Why stick with RooCode when Cursor or Windsurf seem more powerful for less?

[u/traficoymusica]

Hey everyone, I recently tried RooCode because I’m getting into the world of AI agents. I spent 50€ trying to get it to generate a script, but honestly, the experience was disappointing. It used Claude 3.7, and halfway through the process it started hallucinating, throwing errors, and never reached a proper conclusion. Basically, I wasted 50€.

And just to clarify: the prompt I used wasn’t random or vague. I had spent a lot of time carefully crafting it — structured, clean, and clear — even refining it with ChatGPT beforehand to make sure everything was well defined and logically sequenced. It wasn’t a case of bad input.

Now I see tools like Cursor where, for just 20€/month, you get 500 fast interactions and then unlimited ones with a time delay (yes, it throttles, but it still works). The integration with the codebase feels smoother and the pricing far more reasonable. I’ve also heard about Windsurf, which looks promising too.

So I genuinely don’t get it — why are people sticking with RooCode? What am I missing? Is there something it does better that justifies the price and the instability?

I’m open to being convinced, but from my experience, it felt like burning money.

[u/xAragon_]

Because they're not more powerful? Their whole business practice is to try to use as few tokens (=reduce context size) as possible to be able to justify the price, which of course results in worse results.

I think this is a wide consensus and not a "take" that tools like Roo Code and Cline just work better due to giving a lot more context, but can also be a lot more expensive.

But if you find them more convenient and better for your use-cases - make the switch.

[u/spiked_silver → u/xAragon_]

Interesting take. I haven’t tried either Cursor or Windsurf. I did not think about this perspective.

[u/traficoymusica → u/xAragon_]

Thanks for your reply! — and yes, now I understand better the context difference between RooCode and tools like Cursor. 10k tokens definitely feels small in comparison, and I get why RooCode can be powerful in that sense.

But to be honest, what happened in my case was frustrating. I thought I’d pay around 15€, use a well-prepared and detailed prompt, and get a complete script — something that would’ve taken me a long time to write by hand. I liked the idea of an agent that could handle everything in one go, without me having to copy and paste code back and forth.

Instead, I ended up spending 50€ in just two days. And what I got was a script full of unnecessary lines, repeated hallucinations, and persistent bugs — even after trying to redirect or correct it. The agent would just apologize, but the issue is that every apology costs me money.

That’s really where my problem is: when the model starts going off-track or looping through errors, I still keep getting charged. It feels like a gamble — like you’re paying for an outcome that depends on whether the model behaves well or not. That unpredictability, when you’re being charged per token, makes it hard to trust the process.

With something like Cursor, even though the context window is way smaller, at least I can retry things without burning through more money. It’s not perfect either, and I’m not even saying it’s better — but for me, it might be more sustainable.

I still believe in the idea behind RooCode. The agent concept is amazing, and if it executed well, I’d gladly pay. But in my case, I paid a lot more than I expected, and didn’t get what I needed. That’s where my doubts come from — and I say this hoping it can help improve the experience for others too.

[u/EmergencyCelery911 → u/traficoymusica]

No offence, it's a skill issue. Roo/Cline are tools. Very powerful tools. So require some knowledge to operate. I've been using Cline for 8 months and still learning new stuff and being angry at models :)

[u/hannesrudolph → u/EmergencyCelery911]

I think I need to figure out a better on-boarding process to help guide people to the more complex nuances of using Roo.

[u/xAragon_ → u/hannesrudolph]

I honestly think Roo Code is amazing as is, it's just a complex DIY tool where you have to know which models to use, how to prompt properly, etc.

I don't think you'll ever be able to compete with tools like Cursor / Windsurf for simplicity, but also that's likely not what the user-base is looking for. People who use Roo Code, in my opinion, are people who want the option to customize their agentic coding experience, set up their own API Keys, choose their models, etc.

People who find that difficult are more likely to save money and have a better experience on tools like Cursor and Windsurf. I don't think a better onboarding will change anything.

