Cursor alternatives

Short answer: if Cursor's October 2026 repricing made Claude or GPT cost more for you, the main Cursor alternatives are Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot in VS Code, OpenCode and Gemini CLI. Claude Code and Codex both run inside VS Code and inside Cursor itself, so you can keep the editor and change the agent. On a team, people can also use different tools: Coagy puts Cursor, Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI sessions in one shared workspace.

Why people are looking now

On October 19 and 20, 2026, Cursor rebuilt its pricing around Grok (Cursor pricing, PricingSaaS). Pro and Pro+ are gone. The new tiers are:

• Free
• Plus, $8/mo: Grok only, no cloud agents
• Premium, $30/mo: cloud agents and Bugbot
• Super, $100/mo
• Ultra, $200/mo
• Teams, from $30 per user per month

Grok and Cursor's own Composer model are included. Claude, GPT and Gemini are billed at API list price on top. Analysts at The New Stack noted this may cost more for people who mostly use Claude or GPT. If that's you, it's worth pricing the alternatives.

What Cursor still does well

Be fair to it: Cursor is a strong editor. It runs each agent in its own worktree (up to 25 per machine by default), /best-of-n runs one task across several models, and Premium adds cloud agents in isolated VMs (worktrees, cloud agents). Reviewers still rate it best for daily in-editor work. If you mostly use Grok, the new Plus plan is cheap.

The alternatives

Tool	Where it runs	Models	Paid plans start at
Claude Code	Terminal, VS Code, Cursor, JetBrains, desktop, web	Claude	Pro, $20/mo
Codex	Terminal, VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, ChatGPT app, cloud	OpenAI, or your API key	Go, $8/mo
OpenCode	Terminal, desktop app (beta)	Any provider	Free with your own keys
Gemini CLI	Terminal	Gemini	Code Assist license or paid API key

Claude Code. If you used Cursor mostly for Claude, this is the direct route: Claude on a flat subscription, Pro $20, Max $100, Ultra $200 (pricing). It has a VS Code extension that also works in Cursor (docs). See Claude Code vs Cursor.

Codex. If you used Cursor mostly for GPT, Codex comes with ChatGPT: Go $8, Plus $20, Business $25 per user (pricing). Its IDE extension runs in VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf, and Codex Cloud runs tasks in the background. See Codex vs Cursor.

GitHub Copilot. Agent mode in VS Code plus a cloud agent that works from issues. A natural pick if your company already pays for GitHub.

OpenCode. Open source (MIT), any model, free with your own keys. It accepts ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot sign-in, but Claude only through an API key.

Gemini CLI. Open source, but since June 18, 2026 only for Code Assist licenses or paid API keys. Free and Google AI Pro users moved to Antigravity CLI.

Moving a team off Cursor without a big switch

A pricing change hits a team unevenly. The person who uses Grok is happy. The person who used Claude all day isn't. Forcing everyone onto one replacement tends to annoy half the team.

You can let each developer pick. Coagy is a shared workspace for a team's coding agents: each person runs Cursor, Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI on their own computer with their own subscription, and a connector mirrors their sessions into one place. Teammates watch agents live, ask them questions and hand work over. Every task gets its own git worktree and branch. It's free for up to 4 developers.

Working alone? Coagy Local runs Cursor, Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode side by side on your own computer, free, no account. See also how teams run Claude Code, Codex and Cursor together.

Questions

What changed with Cursor pricing in October 2026?

On October 19 and 20, 2026, Cursor replaced Pro and Pro+ with Free, Plus ($8), Premium ($30), Super ($100), Ultra ($200) and Teams (from $30 per user). Grok and Cursor's Composer model are included; Claude, GPT and Gemini are billed at API list price on top.

What is the best Cursor alternative for Claude users?

Claude Code. It runs Claude on a flat Anthropic subscription starting at $20 a month, and its VS Code extension also works inside Cursor, so you can keep the editor if you like it.

Is there a free Cursor alternative?

OpenCode is open source and free with your own model keys. Codex has a free ChatGPT tier for quick tasks. Coagy Local is a free app that runs several agents side by side on your own computer.

Can my team use Cursor and Claude Code together?

Yes. With Coagy each developer keeps their own tool and subscription, and everyone's Cursor, Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI sessions show up in one shared workspace. It is free for up to 4 developers.