# What Is Cursor AI? Is It Free? (October 2026 Guide)

> Cursor AI is an AI code editor built on VS Code, now owned by SpaceX. Yes, it has a free plan. Here's the new October 2026 pricing, from $8 to $200 a month.

Last updated: 2026-10-29T10:00:00

Canonical URL: https://crevio.co/blog/cursor-ai

*Last updated: October 29, 2026*

**Cursor AI is an AI code editor built on VS Code that writes, edits, and reviews code for you, and yes, it has a free plan.** You describe a change in plain language and Cursor's agent makes it across your project, while its Tab autocomplete predicts your next edits as you type. Cursor changed more in 2026 than in any year since launch: SpaceX acquired it in August, and on October 12 its plans were rebuilt around xAI's Grok models, with paid tiers now at $8, $30, $100, and $200 a month. Most guides you'll find still show the old $20 Pro plan. This one covers what Cursor is, what it costs today, and when it's worth paying for, with every price checked on October 29, 2026.

- **What it is**: an AI code editor and coding agent, built on VS Code, made by Anysphere (now part of SpaceX)
- **Is it free?** Yes. The Free plan costs $0 with limited agent and chat usage
- **What it costs**: Plus $8/month (Grok models only), Premium $30/month (adds Claude, GPT, and Gemini at API prices), Super $100, Ultra $200
- **The catch**: Claude, GPT, and Gemini are no longer included in new plans; they bill separately by usage

## What Is Cursor AI?

Cursor is a fork of VS Code, so it looks and feels like the editor millions of developers already use. Your extensions, keybindings, and themes import in one click, and there's nothing new to learn about the editor itself. The difference is that AI is built into the core rather than added as a plugin.

That means Cursor understands your whole project, not just the open file. Ask it to "add login and protect these routes," and it plans the work, edits the right files, runs commands, and shows you a diff to review. Cursor now describes itself as ["your coding agent for building ambitious software"](https://cursor.com/), which is a fair summary: it started as a smarter autocomplete and grew into an agent that takes on whole tasks.

It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and Cursor says it's used by over half of the Fortune 500.

### Who owns Cursor now?

Cursor was built by Anysphere, a startup founded by four MIT graduates in 2022. On August 14, 2026, Cursor [announced it had been acquired by SpaceX](https://cursor.com/blog/joining-spacex), in a deal reported at $60 billion. Two months later, on October 12, xAI launched [The X Subscription](https://x.ai/news/x-subscription), one plan that bundles Cursor with Grok, Grok Bot, and X Premium. That's why Cursor's pricing page now mentions Grok and X perks next to coding features.

For you as a user, the editor works the same. What changed is the pricing, the default models, and which outside models are included. We cover all three below.

![Cursor AI homepage: "Cursor is your coding agent for building ambitious software"](https://crevio.co/vite/assets/cursor-homepage-oa2l8ruo.webp)

## What Is Cursor Used For?

Cursor is for writing and maintaining software. In practice people use it to:

- **Build features faster**: describe the feature, let the agent draft it across files, then review and refine
- **Understand unfamiliar code**: ask "where is the API client defined?" or "what does this function touch?" and get answers grounded in your codebase
- **Fix bugs**: paste an error, and the agent traces it, proposes a fix, and runs your tests
- **Refactor**: rename, restructure, or migrate code across dozens of files in one instruction
- **Review pull requests**: Bugbot, Cursor's code reviewer, comments on PRs in GitHub
- **Prototype**: beginners and founders use it for [vibe coding](/blog/vibe-coding), building small apps mostly by describing them

It's a tool for people who are, or want to be, working in code. If you never want to see code at all, skip to [what Cursor doesn't do](#what-cursor-ai-doesnt-do-the-business-gap).

## Key Features of Cursor AI

- **Tab.** Cursor's AI autocomplete predicts your next edits, not just the next word: multi-line changes, missing imports, even where you'll edit next. Many developers say it's the feature they can't give up.
- **Agent.** Describe a task and the agent carries it out across multiple files, running commands and fixing errors as it goes.
- **Cloud agents.** Agents that run in parallel on their own machines, build and test features, and come back with results for you to review. These need Premium or higher.
- **Bugbot code reviews.** Automated reviews on your pull requests. Also Premium and up.
- **CLI and Slack.** A terminal version of the agent, and a Slack integration that takes requests when you mention it.
- **Cursor's own models.** Composer 2.5 (Cursor's in-house model) and xAI's Grok 4.7 are the models included in every paid plan's usage pool.
- **Outside models.** Claude, GPT, and Gemini models are still available on Premium and above, billed at API list price. That matters because [which LLM is best for coding](/blog/best-llm-for-coding) keeps changing: right now Claude Opus 5.5 leads Terminal-Bench 4.0 at 66.4%.