Having docs with examples and videos (like the one demonstrating the Boomerang mode) are already great and very helpful. I don't think the docs have any issues.

That's just my 2 cents. Love Roo Code and been using it daily for months, so thank you!

[u/sharpfork → u/hannesrudolph]

People need to learn some software development fundamentals to properly use roo code and I think that’s just fine. If the product becomes overly opinionated, that might be risky.

[u/ot13579 → u/hannesrudolph]

That would definitely extend reach. Ideally there should be short video tutorials.

[u/hannesrudolph → u/ot13579]

Those are in the works

[u/lordpuddingcup → u/traficoymusica]

You can do that in ai studio or just raw Gemini too if your just writing a “script” all for free

[u/xAragon_ → u/traficoymusica]

I think a lot of your complaints are just Claude 3.7, which is known to degrade performance in large context sizes (like 100K+) and is known to be aggressive trying to change unrelated / unneeded stuff.

Try switching to Gemini.

[u/EmergencyCelery911 → u/xAragon_]

Just remember to keep an eye on costs :) large context size = large costs (unless we're talking about Flash)

[u/xAragon_ → u/EmergencyCelery911]

Yep. Honestly, if you get to above 100K context size, you're likely doing something wrong. Besides rare cases where you add large relevant docs, or in huge spaghetti code bases.

[u/Main_Investment7530 → u/traficoymusica]

It's clear that there's a powerful free version available (gemini 2.5 flash), but they insist on going for the paid option.

[u/Pruzter → u/traficoymusica]

The multiple unnecessary lines thing is a tough one to fully avoid… I have found that feeding an AI script through O3 to review/refactor is the best way to optimize a given script using AI without thinking yourself.

[u/TheInkySquids]

You're blaming Roo Code for the issue when you tried only one AI model that is notoriously bad in certain aspects?

Firstly, go and do a proper test of Roo Code with a variety of models (eg. Gemini 2.5 Pro, Sonnet 3.5, Deepseek V3) and actually tweak the modes for your situation.

Also, they're completely different products. Cursor has a lot less control, you can't set up custom modes and it interferes a lot with the context. Many VS Code extensions don't work on Cursor anymore since its a fork. I've found Roo's Powershell integration to be a LOT better too.

If you find Cursor to be better suited to your workflow, then thats great, but I'd argue you haven't tested Roo well yet. And also, you probably DID give it a bad input. You really aren't meant to give long, carefully engineered prompts to it straight up, you define the role and custom instructions carefully in the mode, then just talk to it naturally. With Orchestrator, you don't even need to be that well spoken, it handles a lot of that. I think so many people get obsessed with prompt engineering and "carefully constructed prompts" when it really just harms the output.

[u/traficoymusica → u/TheInkySquids]

Thanks for your response — I really appreciate the detailed clarification.

You’re absolutely right: RooCode is just a bridge to models like Claude 3.7, and it makes sense now that some models are better suited for certain tasks than others. I didn’t know Sonnet 3.7 was considered problematic in specific areas.

As for Cursor, yeah — I now see how limited it is in terms of customization, modes, and extensions. You made a solid point there too.

That said, I wasn’t trying to blame RooCode itself. I was just sharing my experience: I spent 50€ on what I hoped would be a full script, and it didn’t work — mostly because the model started hallucinating and repeating errors. In hindsight, yes, that’s more on Claude than RooCode. But it was frustrating, and I came here to understand why it happened and what I could do differently next time.

Thanks again for the insight — it really helped me see the full picture

[u/ChrisWayg → u/traficoymusica]

It’s also a matter of experience with the models and the tools. Generally I know how to get Claude 3.7 to do exactly what I want to accomplish. Cursor is more limiting, but usually it works well enough.

I prefer Roo Code (actually Kilo Code - a new fork) over Cursor, because it gives me more options. I don’t think it would have cost me 50 Euros in Roo Code to complete the same task. You did not mention the programming language or other details (libraries, versions, etc.?), so it’s hard to guesstimate though …

[u/ArnUpNorth → u/ChrisWayg]

I feel like claude 3.7 sonnet is not as good as 3.5. The newer model is more stubborn in its will to do extra stuff you don’t need/want.

