Honest comparisons
Compare ellul.
Honest, side-by-side comparisons between ellul and the other places engineers consider running their AI coding agent: Cursor, Claude Code, Codespaces, Daytona, Sprites, E2B.
Base44 vs ellul
Generated app, or engineered software.
Base44 abstracts away the codebase. Ellul puts an engineer's agent inside a real codebase. The two products do not really compete; they serve adjacent users with non-overlapping needs. We list the comparison only because the question shows up.
Bolt vs ellul
Prompt-to-app, or agent's runtime.
Bolt is opinionated about the runtime (browser-based via WebContainer) and the workflow (prompt → app → preview). Ellul is the runtime under your agent: you bring the editor, the agent, the model, the deploy target. The two products serve adjacent users; we list the comparison because both show up under 'AI codes my app' searches.
Claude Code vs Cursor
The agent vs the editor, and the place either of them lives.
Claude Code is the agent. Cursor is the editor. Ellul is the computer the agent runs on. Most senior engineers we talk to use Claude Code for the model and Cursor for the keyboard, then run Claude Code on Ellul so the lid problem stops mattering.
Claude Code vs ellul
The agent, and the place the agent lives.
Claude Code is one of the strongest coding agents in 2026. We default to it. The question is not Claude Code or Ellul. It's where you want Claude Code to live. On your laptop, where it stops when the lid closes? Or on Ellul, where it runs through the night?
Codespaces vs ellul
Built for humans, or built for agents.
Codespaces' design assumption: a human is in the editor, the agent (Copilot) helps them. Ellul's: an agent is in the workstation, the human approves the dangerous parts. Once you change who is at the keyboard, almost every product decision changes: gating, parallelism, peering, credential handling.
Cursor vs ellul
Cursor's runtime, or yours.
Cursor sells the editor, the agent, and (increasingly) the runtime as one bundled stack. Ellul is the runtime under whichever agent you choose, including Cursor's. Ellul integrates Cursor's Agent SDK for the chat experience and pre-installs cursor-agent on every workstation, so you keep Cursor's editor and CLI but the agent process lives on infrastructure you control, with a passkey gate, parallel-agent peering, and model-agnostic BYOK across Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode in the same workstation.
Daytona vs ellul
A primitive, or the product built on it.
Daytona is to dev environments what Kubernetes is to containers: a powerful primitive that requires assembly. Ellul is the assembled experience: chat, gates, peering, integrations. If you have a platform team and want to build your own internal agent platform, Daytona is sensible. If you want to use an agent today, Ellul is the answer.
Devin vs ellul
A managed engineer, or your agent's workstation.
Devin is the agent and the runtime, sold together as a managed product. Ellul is the runtime under your agent: your existing Claude Code or Cursor CLI on a persistent workstation, with your credentials and your tools. Devin is high-end SaaS; Ellul is infrastructure. They are not the same kind of purchase.
E2B vs ellul
Ephemeral code execution, or persistent agent work.
E2B sandboxes are ephemeral by design: they exist for the duration of a code-execution call, capped at 24 hours on Pro. Ellul workstations are persistent by design: they exist until you cancel your subscription. If you're building an LLM app that runs untrusted code, use E2B. If you're an engineer who wants an always-on agent, use Ellul.
Lovable vs ellul
Generated React app, or engineered software.
Lovable abstracts the codebase. Ellul puts an engineer's agent inside a real codebase. The two products serve adjacent but non-overlapping users. We list the comparison because some search queries land both products on the same shortlist.
Manus vs ellul
A managed agent product, or a place for your agent.
Manus is the agent and the runtime, bundled, with their model and their tools. Ellul is the runtime under your agent. It is the computer your Claude Code or Cursor or Codex session lives on, with your credentials and your tooling. The choice is whether you want to bring your own agent or hire one of theirs.
Replit vs ellul
Generalist cloud IDE, or focused agent workstation.
Replit bundles IDE, agent, and hosting into one product, optimized for breadth (learners through prosumers). Ellul unbundles those: it is the agent's runtime and nothing else, optimized for professional engineers running their own agent CLI in their own repo. The two products overlap in the keyword 'cloud development environment' and diverge from there.
Sprites.dev vs ellul
Sandbox infrastructure, or the product on top of it.
Sprites is infrastructure. Ellul is a product. If you're building an AI coding tool and need stateful sandboxes as a primitive, Sprites is the right call. If you're a senior engineer who wants an always-on workstation for your agent, Ellul is what you sign up for. The two are complementary.
Windsurf vs ellul
Editor with an agent, or computer for the agent.
Windsurf is the editor with the agent baked in. Ellul is the computer that agent runs on. They compose: keep Windsurf as your editor, point its Cascade-CLI workflows at an Ellul workstation so the agent doesn't share your laptop's lid, credentials, or single-process bottleneck.