**Pros:**

- Tab autocomplete genuinely changes how fast you move through code
- Cloud agents let you hand off several tasks at once
- Zero-friction switch: your whole VS Code setup imports in one click
- A real free plan, and paid plans from $8 a month

**Cons:**

- The models most developers prefer (Claude, GPT) now cost extra on top of your plan
- Usage limits are described as multiples ("4x Plus"), not hard numbers, so costs are hard to predict
- It's a standalone editor; there's no Cursor plugin for JetBrains or other IDEs
- Like every AI coding tool, it makes plausible-looking mistakes you have to catch

## Is Cursor AI Free?

**Yes. Cursor's Free plan costs $0 and needs no credit card.** It includes the full editor plus limited agent and chat requests on Cursor's own models. Cursor doesn't publish exact numbers for the free allowance, so older figures like "2,000 completions a month" no longer apply.

What the Free plan doesn't include, per [Cursor's pricing page](https://cursor.com/pricing) and [model docs](https://cursor.com/docs/models-and-pricing):

- Claude, GPT, or Gemini models (those need Premium or higher)
- Cloud agents, automations, and Bugbot code reviews
- Enough usage for daily, agent-heavy work

For trying Cursor on a side project, Free is plenty. If you code most days, expect to hit the limit within a week and move to a paid plan. Students don't get a standing free Pro plan anymore; Cursor's [students page](https://cursor.com/students) points to campus promotions instead.

## Cursor AI Pricing in 2026

Cursor replaced its plans on October 12, 2026. Here's what a new customer can buy today:

| Plan | Price | What you get | Best for |
|------|-------|--------------|----------|
| Free | $0 | Limited agent and chat requests | Trying it out |
| Plus | $8/mo | Shared usage pool, Grok and Composer models only | Light coding on a budget |
| Premium | $30/mo | 4x Plus usage, cloud agents, Bugbot, Grok Bot, third-party models at API price | Most developers who code daily |
| Super | $100/mo | 15x Plus usage, priority access at peak times | Heavy daily agent use |
| Ultra | $200/mo | 50x Plus usage, earliest access to new models | All-day power users |
| Teams | From $30/user/mo | SSO, central billing, usage analytics, privacy controls | Teams |
| Enterprise | Custom | Pooled usage, SCIM, audit logs, model and MCP access controls | Large organizations |

Prices from [cursor.com/pricing](https://cursor.com/pricing), checked October 29, 2026.

![Which Cursor plan fits: Free to try, Plus for light Grok use, Premium for daily coding with Claude or GPT, Super or Ultra for all-day agents, Teams for organizations](https://crevio.co/vite/assets/cursor-tier-picker-da75zz9o.svg)

### What changed on October 12, 2026

- **One weekly pool instead of monthly limits.** Your allowance now refreshes weekly and is shared between Cursor and Grok. If you run out, you buy top-ups.
- **More usage on Cursor's own models.** Cursor says each new paid plan includes [at least twice as much coding usage](https://cursor.com/docs/account/pricing/legacy-cursor-plans) on its own models as the old plan it replaces.
- **Outside models moved out of the plan.** Claude, GPT, and Gemini used to be included in your allowance. Now they bill at API list price from the first request, paid from prepaid credit. Plus can't use them at all.
- **Pro is gone for new customers.** The closest match to the old $20 Pro plan is Premium at $30.

### Already on Cursor Pro?

You don't have to do anything. The old plans (Hobby, Pro at $20, Pro+ at $60, Ultra at $200, and Teams at $40 or $120 a seat) keep working at the same price, with their included allowance for outside models. [Cursor's legacy plan docs](https://cursor.com/docs/account/pricing/legacy-cursor-plans) say switching to the new plans is optional but permanent: you can't go back.

If you mostly use Claude or GPT inside Cursor, staying on legacy Pro is likely the better deal, because that usage is still included. If you're happy on Composer and Grok, the new plans give you more of it.

