Cursor
AI-first code editor with autonomous agents for multi-file development
Cursor is an AI-assisted integrated development environment built as a fork of Visual Studio Code with AI deeply integrated throughout the editing experience. It enables developers to code faster using advanced language models like GPT-5, Claude, and Gemini, with features including intelligent tab completions, codebase-aware chat, multi-file editing via Composer, and autonomous agents that can search codebases, edit files, and execute terminal commands from natural language instructions.
How we scored it
A weighted average of the 4 dimensions below, each judged 0–10 from published pricing, vendor documentation and independent user feedback. We do not run hands-on tests, and no vendor has any say in a score.
2 further dimensions are not scored for this product yet, so they are left out of the average rather than counted as zero. How the score works.
What it actually costs
Intro pricing shown — see the renewal note for what you'll pay after the introductory term. We don't hide the second-act price.
Hobby
Free tier. No credit card required; limited Agent requests; access to Composer. (Vendor: pricing page)
Pro
Individual plan. Extended Agent limits, access to Grok and frontier models, Grok Bot, MCPs/skills/hooks, Cloud agents; includes a set amount of model usage with on-demand usage billed in arr
Ultra
Individual plan. Everything in Pro plus ~20x Pro limits on Agents, highest Grok Bot usage limits, access to frontier models, MCPs/skills/hooks, Cloud agents. (Vendor: pricing page & docs)
Teams
Team plan billed per user. Centralized team billing/administration, team marketplace, pooled usage, Cloud agents with shared context, Grok Bot, agentic code reviews, usage analytics, team-wi
What to check before you commit to Cursor
A tool is judged on what it costs once it is adopted, not what it costs to try. These are the four things that change that number.
The price once it is adopted
At $20 a seat, five people is $100 a month ($1200 a year) and ten is $200 ($2400 a year). Tools are bought one seat at a time and paid for by the dozen.
Where the usage ceiling sits
Credits, generations, exports and API calls are the lines that run out mid-month. Find what happens when you hit the cap — hard stop, throttle, or an overage rate you have not budgeted for.
What the free tier is really for
A free tier is an evaluation, not a plan. Check which limit you would hit first in real use, because that is the one that decides when you start paying.
Getting your work back out
Export formats decide how reversible this decision is. A tool that only exports to its own format costs more to leave than its price suggests.
These are the checks we apply across ai tools, in the same order, so two pages can be compared line for line.
How much does Cursor really cost?
Our calculation from the vendor's published prices — not a figure the vendor advertises.
Price steps up at thresholds. Crossing one moves you to the next tier's price for everything, not just the excess. Free tier plus paid individual plans and seat-based Teams plans; all plans include some model usage and allow on-demand (usage-based) billing for overages billed in arrears as stated by vendor.
| Team size | Per month | Per year | Over 3 years | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $20 | $240 | $720 | Flat rate — seats are not charged separately on this plan |
| 5 people | $20 | $240 | $720 | Flat rate — seats are not charged separately on this plan |
| 10 people | $20 | $240 | $720 | Flat rate — seats are not charged separately on this plan |
| 50 people | $20 | $240 | $720 | Flat rate — seats are not charged separately on this plan |
Based on the Pro plan at $20 a month. Three years at the current monthly price. The vendor does not publish a renewal rate, so no increase is assumed.
- The vendor does not publish a renewal price, so three-year totals assume today's price holds.
- No annual price recorded, so annual figures are twelve times the monthly price.
Work out your own cost
- Flat rate — the price does not change with team size.
- No renewal increase is published, so today's price is held flat.
Cursor against the field
The highest-scoring alternatives in the same category, compared on the figures we hold for all of them.
| CursorThis page | ChatGPT | Grammarly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReviewCost score | 7.8/10 | 8.3/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Cheapest plan | Hobby | — | — |
| From | — | — | — |
| Renews at | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Biggest strength | Agent mode demonstrates impressive performance for complex feature development tasks, truly understanding requirements rather than just generating code snippets | Breadth of capabilities: text, code, images, voice, web browsing, file analysis, and agentic task execution in one interface | Real-time detection across 400+ grammar and spelling rule types with multi-language support |
| Biggest drawback | Pricing model remains complex; credit-based usage system requires active monitoring to avoid surprise overage charges—historically caused user frustration | Free and Go tiers now include ads in US and EU markets; conversation data used for training by default (manual opt-out required) | 150% price markup for month-to-month billing ($30) vs annual ($12/month); surprise auto-renewal charges when free trial lapses without cancellation |
Prices are the published figures at the time of writing and change often. Renewal pricing is shown where the vendor publishes it. See how we review.
What people ask about Cursor
Straight answers to what buyers actually ask, drawn from the documentation and published user reports.
Is Cursor worth $20/month compared to GitHub Copilot at $10/month?
Why did Cursor's pricing change, and will it happen again?
Can I use Cursor with JetBrains IDEs or Vim?
Is Cursor suitable for enterprise/GDPR-regulated teams?
Has Cursor's Agent mode improved since late 2025 issues?
Page history
- Published
- 13 September 2026
- Last updated
- 1 October 2026
- Pricing checked against vendor
- 1 October 2026
Sources & verification
Pricing on this page was taken from the vendor's published pricing page on 1 October 2026.
- Models & PricingOfficial documentation · Cursor (docs) · read 1 October 2026
- Pricing and plans | Cursor DocsOfficial documentation · Cursor (docs) · read 1 October 2026
- PricingOfficial pricing page · Cursor (cursor.com) · read 1 October 2026