Cron jobs can run either via CLI or through the webserver - depending on how you set them up.
If you run
[/path/to/]php --some-options -f /path/to/script
or similar you chose the CLI versionIf you run
[wget|curl] 'http://localhost/some/thing.php'
or similar you chose to run inside the webserver
Both versions have their pros and cons, but the important bit is: You have the choice.