Cursor
AI-native code editor forked from VS Code.
why this verdict
Keep paying — Anthropic has not replaced it
Anthropic's version overlaps, but does not finish the dev tools job, so this one still earns its $20/mo.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- Claude/GPT models it depends on. Anthropic, August 1, 2024 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers not the job editorial call
- Parts of it. The job still needs the tool to get finished.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 2 of 3 listed replacements have a usable free tier: GitHub Copilot and Windsurf.
- What the call is worth $240/yr
- $20/mo at the entry paid tier — $240 a year per seat.
- Threatened by
- Anthropic
- Since
- August 1, 2024
- List price
- $20/mo
- Per year
- $240
The backstory
Cursor is an AI-native code editor forked from VS Code, wrapping Claude and GPT models in an interface built for AI-assisted coding and agentic edits. The obvious risk is that it depends on the very models it resells, so a model provider could cut it out. But Cursor survived because the product is the editor experience: the diff review, codebase indexing, and agent flows, not the raw model. Developers pay for the workflow wrapped around the intelligence.
Escape hatches
AI coding built into VS Code and more
github.com open_in_newAgentic IDE from the Codeium team
windsurf.com open_in_newAgentic coding in the terminal
claude.com open_in_new2 of 3 replacements have a usable free tier.
