Coding Agent
Cursor
The AI-first IDE that 360k developers pay for
Our verdict
The most-used AI coding tool by paying customers — $2B in annualised revenue, 360k paying users. Multi-model flexibility is a real edge. The June 2025 pricing change burned some early adopters.
Best for
Builders who want an IDE-first AI experience and the ability to switch between Claude, GPT, and Gemini mid-session. Strong for rapid prototyping and exploration.
Not for
Teams committed to JetBrains, Vim, or any non-VS Code editor. Anyone who wants CLI-first workflows. Operators sensitive to SaaS pricing changes.
Overview
Cursor is a VS Code fork with AI baked into the editor. The headline is multi-model: Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5, and Gemini 2.0 are all available, and you can switch between them mid-session for the same task. That flexibility is the real differentiator — Claude Code only runs Claude, Codex only runs OpenAI. The IDE-first approach is faster than CLI workflows for exploration and rapid prototyping. The trade-off is VS Code lock-in: no JetBrains, no Vim, no terminal-first workflows. The June 2025 pricing pivot replaced fixed fast-request quotas with a $20 credit pool, which effectively cut monthly requests by ~55% without an announcement. Existing users felt blindsided. Despite that, Cursor still hit $2B annualised revenue by early 2026 — the market has voted.
What works
- +Multi-model — switch between Claude, GPT, and Gemini in the same session
- +Familiar VS Code experience reduces onboarding friction
- +Largest paying customer base on this list (360k)
- +Best for rapid prototyping and exploration
- +Active product development — feature velocity is high
What doesn't
- −VS Code lock-in — no JetBrains, no Vim, no terminal-first workflows
- −June 2025 pricing pivot cut effective requests ~55% without warning
- −Agent mode can make large unreviewable multi-file edits
- −Performance lag on very large projects vs vanilla VS Code
- −Opaque usage meter — hard to track credit consumption in real time
What operators use it for
01
Rapid Prototyping and MVPs
Cursor is the fastest tool on this list for exploration. Open a blank project, describe what you want to build, and the IDE drives the AI through inline suggestions and multi-file edits. Builders shipping MVPs report 5–10× faster time to first working prototype vs working in plain VS Code with autocomplete.
02
Multi-Model Comparison Mid-Session
Try Claude Sonnet 4.6 for a complex refactor. Switch to GPT-5 for a function it might handle differently. Drop down to Gemini 2.0 for a long-context task. Same conversation, three models. No other coding tool lets you do this without switching environments.
03
In-Line Edits While You Type
Cursor's bread and butter: AI completions that are aware of your whole codebase, not just the current file. Type the start of a function and Cursor predicts what you want to write based on patterns from across your project.
04
Multi-File Edits with Diff Review
Describe a refactor — 'rename this function and update all 23 call sites' — and Cursor stages the changes across files with a diff review before commit. Better safety than blind agent execution; faster than doing it manually.
05
Codebase Search Beyond Grep
Ask 'where do we handle authentication?' and Cursor runs a semantic search instead of a literal one. Useful when you don't know the exact function name but you know what the code does.
06
Onboarding to a New Codebase
Open an unfamiliar repo, ask Cursor to explain what each module does, trace how a request flows through the system. The IDE context (file tree, dependencies, imports) makes the explanations more accurate than chat-only tools.
Pricing
Hobby (free): 2k completions/month, 50 slow requests/month. Pro $20/month. Pro+ $60. Ultra $200. Teams $40/user/month. June 2025 pricing pivot reduced effective fast requests by ~55%.
Continue exploring
Tool
AI Agent Cost Calculator
See what running Cursor's typical workflow costs at your volume — pre-filled for this category.
Tool
The AI Agent Picker
Not sure Cursor is right? Five questions, one recommendation.
Article
What Claude Skills actually are
Most builders think Skills are saved prompts. The architecture is different.
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