Cursorvs
Zed
Zed: Also an AI-assisted code editor for developers, local-first with collaborative features, but written in Rust and offers free tier.
Cursor
The AI-first code editor
As of 30 August 2026, Cursor has a free plan and paid plans start at $20/month. Cursor is an AI-first code editor built on VS Code that predicts your next edit. Softwr lists it under Software Development. Cursor is made by Anysphere, launched in 2022, available on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Overview
What Cursor does
Cursor is an AI-first code editor built on VS Code that predicts your next edit. With features like natural language editing, codebase-wide answers, and seamless AI integration, Cursor helps developers write code faster and more efficiently.
What people use it for
- AI-assisted coding
- Code generation
- Bug fixing
- Refactoring
- Learning new codebases
- Rapid prototyping
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Cursor.
- Cannot work fully offline; AI features require internet connection
- Local models require requests to route through Cursor's backend, not true localhost support
- Free tier capped at 2,000 completions per month
- Codebase indexing uploads code chunks to compute embeddings, with file caching handled server-side
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Cursor
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- CursorvsWindsurf
Windsurf: Agentic IDE with AI coding capabilities from Cognition, similar multi-model support and agent-based editing workflows.
Pricing
What Cursor costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Hobby
Free
- 2,000 completions/month
- 50 slow premium requests
- Basic autocomplete
Pro
$20 /mo
- Unlimited completions
- 500 fast premium requests
- Composer multi-file editor
- Codebase indexing
Pro+
$60 /mo
- 3x Pro limits on Agent requests
- Priority feature access
Teams Standard
$40 /user/month
- All Individual Pro features
- Centralized billing
- SAML/OIDC SSO
- Privacy mode
- Usage analytics
Capabilities
Features
AI code completion
Natural language editing
Codebase chat
Multi-file editing
Code generation
Bug fixing assistance
Refactoring suggestions
AI pair programming
Git
Integration with Git
GitHub
Integration with GitHub
OpenAI GPT-4
Integration with OpenAI GPT-4
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Integration with Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
What's included in Cursor's free tier and what are its limits?
The free Hobby plan provides 2,000 completions per month and 50 slow premium requests, with access to basic autocomplete features. Codebase-wide indexing and the Composer multi-file editor are not available on the free plan.
SourceDoes Cursor require an internet connection to edit code?
While Cursor can open and edit files locally, its AI features including autocomplete, chat, agents, and codebase-aware reasoning require internet access to cloud-hosted models.
SourceCan I use Cursor with local models running on my machine?
Cursor can integrate with local models, but requests still route through Cursor's backend for prompt building. True localhost mode without external endpoints is not supported. The paid plan ($20+/month) is required to use local models.
SourceWhat privacy controls does Cursor offer?
Cursor offers Privacy Mode (enabled on paid Team plans) which prevents customer data from being used for model training, with zero data retention agreements with all AI providers. When disabled, Cursor may use codebase data to improve features.
SourceWhat are the differences between Pro and Pro+ plans?
Pro ($20/month) includes unlimited completions and 500 fast premium requests, while Pro+ ($60/month) provides 3x those request limits, priority feature access, and extended Agent capabilities.
SourceDoes Cursor support SSO and on which plan?
SSO with SAML/OIDC is included on Teams Standard ($40/user/month) and higher plans, with full team administration and audit logs.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Cursor
- Company
- Anysphere
- Based in
- San Francisco, CA
Keep looking
Where to go from Cursor
- Cursor alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Cursor pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Cursor badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Software Development softwareThe full category
- Best Software Development softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Software Development software for
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Cursor, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
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