and engineers?+
Frontman is free, source-available, self-hostable, and BYOK. Cursor has a free Hobby tier and paid individual plans starting at $20 per month. Cursor supports BYOK for supported chat models, but Tab still uses Cursor models and BYOK requests pass through Cursor servers for final prompt building.
Try Frontman
Self-host in one command or use hosted Frontman Pro now.
$ npx @frontman-ai/nextjs installNext.js$ npx @frontman-ai/vite installVite (React, Vue, Svelte, SolidJS)$ astro add @frontman-ai/astroAstro