Which AI-powered coding environment is actually worth using?

The world of developer tools is moving insanely fast. We’ve gone from simple text editors to full AI-powered development environments that can write, debug, and even reason about our code.

In this post I compare four very different tools:

• Vim – the legendary terminal editor
• Trae – the flashy AI IDE
• AntiGravity – Google’s experimental AI coding environment
• Cursor – the popular AI-first code editor

This is based on real developer experience, not marketing.

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Vim — Pure speed, zero AI

Vim is not an AI tool, but it’s still used by elite developers for one reason: speed. It’s for those who want to be original. Back in the days.

Pros

• Extremely lightweight (barely uses RAM or CPU)
• Instant startup
• Works everywhere (servers, SSH, containers)
• Keyboard-driven = insane productivity once mastered

Cons

• No built-in AI
• Hard learning curve
• Needs plugins to compete with modern IDEs

Vim is what you use when you want absolute control and performance. It will never be beaten in efficiency.

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Trae — Powerful, but heavy

Trae markets itself as a modern AI-powered IDE, but in real usage it feels… overloaded.

Pros

• Advanced AI coding features
• Nice UI
• Integrated chat + code tools

Cons

• Very CPU heavy
• Uses a lot of RAM
• Fans spin up, laptops heat up
• Feels sluggish on mid-range systems

Trae is the definition of a bloated AI IDE. Yes, it’s powerful — but it pays for that with performance.

On laptops or smaller machines, Trae feels slow, noisy, and battery-hungry.

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AntiGravity — The future, not the present

AntiGravity (by Google) is extremely ambitious. It tries to make AI actually see and understand your app and website, not just your code.

Pros

• AI can reason about UI, flows, and behavior
• MCP (Model Context Protocol) support
• Browser & app awareness
• Designed for full-app understanding

Cons

• Experimental
• Not stable
• Limited availability
• Not production-ready

AntiGravity feels like what IDEs will become in 2–3 years, not what they are today.

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Cursor — The best balance

Cursor is currently the most practical AI coding tool.

Pros

• Fast
• Low CPU usage
• Real-time AI inside your editor
• Works on large codebases
• Stable and polished

Cons

• Not open-source
• Needs internet for AI
• Not as futuristic as AntiGravity

Cursor gives you real AI power without destroying your system. It’s what Trae tries to be, but lighter and smoother.

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Final Comparison

Tool	Speed	AI Power	CPU Usage	Stability	Best For
Vim	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	❌ None	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Pure coding, servers
Trae	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	❌ High	⭐⭐⭐	Big machines only
AntiGravity	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐	Future experiments
Cursor	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Daily AI coding

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Verdict

• If you want raw speed: Vim
• If you want AI without killing your laptop: Cursor
• If you want to see the future: AntiGravity
• If you have a powerful PC and don’t mind noise: Trae

Trae is impressive, but it takes too much CPU power for what it delivers. Cursor proves you don’t need to melt your hardware to get great AI coding.