### Using Claude, GPT, or Gemini in Cursor

On Premium and above, outside models cost what the model provider charges through its API. As a reference point, Claude Opus 5.5 runs $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens (see our [best LLM for coding](/blog/best-llm-for-coding) guide). A long agent session that rereads a big codebase can use millions of tokens, so set a spending cap before you start. Teams and Enterprise also pay a Cursor fee of $0.25 per million tokens on eligible outside models.

### Will Cursor lose OpenAI models?

Possibly. After the SpaceX deal, OpenAI said it plans to end its contract supplying models to Cursor, with a [proposed shutoff date of November 12, 2026](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001506-using-openai-models-in-cursor), and that Cursor won't get new OpenAI models in the meantime. OpenAI calls the date a proposal, not final. As of October 29, GPT-5.6 models are still listed in Cursor's model docs. Cursor's CEO has reportedly said OpenAI models make up about 5% of Cursor traffic. Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Composer aren't affected.

### Is a paid plan worth it?

The math is friendly. At a $75/hour freelance rate, **Premium pays for itself if it saves you 24 minutes a month**; for most daily users it saves hours a week. Upgrade on evidence: if you run out of your weekly allowance two weeks in a row, the next tier costs less than the time you lose waiting.

## How to Get Started with Cursor

1. **Download Cursor** from [cursor.com](https://cursor.com/) and install it like any app.
2. **Import your VS Code setup** in one click during onboarding. Extensions, keybindings, and themes come with you.
3. **Open a project.** Cursor indexes your codebase so the agent can answer questions about it.
4. **Try Tab and Agent.** Start typing to see Tab suggestions, then open the agent and describe a small, bounded task.
5. **Check the model picker.** On Free and Plus you'll be on Cursor's models. On Premium and up, outside models appear with their per-token cost.

The editor needs no learning. The real shift is habit: describing outcomes and reviewing the agent's work instead of typing every line.

## Getting More Out of Cursor: Four Habits That Compound

1. **Write project rules once.** Cursor reads rules files that describe your conventions (naming, patterns, what not to touch). Ten minutes writing them improves every suggestion afterward, because the model stops guessing your style.
2. **Match the model to the task.** Under the new plans this matters more than ever. Composer and Grok come out of your included pool; Claude and GPT cost API prices. Use the included models for routine edits and save the paid frontier models for hard, multi-file work.
3. **Use Tab for flow, Agent for chunks.** Tab shines while you're actively thinking through code. Agent shines when you can describe a bounded task fully and walk away.
4. **Review diffs like a reviewer.** Accepting changes is frictionless, which is exactly why you should read them as if a new hire wrote them. It costs minutes and catches the plausible-but-wrong changes that cost afternoons.

## How Cursor AI Compares

- **Versus GitHub Copilot.** Copilot works inside VS Code, JetBrains, and other editors, and [its Pro plan is $10/month](https://github.com/features/copilot/plans) with AI credits for chat and agent use. Cursor's Tab and agents go deeper, but Copilot is the easier on-ramp if you don't want to switch editors.
- **Versus Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf).** The closest rival: another VS Code fork, leaning harder into autonomous agents, with a free plan and Pro at $20/month. See our [Cursor vs Windsurf](/blog/cursor-vs-windsurf) comparison.
- **Versus Claude Code.** [Claude Code](/blog/claude-code) is a terminal agent, not an editor. If you mostly want Claude, a Claude subscription can be cheaper than paying API prices for Claude inside Cursor.
- **Versus other editors.** Cursor is one of the top [VS Code alternatives](/blog/vs-code-alternatives), but Zed, JetBrains, and Neovim all suit different workflows.

## What Cursor AI Doesn't Do (the Business Gap)

![Crevio AI business builder homepage](https://crevio.co/vite/assets/crevio-homepage-nz1ix4w5.webp)

Here's the honest limit, shared by every AI coding tool. Cursor makes you a faster coder, but faster coding isn't the same as a working business. Even after Cursor helps you build a great app, you still need a website, a way to take payments, a place to capture leads, a list of customers, and a way to get people to show up. Cursor does none of that, because it's an editor.

Plenty of people trying Cursor aren't really after better code. They want to launch something that makes money, and coding is the path they assumed they needed. If that's you, [Crevio](https://crevio.co/) is worth a look. It's an **AI business builder**: you describe the business you want to run, and it builds the website, sets up your products and checkout, captures leads, and keeps track of customers, with no editor and no code.

