Is Cursor free? What the free plan includes in 2026

What does the Cursor free plan include?

The free plan gives you the editor and its AI features on Cursor's own models. Cursor's pricing help page says Free includes Agent, Chat and Tab completions with Grok and Composer, plus a standard X account, since Cursor is now sold as part of The X Subscription.

The table puts it next to the two plans above it on cursor.com/pricing:

Cursor's Start announcement describes Free as a way to try Cursor with no payment required. The paid plans add usage first and features second, and most of the features coders ask about, like Cloud Agents and third-party models, start at Premium.

What are Cursor's free limits?

Cursor describes the free plan's usage as "limited" and doesn't put a number on it. The pricing page lists "limited agent requests" and "limited Chat requests", and the X Subscription announcement calls it "a starter Cursor coding-agent allowance".

What Cursor does explain is how usage works. Its pricing FAQ says every tier gets a pool of AI usage shared across Cursor and Grok, and that the allowance refreshes weekly. Models draw from the pool at different rates, so a heavier model like Grok 4.7 uses it up faster than Composer.

If you signed up before October 12, 2026, you may still be on the free legacy plan, Hobby. Cursor's legacy plans page says Hobby has limited Agent, Chat and Tab usage with a monthly reset, and that when it runs out, AI features pause until the pool resets.

Can you use Claude or GPT on Cursor for free?

No. Third-party models aren't available on Free or Plus. Cursor's docs say they start at Premium ($30 a month), and even there they aren't part of the included usage: you pay the model's API list price from prepaid credit, from the first request.

So on the free plan, Cursor runs on its own models only. For most people trying Cursor, that's enough to see how Agent and Tab feel in their own project.

Is there a free trial of Cursor's paid plans?

Cursor's pricing pages don't list a free trial for Plus, Premium or the higher plans. Students don't get a standing discount either: Cursor's students page says anyone can start for free and points to promotions at campus and online events.

If you want more than Free, the lowest paid plan is Plus at $8 a month, or $80 a year. Plus runs Grok and Composer at fixed settings and doesn't include Cloud Agents, Automations, Bugbot or third-party models. I'd only pick it if you want more of the same models you used on Free. The full plan list is in Cursor pricing.

Is Cursor free in India?

Cursor doesn't list a separate free plan for India, so Free works the same way there. The India-only Cursor Start plan (₹649 a month) is now a legacy plan, and Cursor says new customers choose an X Subscription plan instead, so new users in India who outgrow Free move to Plus or Premium, priced in USD. Prices exclude tax.

Where Buildful fits

Buildful isn't an editor. You describe a task, such as a bug fix or a new feature, and Buildful works on it in a private cloud sandbox, runs your checks, tests UI changes in a real browser, and opens a pull request on your GitHub repo. Nothing runs on your laptop.

You can try it without a card. After that, Pro is $10 a month for 1,000 tasks, or ₹750 in India, and Team is $40 a month for 3,000 tasks shared by unlimited members (₹3,500 in India). Smart Mode picks the right open-weight model for each task, and on Pro and Team you can pick Claude or GPT yourself with prepaid credit or your own API key. The Buildful vs Cursor page shows how the two differ.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cursor completely free?

Cursor has a free plan that costs $0, but its usage is limited and it doesn't include Cloud Agents, Bugbot or third-party models. For more usage or those features, you need a paid plan, from $8 a month.

What happens when I hit Cursor's free limit?

You wait for your allowance to refresh, or upgrade. Cursor's pricing FAQ says usage pools refresh weekly. On the legacy Hobby plan, AI features pause until the monthly reset.

Does the Cursor free plan include cloud agents?

No. Cloud Agents start at Premium, $30 a month. Free and Plus don't include them.

Is Cursor free for students?

Cursor doesn't offer a standing student plan. Students can use the free plan like anyone else, and Cursor says it runs promotions at campus and online events.

Can I use my own API key on Cursor's free plan?

Cursor's docs say Plus doesn't support your own API keys, and they don't list them for Free. On individual paid plans that do support them, requests with your own key bill to your provider and don't draw from Cursor's included usage.