Cursor alternatives compared: price, plans and background runs
| Tool | What it is | Pricing (official) | Subscriptions or keys it can use | Runs in background |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | AI code editor with Cloud Agents and a CLI | Free; Plus $8 (Grok models only); Premium $30; Super $100; Ultra $200 a month | A Cursor or X Subscription plan; your own OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Azure or Bedrock key for chat models | Yes: Cloud Agents, on Premium and higher |
| Claude Code | Anthropic's coding agent for the terminal, IDE, desktop and web | Pro $20 a month ($17 billed annually); Max $100; Ultra $200 | Claude Pro, Max or Ultra sign-in, or an Anthropic API key | Yes: cloud sessions keep running after you close your laptop (paid plans, claude.ai sign-in) |
| Codex | OpenAI's coding agent: CLI, IDE extension, desktop and web app, Codex cloud | Limited in ChatGPT Free and Go ($8); Plus $20; Pro $100, $200 or $500 a month | ChatGPT plan sign-in, or an OpenAI API key (no cloud features) | Yes: Codex cloud, on Plus and higher plans |
| GitHub Copilot | GitHub's coding assistant: IDE, Copilot CLI, Copilot app and cloud agent | Free; Pro $10; $39 plan; Max $100 a month; Business $19 per seat | A Copilot plan, billed in AI credits; Copilot CLI also takes your own provider keys | Yes: cloud agent; sessions on GitHub Actions run at most 59 minutes |
| Devin | Cognition's AI software engineer: Devin Desktop and Devin Cloud | Free; Pro $20; Max $200 a month; Teams $80 a month plus $40 per seat | A Devin plan | Yes: Devin Cloud, on Pro and higher |
| Cline | Open-source coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the CLI and desktop | Free for individual developers; you pay for inference | Your own OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and other API keys, or the Cline provider | Yes: Cline Cloud keeps working after you close your laptop |
| Kilo Code | Open-source coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the CLI, with a Cloud Agent | Free; Kilo Pass from $19 a month; Teams $15 per user | Your own Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Azure or Bedrock keys, Kilo Gateway, or local models | Yes: Cloud Agent, compute billed per second |
| opencode | Open-source (MIT) coding agent for the terminal, desktop and IDE | Free; optional OpenCode Go $10 or Go Plus $40 a month | ChatGPT Plus/Pro, GitHub Copilot or GitLab Duo sign-in, or API keys for 75+ providers (Claude by API key only) | No hosted runner documented; runs on your computer |
| Reason | Always-on teammate and coding agent: its own cloud computer per Session, memory, Loops and Slack | Pro $50 and Max $200 a month; no free plan | ChatGPT, Claude, SuperGrok or X Premium+ and GitHub Copilot sign-ins, or your own API keys | Yes: Sessions run on Reason's cloud computers with your laptop closed |
Prices and plans from each vendor's official pricing page or docs, checked Nov 5, 2026; US list prices. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Try a Cursor alternative without leaving your editor
Open Reason on the web or the Mac app
Sign in at reasonmachines.com, or download the Reason app for macOS from reasonmachines.com/download. Both open the same Sessions. Sending work to Reason needs a Pro or Max plan.
Connect the plans you already pay for
In Settings › Models, connect subscriptions such as Claude (Pro or Max), ChatGPT (Plus, Pro or Business), Grok (SuperGrok or X Premium+) or GitHub Copilot, or add API keys. Reason runs on your own accounts first; a Reason plan's credits cover the rest.
Connect GitHub
In Customize, open GitHub and choose Connect GitHub, then pick the repositories Reason may work in. Reason opens pull requests from its own branches; your branch protection and required checks still apply.
Give it a task you know the answer to
In the composer, name the repository and paste a task you've already solved, such as a failing test. Reason works on its own cloud computer, runs the tests and opens a pull request, so you can compare its diff with your other agent's.
Cursor alternatives at a glance
| Made by | Open source | Where it runs | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Anthropic | Not open source | Terminal, IDE, desktop, web; cloud sessions keep running with the laptop closed | Claude Pro $20, Max $100, Ultra $200 a month |
| Codex | OpenAI | CLI under Apache-2.0 | CLI, IDE, desktop, web, iOS; Codex cloud tasks keep working while your computer sleeps | Included in ChatGPT Free and Go; Plus $20; Pro $100 to $500 a month |
| GitHub Copilot cloud agent | GitHub | Not open source | Works in the background in a cloud environment; sessions on Actions run at most 59 minutes | Copilot paid plans from $10 to $100 a month; Business $19 per seat |
| Cline | Cline Bot Inc. | Apache-2.0 (JetBrains plugin excepted) | IDE, terminal and desktop; cron schedules; Slack and other chat apps; Ollama and LM Studio | Free and open source; you pay your model provider |
| Devin | Cognition | Not open source | Cloud workspace with shell, IDE and browser; CLI, desktop; Slack and Teams | Free; Pro $20; Max $200 a month; Teams $80 a month plus $40 per seat |
| opencode | The opencode project | MIT | Terminal, desktop and IDE; 75+ providers and local models | Free; optional OpenCode Go from $10 a month |
| Reason | Reason Machines | Not open source | Web, Mac and iOS apps, Slack, command line; its own cloud computer per Session, or yours | Pro $50, Max $200 a month; credits |
From each vendor's own pages, checked Nov 2, 2026. For reference, Cursor's own plans are Free, Plus at $8 (Grok models only), Premium at $30, Super at $100 and Ultra at $200 a month, sold through X Subscription Corp; Cloud Agents need Premium or higher, and third-party models are billed at API list price.
