Claude Code vs Claude desktop app
Claude Code is a terminal agent by Anthropic. Claude desktop app is a desktop app by Anthropic. Every cell below is read from the directory data and points back to a vendor page.
 Claude Code |  Claude desktop app | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Layer | Terminal agent, Editor extension, Cloud agent | Desktop app |
| Vendor | Anthropic | Anthropic |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows, Web | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| License | Proprietary Proprietary | Proprietary Proprietary |
| Status | active | active |
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | No | No |
| Entry price | $20/mo | $20/mo |
| Top individual plan | $200/mo | $200/mo |
| Team seat | $25/user/mo | $25/user/mo |
| Included usage | — | — |
| Beyond the plan | API list price | API list price |
| Part of a plan | Claude | Claude |
| Models | ||
| Providers | Anthropic | Anthropic |
| Bring your own key | BYOK | No BYOK |
| Local models | No | No |
| Features | ||
| Parallel agents | Yes | Yes |
| Subagents | Yes | No |
| MCP client | Yes | Yes |
| ACP agent | Yes | No |
| Browser automation | Yes | Yes |
| Sandboxing | Yes | No |
| Remote execution | Yes | No |
| Mobile companion | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduled tasks | Yes | Yes |
| Diff review | No | Yes |
| Checkpoints | Yes | No |
| Plugins | Yes | No |
| Hooks | Yes | No |
| Works with | ||
| Runs | — | Claude Code |
| Runs inside | Claude desktop app, Claude Squad, cmux, Conductor, dmux, Emdash, goose, Herdr, JetBrains AI, Nimbalyst, opcode, OpenHands, Orca, Paseo, Sculptor, Superset, T3 Code, Vibe Kanban, Vibe Notch, Visual Studio Code, Warp, Xcode, Zed | — |
| Pricing verified | 2026-08-23 | 2026-08-23 |