Cursor
The AI-first code editor built for maximum engineering velocity and deep codebase understanding.
Executive Summary
Cursor is a fork of VS Code engineered natively for AI, providing deep codebase indexing, contextual multi-file edits, and intelligent terminal execution. It eliminates traditional copy-pasting between external LLMs and your IDE by integrating advanced models directly into the development loop.
Optimal Fit
Software engineers, indie hackers, and technical teams looking to drastically accelerate development and prototyping.
Capabilities & Trade-offs
- • Deep codebase indexing that understands cross-file dependencies and imports
- • Familiar VS Code foundation allowing seamless extension and keybinding migration
- • Composer feature enables multi-file code generation and refactoring in a single prompt
- • Privacy mode ensures enterprise code is never used to train foundational models
- • Fast execution speeds with optimized model routing and speculative decoding
- • Steep pricing increases once you exceed the high-speed request limits on the Pro tier
- • Can occasionally introduce subtle logic bugs or hallucinated dependencies in massive legacy codebases
- • Heavy reliance on internet connectivity and cloud APIs for advanced multi-file features
Core Standout Features
Verified Pricing Architecture
Hobby
- ✓ 14-day Pro trial included
- ✓ 2 weeks of unlimited slower requests
- ✓ 50 slow GPT-4o requests per month
- ✓ 200 code completions per month
Pro
- ✓ Unlimited fast GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet requests
- ✓ 500 fast requests per month before throttling
- ✓ Unlimited codebase indexing
- ✓ Privacy mode enabled by default
Business
- ✓ Centralized billing and team management
- ✓ Enforced privacy mode across the organization
- ✓ SAML SSO integration
- ✓ Advanced admin controls
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cursor compatible with existing VS Code extensions? ↓
Yes. Because Cursor is built as a fork of VS Code, you can install virtually any extension and import all your existing settings and keybindings with a single click.
Is my proprietary code safe and private when using Cursor? ↓
Yes, provided you enable Privacy Mode in your settings. When Privacy Mode is active, Cursor and its third-party model providers do not store, log, or use your code snippets and prompts for model training.
What happens when I run out of fast requests on the Pro plan? ↓
Once you exceed your monthly allocation of fast requests, your requests will still be processed, but they may experience slower response times during peak traffic periods. You also have the option to configure your own API keys for underlying models.
How does Cursor compare to GitHub Copilot? ↓
While GitHub Copilot excels at inline autocompletions, Cursor offers deeper context across your entire codebase, multi-file editing via Composer, and a more integrated chat and terminal workflow that functions closer to an autonomous coding agent.