How they actually differ
Cline and Continue both live inside VS Code and JetBrains and both call themselves AI coding assistants, but they sit at different points on the autonomy spectrum and that one decision drives almost everything else about which one to pick.
Cline is an autonomous coding agent. You give it a task, it reads files, writes files, runs commands, and iterates until done. It is the closest open-source equivalent to Claude Code in style: the agent owns the loop, the human reviews diffs. Best for tasks where you can describe the outcome in a sentence and walk away (refactor this module, fix this test, add this feature behind a flag). The trade-off is that on tasks with nuance the model takes a wrong path five steps deep and you have to interrupt and steer.
Continue is a code assistant in the older sense. Chat in the sidebar, inline edits, autocomplete, slash commands. The human owns the loop, the model assists. Best when you want fast, in-flow help while you stay in the driver's seat. It also has agent capabilities now, but the center of gravity is still assistive rather than autonomous.
Where the trade-off bites: Cline saves more time on big mechanical tasks (mass refactors, scaffolding, repetitive edits) and on tasks you would otherwise context-switch off the keyboard for. Continue keeps you faster on the actual code review and architecture work where you do not want a model running ahead of you. Most engineers we talk to use both, switching by task.
Where Respan fits. If you want the same model routing, cost tracking, and prompt control across whichever coding agent you happen to be using, that is the gateway side of Respan. Point your tools at the Respan gateway endpoint and you get one place for keys, budgets, and per-developer cost breakdowns regardless of which assistant is in front. See the proxy coding agents cookbook for the wiring.