- **Everything to sell is built in**: products, pricing, checkout, email capture, your customer list, and sales reports in one place
- **Stripe-powered payments with fees from 1% to 5%** depending on your plan
- **Start free**, then Pro at $20/month adds a custom domain, and connect 3,000+ tools you already use

To be clear about scope: Crevio isn't a code editor and won't replace Cursor for building software. It sells digital products, courses, memberships, and physical goods (with stock tracking, though it doesn't print shipping labels or track deliveries). But if your real goal is a business rather than an engineering project, it skips the editor entirely.

## The Bottom Line

Cursor AI is still the most complete AI code editor: VS Code underneath, with Tab, agents, cloud agents, and code review on top. It's free to try, $8/month if Grok and Composer are enough for you, and $30/month for Premium if you want cloud agents and access to Claude or GPT (billed separately). If you're already on the old $20 Pro plan and lean on Claude or GPT, there's little reason to switch.

Just keep the goal in view. If you love building software, Cursor is a joy to use. If what you actually want is to sell something online, the code is the easy part, and a tool like [Crevio](https://crevio.co/) handles the business from a description.

## FAQ

### What is Cursor AI and how does it work?

Cursor AI is an AI code editor built on VS Code. It indexes your whole project so its AI understands your code: you describe changes in plain language and its agent edits multiple files, runs commands, and shows you a diff, while Tab predicts your next edits as you type. Your VS Code extensions and settings carry over.

### Is Cursor AI free?

Yes. Cursor's Free plan costs $0 and includes the editor plus limited agent and chat requests on Cursor's own models. It doesn't include Claude, GPT, or Gemini, cloud agents, or code reviews. The cheapest paid plan is Plus at $8/month.

### How much does Cursor cost in 2026?

Since October 12, 2026: Free ($0), Plus ($8/month), Premium ($30/month), Super ($100/month), Ultra ($200/month), Teams from $30 per user per month, and custom Enterprise pricing. Claude, GPT, and Gemini cost extra at API list prices on Premium and above.

### Can I still get Cursor Pro for $20?

Not as a new customer. Pro is now a legacy plan. If you already have it, you keep it at $20 with its included allowance for outside models, as long as you don't switch. The closest new plan is Premium at $30/month.

### Who owns Cursor?

SpaceX. Cursor, made by Anysphere, announced on August 14, 2026 that it had been acquired by SpaceX. Since October 2026, Cursor is sold as part of The X Subscription alongside Grok and X Premium.

### Can I use Claude or GPT in Cursor?

Yes, on Premium ($30/month) and above, billed at each model's API list price on top of your plan. The Free and Plus plans include only Cursor's own models (Composer and Grok). Legacy Pro, Pro+, and Ultra plans still include an allowance for outside models.

### Is Cursor losing access to OpenAI models?

OpenAI has proposed ending Cursor's access to its models on November 12, 2026, and says Cursor won't receive new OpenAI models. The date isn't final. Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Composer models aren't affected.

### Is Cursor safe to use with private code?

Cursor offers Privacy Mode, which stops your code from being used for training; a team admin can enforce it for everyone. Your code is still sent to model providers to generate responses, so check your company's policy before using it on sensitive repositories.

### Is Cursor better than GitHub Copilot?

For depth, usually yes: Cursor's Tab and agents are more capable. For convenience, Copilot wins, since it works inside your existing editor and its Pro plan is $10/month. Copilot is the safer first step if you're AI-curious; Cursor suits developers ready to switch editors.

### Why did my Cursor bill spike?

Almost always outside models. On the new plans, Claude, GPT, and Gemini bill at API prices from the first request, and agents that reread large codebases use tokens fast. Set a spending cap, use Composer or Grok for routine tasks, and save frontier models for hard problems.

### Does Cursor work offline?

The editor works offline like VS Code, but every AI feature (Tab, chat, agents) needs an internet connection, because the models run in the cloud.

## Related Blog Posts

- [Best LLM for Coding](/blog/best-llm-for-coding)
- [Cursor vs Windsurf](/blog/cursor-vs-windsurf)
- [15 Best VS Code Alternatives](/blog/vs-code-alternatives)
- [What Is Claude Code?](/blog/claude-code)
- [11 Best Vibe Coding Tools](/blog/best-vibe-coding-tools)