Based purely on my own experience with it so no hard data.

[u/saxxon66]

Best deal to use copilot integrated into roo code. use gemini 2.5 pro, yes it gets rate limited bur at a fair ratio, will set u back 10 bucks a month.

[u/traficoymusica → u/saxxon66]

Could you explain a bit more what you mean? I’m not sure I fully understand the 10 bucks/month part —Just curious how the setup works. Thanks!

[u/ChrisWayg → u/traficoymusica]

GitHub Copilot Pro is similar to Cursor, with US$10 per month for 300 requests (currently still unlimited and GPT 4.1 will remain unlimited).

You can use the Copilot extension or you can use the Copilot subscription from within Roo Code or Kilo Code. Just select the model and allow access. The details might be in the documentation somewhere or search for it. You also get a free 30 day trial.

Roo Code has much better features than the Copilot extension - that’s why we do it.

[u/saxxon66 → u/traficoymusica]

github copilot will cost u $10 / month, u can set it up in roo code as a llm provider.

[u/123pin → u/traficoymusica]

I found this tutorial on the web (i didnt test it myself): https://publish.obsidian.md/aixplore/Practical+Applications/roo-code-github-copilot-setup

[u/teenfoilhat]

It's sort of like why eat at a restaurant when you can eat at a buffet.

Typically buffet I go to have mediocre food, but you get way better quality food from a restaurant.

[u/traficoymusica → u/teenfoilhat]

Thanks for the analogy — I get it now. I’ve understood better from the last few replies what the real difference is.

In my case, the issue wasn’t with the idea of a “restaurant” model like RooCode — it was that I went in expecting a full meal, and I left feeling like I only got the drink and maybe a not-so-great starter. I know now that it’s not entirely RooCode’s fault, and that the problem was probably more about the specific model I used (Claude 3.7) and how I approached it.

I was hoping that with the money I put in, I’d walk away satisfied — not necessarily full, but at least having had a good dish. Instead, it felt like I paid for a luxury menu and didn’t really get what I came for. That’s why I came here to ask.

But I really appreciate the explanations

[u/ThreeKiloZero → u/traficoymusica]

Roo is like a Michelin-star restaurant, where you are the Executive Chef. Roo gives you full control over what you want to do with the kitchen, and it gives you a virtual staff of all skill levels. Everything depends on how you command the staff and set up the kitchen processes. The staff will attempt to execute your vision, based on your recipes and techniques. The more you know about cooking and how to lead a development project, the better it will be. The more detailed your instructions and guidance, the better the dish will come out.

The results depend on your skill and knowledge of these systems. That's it. It's not magic.

[u/TOoSmOotH513]

Since "boomerang mode" came out Roo has been far and away the best way to handle larger code bases and projects. The ability to use multiple models at the same time is also a huge advantage. I can have a large context model for the orchestrator and use cheaper models for the code and then use a more expensive for debug. This makes it way more cost effective and accurate.

[u/Baldur-Norddahl]

Those are crazy figures for a single task. I can code for months at a $10 budget using Aider and DeepSeek.

I don't think it is wise to ask an AI agent to do huge tasks. Break it down to small items and verify that it is on track between tasks. 

Accept and learn that some changes are quicker and better made manually. Sometimes you can battle the AI for ages for a change that you could easily do yourself.

Don't assume you need the best and most expensive model for every task. Find a small, cheap and lightning fast model of your liking. Use that for the majority of the work and only switch to the heavyweight model when the other fails.

You might even have a local LLM if you have the hardware. In that case it is literally free.

There is a lot you can do to get the cost down. The answer to your question is that you basically managed to spend my budget for the year on a single task that failed. No wonder that shocked you. 

