Cursor Agent: 10 Pro Tips!
Published by CursorWatch on YouTube
Updated Oct 4, 2026
AI Coding Tools
Cursor
AI code editor built on VS Code, with agents and PR review
From $20/mo
Cursor at a glance
from our research
An AI code editor built on VS Code's codebase, for developers who want the agent inside their editor
Tab proposes multi-line edits and jumps to your next edit, with no cap on paid plans
Cursor does not publish each plan's usage allowance, so heavy agent months are hard to budget
Pro costs $20 a month; Cursor itself recommends Pro+ at $60 a month for daily agent users
Overview
What is Cursor?
Cursor is an AI code editor made by Anysphere, a US company founded in 2022 that became part of SpaceX in August 2026. The desktop app is built on the VS Code codebase, and a one-click import brings over VS Code extensions, themes, settings and keybindings, though extensions come from the Open VSX registry rather than Microsoft's marketplace.
Most work goes through the agent. You describe a task, and the agent searches the repository, reads the relevant files, edits them and runs commands such as your tests, saving checkpoints you can restore. Plan Mode has it research the code, ask clarifying questions and wait for approval of a written plan before changing anything. Tab suggests multi-line edits as you type, adds missing imports and jumps to your likely next edit. Code search uses an index built on your machine, and Cursor says no code or file paths are uploaded for it.
The editor runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, and the agent also works from the command line and, on paid plans, inside JetBrains IDEs. Cloud agents run in isolated virtual machines, work on a separate branch of a GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps or Bitbucket repository and push their changes back. They can be started from the web, the iOS app, Slack, Linear or a pull request comment, and Bugbot reviews pull requests. Individuals pay a flat monthly fee and teams pay per user; each plan includes an allowance of model usage, and requests beyond it are billed at the model's API price.
Our verdict on Cursor
Updated Oct 4, 2026Pricing checked Oct 3, 2026
Cursor makes the most sense for developers who already work in VS Code and want the AI inside the editor rather than in an add-on. Because it shares VS Code's codebase, switching mostly means running the import. Tab covers routine edits, proposing changes across several lines and moving to the next spot, and paid plans do not cap it. For larger jobs the agent can plan first, edit across files, run the project's own checks and roll back to a checkpoint. The same subscription covers cloud agents that take tasks from Slack or Linear and Bugbot reviews on pull requests, and models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google sit alongside Cursor's own.
The weak point is cost visibility. Cursor does not publish how much usage a plan includes, so nobody can tell in advance how much agent work $20 buys. The allowance also stretches further on Cursor's own Grok and Composer models than on third-party models such as Claude or GPT, which draw from a separate pool at API prices. On Teams, on-demand usage is on by default and billed in arrears, with $0.25 per million tokens added to third-party model requests, so set a team spending limit on day one. Check the privacy setting as well: unless Privacy Mode is on, Cursor may use code data to train its models.
Pro costs $20 a month and includes unlimited Tab completions, cloud agents and Bugbot on usage-based billing, though Cursor recommends Pro+ at $60 a month for daily agent users and Ultra at $200 a month for heavier use. Teams costs $40 per user a month for a Standard seat or $120 per user a month for a Premium seat with five times the usage, and adds SAML/OIDC SSO, central billing, usage analytics and team-wide privacy mode.
Choose Cursor if you write code every day in a VS Code-style editor and want the editor, agents and code review from one vendor. If you need to stay in Visual Studio, Xcode or a JetBrains IDE, or want an allowance you can budget against, look at GitHub Copilot: it installs as an extension in those editors, and Business costs $19 per user a month with 1,900 pooled AI credits per user.
Written by Lokesh Kapoor
Pros & cons
Cursor pros and cons
What it does well
- One-click import of VS Code extensions, themes, settings and keybindings
- Agent plans, edits across files, runs your tests and saves restorable checkpoints
- Cloud agents and Bugbot work with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps
- Models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google alongside Cursor's own Grok and Composer
Where it falls short
- Teams turns on-demand overage on by default, so bills can exceed seat fees
- Third-party models like Claude or GPT get less included usage than Cursor's own
- Extensions come from Open VSX, so some VS Code extensions may be missing
Editor's assessment from vendor documentation and published pricing
Pricing
Cursor pricing
Cursor's paid plans start at $20/month, above the $19 median across the 14 tools in our AI Coding Tools ranking. A free plan is available.
Hobby
$0
Free plan
- No credit card required
- Limited Agent requests
- Access to Composer
Usage: Core features with limited usage.
Pro
$20/mo
per month
For one person
- Extended limits on Agent
- Access to frontier models
- Cloud agents
- MCPs, skills and hooks
- Bugbot on usage-based billing
Usage: Includes a usage allowance (amount not published). Beyond it, requests are billed at model API rates with no markup, once on-demand usage is switched on.
