Vibe coding vs traditional coding
Updated Oct 26, 2026 · Sources listed at the end
In traditional coding you write and understand the code yourself; in vibe coding you describe what you want to an AI and accept what it produces without reading it closely. Vibe coding is faster to start and opens software-making to non-programmers; traditional coding gives you the understanding needed to debug, secure and maintain the result.1
| Traditional coding | Vibe coding | |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the code | You | An LLM |
| Do you read it? | Yes | Not necessarily, by definition2 |
| Skills needed | Programming language, tooling | Describing outcomes, testing |
| Best for | Production systems, long-lived code | Prototypes, personal tools1 |
| Main risks | Slower to start | Bugs, security holes, technical debt1 |
What research says about speed
Speed gains are not guaranteed. In a July 2025 randomised controlled trial by METR, experienced developers using AI tools took 19% longer on 246 tasks, even though they expected to be 24% faster.1
Maintenance
Wikipedia’s summary of a GitClear analysis of 211 million changed lines (2020–2024) reports refactoring falling from 25% of changed lines in 2021 to under 10% by 2024, with duplicated code rising about fourfold.1
A middle path
Most professional developers sit in between: they use AI to write code but review and test it. See vibe coding vs AI-assisted development.
Footnotes
Tools mentioned
- Cursor: free plan, paid from $8/mo
- Lovable: free plan, paid from $25/mo
- GitHub Copilot: free plan, paid from $10/mo