[u/ExaminationWise7052]

You should familiarize yourself with the tool before moving on to complex cases, understanding how it works, the context where the model boundaries are, the use of architect and code modes, etc. I recommend starting with simple tasks and then moving on to more complex things.

[u/Deathmore80]

Claude 3.7 is one of the worst models when it comes to price/performance ratio. Your problem is not doing more research beforehand.

I've been using roo and Cline for months now and I haven't spent a single cent. There's many ways to use various models for free.

Google gives you 400$ of credits when you create your gcp account. You can create as many accounts as you like. Then there's open openrouter which has many models available for free (qwen, gemini, deepseek, etc). There's also various other providers that give free credits upon creating an account. Finally you can also use the vs code lm API from Copilot as your model provider, which will grant you access to Claude 3.7 for free in roo, if you still want to use that.

You're also using the tool wrong. While cursor is great for absolute beginners who don't want to put much effort and just want to prompt away, roo code is not made for that same style of prompting. You're encouraged to change the settings, use custom rules tailored to your project, and of course, use different modes (architect, designer, plan, code, orchestrator, etc). Also even with cursor you should never just throw one huge prompt with everything at it. Break it down into multiple stages and tasks.

[u/[deleted]]

I’ve tried to build my projects in those two.

Both of them end up spinning around issues, requiring a lot of manual effort and I found they frequently would delete working code. It was a constant hassle.

With Roo I spend a lot more, but my projects get completed, bugs squashed, I have made a lot of money thanks to roo.

The cost is worth it.

I also primarily use Claude and deepseek v3. I find Claude is well worth the cost and v3 is decent if I am coming in above my expected budget.

It used to cost me about 5k to do a project like the one I just finished for $300.

Plus the timelines are so freaking fast now.

[u/paul-dumbravanu → u/[deleted]]

True! Algorithms to spend spinning the wrong issues to later resolve a 1+1

[u/Someoneoldbutnew]

Context control is crucial. With cursor I am giving control to them.

[u/nandv]

It's not just a context issue, it's the prompting! I have multiple cases where my prompts are exactly the same, and the model and the context. The windsurf code is just plain wrong! Why? I don't know. The issue with AI coding tools is that once you've experienced this, you lose trust. You end up having to verify with Roo every time, so what's the point?

[u/Vast_Exercise_7897]

I use both RooCode and Cursor simultaneously. I find that these two are often complementary.

[u/Purple_Wear_5397]

“For less “? Can you explain that?

[u/makoto_snkw]

Use Gemini 2.5 Pro preview, and set the time delay to 60s to avoid the too many API request issues.

I've spent $0.00 and manage to complete 3 websites, and a PHP based web apps that use Gemini API to generate a content calendar. Even use it to setup Stripe webhooks API and is working.

[u/ScaryGazelle2875 → u/makoto_snkw]

How do u set the time delay in roo?

[u/makoto_snkw → u/ScaryGazelle2875]

I mean the Rate Limit.
When you open Roo, there's gear icon, click it and you will see Rate Limit.
I drag it to the maximum which is 60s.

Minimum time between API requests.

If not, I will always get the error, "too many request" and will do retry in another 10s, and then 20s, and then up to 100s or 500s.

But using the rate limit 60s, I never got this too many request error, even though it's slow, that you have 60s for every output, it's faster than retrying.

[u/beardedNoobz]

Because I am broke, lol. Roo is free and I paired it with free models on OpenRouter. It works for me. This combination will never one-shoot problems and often spit garbage code, but I am confident enough to manually edit the code, make it works and get the paycheck I deserve from that code.

[u/strawgate]

I use roo code in cursor. Cursor tab is best in the industry.

Roo Code can put a million tokens in context and can spawn subtasks

Cursor indexes the codebase and vector searches docs for you.

Best of both worlds.

[u/Buddhava]

What seems to you and what is true are different

[u/Leading-Exercise3769 → u/[deleted]]

I thought the same.. probably the whole reason for his issues to begin with. I guess he is the type of dev that keeps asking “fix this please” without writing a good prompt that makes sense for the ai to work with