Pro+
$60/mo
per month
For one person
Ultra
$200/mo
per month
For one person
Teams
$40/mo
per user, per month (Standard seat)
- Centralised team billing and admin
- Agentic code reviews with Bugbot
- Usage analytics
- Team-wide privacy mode
- SAML/OIDC SSO
Usage: Each seat includes a usage allowance (amount not published). On-demand usage is on by default and billed in arrears; third-party model requests add $0.25 per million tokens.
Teams Premium
$120/mo
per user, per month (Premium seat)
- Everything in a Standard Teams seat
- 5x the Standard seat's Agent limits
Usage: Same Teams terms: on-demand usage on by default; third-party model requests add $0.25 per million tokens.
Enterprise
Custom
Tailored pricing for larger teams
- Pooled usage across the team
- Invoice/PO billing
- SCIM seat management
- Audit logs and service accounts
- Priority support and account management
Checked against Anysphere Inc.'s pricing page on October 3, 2026 · see the full breakdown
Capabilities
Cursor features
Checked against the same feature list as every other tool in its category.
Platform
- Not included:Built-in hosting & deployRuns and deploys the application without configuring separate infrastructure.
Team & Governance
- Included:No training on your codeBusiness tiers exclude your source from model training by default.On by default for Enterprise teams
- Not included:Self-hosted or VPC optionRuns inside your own infrastructure for regulated or air-gapped environments.
- Included:Team admin & SSOCentral seat management, policy controls and single sign-on.
Code Generation
- Included:In-editor chatAsk questions about the code you are looking at without leaving the editor.
- Included:Inline autocompleteMulti-line suggestions as you type, accepted with a keystroke.
- Included:Test generationWrites unit and integration tests against existing code.
Codebase Awareness
- Included:Custom project rulesPersistent instructions describing your conventions, applied to every request.
- Included:Tool & MCP integrationConnects to external tools and data sources so the assistant can read docs, tickets or a database.
- Included:Whole-repository indexingIndexes the entire codebase so suggestions follow your existing patterns and reuse your helpers.
Agent Autonomy
- Included:Automated PR reviewReviews pull requests and comments on problems before a human does.
- Included:Background & async agentsWorks on a task on its own while you do something else, then reports back.
- Included:Multi-file editsApplies a single instruction coherently across several files at once.
- Included:Runs commands & testsExecutes builds and test suites, reads the output and fixes what it broke.
Ecosystem
Cursor integrations
Videos
Watch Cursor in action
Product walkthroughs from Cursor's own YouTube channel.
Alternatives
Top Cursor alternatives
Tools that do the same job, from the same category.
Fit check
Will Cursor fit your team?
Support
- Email support
- Knowledge base
- Community forum
Training
- Documentation
- Video tutorials
Deployment
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
Typical users
- Freelancers
- Small businesses
- Mid-size companies
- Enterprises
FAQs
Cursor FAQs
Written by our editorial team.
Is Cursor free?
Yes. The Hobby plan costs nothing, needs no credit card and includes limited Agent requests and access to Composer, one of Cursor's own models. Paid plans start with Pro at $20 a month, which adds unlimited Tab completions, extended agent limits, frontier models, cloud agents and Bugbot on usage-based billing. Privacy Mode is available on the free plan as well. See Cursor pricing for every plan.
How does Cursor's usage-based pricing work?
Every plan includes an allowance of model usage, but Cursor does not publish its size. Usage is counted in tokens and split into two pools that reset monthly: one for Cursor's own Grok and Composer models, which get significantly more included usage, and one for third-party models, charged at their API prices. When the allowance runs out you can upgrade or turn on on-demand usage, billed in arrears at the same API rates. On Teams, on-demand usage is on by default and third-party requests carry an extra $0.25 per million tokens.
Does Cursor train on your code?
Not if Privacy Mode is on. With it enabled, Cursor guarantees that your code is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers, and it has zero-data-retention agreements with those providers. With it off, Cursor may store and use codebase data, prompts, editor actions and code snippets to train its models. Anyone can turn it on, including free users, and a team admin can turn it on for the whole team. Prompts flagged by abuse detection can still be stored for investigation.
Can I use my VS Code extensions and settings in Cursor?
Mostly, yes. Cursor is built on the VS Code codebase, and its VS Code import copies your extensions, themes, settings and keybindings in one click. Extensions come from the Open VSX registry rather than the VS Code Marketplace, so some may be missing or behave differently. If an extension your team depends on is not listed there, check before moving everyone over.
Can I use Cursor in JetBrains IDEs or the terminal?
Yes, though only the agent, not the full editor. On a paid plan, Cursor's agent works inside IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm and other JetBrains IDEs through the Agent Client Protocol, which needs version 2025.1 or later with the AI Assistant plugin enabled. The Cursor CLI runs the agent in a terminal on macOS, Linux, WSL and Windows PowerShell, with a print mode for scripts and CI pipelines. See GitHub Copilot vs Cursor for how the two compare.
Sources & methodology
Product details come from Anysphere Inc.'s public website and documentation (United States). Every plan and price was checked against the vendor's pricing page on October 3, 2026. We haven't tested this product hands-on; the verdict is a desk assessment. How we research and rank tools
- Founded 2022
- 1 language supported
- cursor.com
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