Which alternative for which reason
Keep VS Code or JetBrains: GitHub Copilot, or Cline, which is free and open source. Prefer a terminal agent: Claude Code or Codex, both of which also have IDE extensions. Windsurf users: windsurf.com now serves Devin Desktop, Cognition's command center for local and cloud agents.
Cursor's Cloud Agents and Bugbot cover background work and pull request review; the agents on this page cover the same ground in different places.
What people on Reddit say
A Reddit thread on the same question, read in full:
In a small r/GithubCopilot thread from June 2026 (18 replies) asking which assistant developers actually use, the top reply likes both Claude Code and Codex, several say they moved to Codex for its limits, a few call Cursor the default answer, and several use Copilot because it's the tool their employer approves. Others mention opencode with DeepSeek and Antigravity for lower cost.
Reason: all your AI subscriptions in one coding agent
Use the subscriptions you already pay for (ChatGPT, Claude, SuperGrok/X Premium+, Copilot) or your own API keys in one coding agent. Hit your limit and Reason keeps going on your other connected accounts or Reason credits.
Reason is an always-on teammate that is also a coding agent: its own cloud computer per Session, memory across Sessions, Loops and Slack, with the model picked per task. Work that runs on your own subscription or API key is billed by that provider and keeps its limits; Reason's plans are Pro at $50 and Max at $200 a month, with no free plan, and it isn't open source.
Sources (checked Nov 2, 2026; table and FAQs checked Nov 5, 2026)
- Cursor: pricing
- Cursor docs: Cloud Agents
- Cursor docs: Bugbot
- Claude Code docs: overview
- OpenAI: Codex pricing
- GitHub Docs: Copilot plans
- cline/cline on GitHub (Apache-2.0)
- windsurf.com (now Devin Desktop)
- Devin: pricing
- anomalyco/opencode on GitHub (MIT)
- Reason docs: plans
- Cursor docs: API keys
- Anthropic: Claude plans and pricing
- Anthropic: what is the Ultra plan?
- Claude Code docs: Claude Code on the web
- GitHub Docs: about Copilot cloud agent
- Cline: pricing
- Cline Cloud
- Kilo Code: pricing
- OpenCode Go
- opencode docs: providers
- r/GithubCopilot: Which AI coding assistant are developers actually using in 2026? (Jun 2026)
Questions
What is the best alternative to Cursor?
For an editor experience, GitHub Copilot in VS Code or JetBrains, or the open-source Cline. For an agent that does the whole change, Claude Code or Codex, or Reason, which works on its own cloud computer and opens a pull request.
Is there a free Cursor alternative?
Cline and opencode are free and open source; you pay your model provider, or nothing with a local model. GitHub Copilot Free has a limited allowance.
What happened to Windsurf?
windsurf.com now serves Devin Desktop pages from Cognition, described as a command center to manage any agent, locally or in the cloud.
Why did Cursor's prices change?
Cursor's pricing page now lists Free, Plus, Premium, Super and Ultra plans sold through X Subscription Corp, with Plus limited to Grok models and third-party models billed at API list price. Check cursor.com/pricing for the current plans.
What does Reason cost?
Pro is $50 a month and Max $200 a month per person, with usage measured in credits; top-ups keep work going when a week's usage runs out. Models you run on your own connected subscriptions or API keys are billed by that provider and keep that provider's limits.
Is Reason affiliated with these vendors?
No. Reason is built by Reason Machines and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic, OpenAI, Anysphere, Cognition, GitHub, Google or xAI. Facts about their products come from their own pages, linked under Sources.
How much does Cursor cost now?
Free, Plus $8 a month (Grok models only), Premium $30, Super $100 and Ultra $200. Third-party models such as Claude and GPT aren't included in those prices and are bought separately.
Can I still use Claude or GPT in Cursor?
Not on Plus, which has Grok models only. On Premium and above you can, billed separately, or with your own OpenAI or Anthropic key for chat models.
Can I use Claude Code inside Cursor?
Yes. Anthropic's VS Code extension docs include an install path for Cursor, and Claude Code also runs in Cursor's terminal.