Cursor vs Claude Code: Which should you use after Cursor's SpaceX change?
Facts checked Oct 22, 2026. Every number links to its source.
Summary
Derived from sourced facts, not from builder opinions
Cursor is now sold as part of the X Subscription: Plus $8 (Grok models only), Premium $30, Super $100 and Ultra $200, with a weekly usage pool shared with Grok.
Claude, Gemini and OpenAI models in Cursor are billed at API list price on top of the plan.
OpenAI proposed ending Cursor's access to its models on November 12, 2026, and Cursor's docs list no GPT-6 models.
Claude Code starts at $20 a month with Claude Pro, and Claude model use is included within its limits.
Choose Cursor if
You want one editor with models from many makers.
You use Grok models heavily. They are included in Cursor's plan pool.
You are fine paying API list price for Claude, Gemini and OpenAI models.
Choose Claude Code if
You mainly use Claude models and want them included in a subscription.
You work in the terminal or across several editors.
Cursor
Claude Code
Follow both to get an email when either one changes its price, limits or behavior.
Plans
Cursor plans
Free
Free
Limited usage
Plus
$8/month
Grok models only
Premium
$30/month
4x Plus usage · third-party models at API list price
Super
$100/month
15x Plus usage
Ultra
$200/month
50x Plus usage
Teams
$30/month
From $30 per user
Claude Code plans
Pro
$20/month
Claude Code included · billed $17/month annually
Max
$100/month
From $100: 5x or 20x Pro usage
Team Standard seat
$25/month
Per seat, monthly · $20 billed annually
Team Premium seat
$125/month
5x a standard seat · $100 billed annually
Enterprise
$20/month
Per seat billed annually, 20-seat minimum, plus usage at API rates
Subscription agents are priced per seat with usage limits, so this compares plans rather than dividing a subscription by a guessed number of tasks.
Side by side
Cursor
Claude Code
Maker
Anysphere, a SpaceX company since 2026-08-14
Anthropic
Plans
Free $0 · Plus $8 (Grok models only) · Premium $30 (4x Plus) · Super $100 (15x) · Ultra $200 (50x) · Teams from $30/user · Enterprise custom. Plans are X subscriptions with a weekly pool shared with Grok
Not in Free. Pro $20/month ($17 annual) · Max from $100 (5x or 20x Pro usage) · Team Standard $25/seat monthly ($20 annual), Premium $125 ($100 annual) · Enterprise $20/seat plus usage at API rates
Third-party models
Third-party models (Claude, Gemini, OpenAI) are not included in plan usage and are billed at API list price
Not published
Usage limits
Shared Cursor and Grok usage pool that refreshes weekly · top-offs available
Per-seat 5-hour and weekly windows · weekly Claude Code limits 25% above pre-May 2026 levels since 2026-09-14 · no published per-plan numbers
Models
Docs list Claude Sonnet 5.5, Opus 5.5, Fable 5.1, Haiku 5.5, Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Muse Wonder, GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna, Grok 4.5 to 4.7, Composer 2.5 · no GPT-6 models
Built for Claude models: aliases opus (Opus 5.5), sonnet (Sonnet 5.5), haiku (Haiku 5.5), fable (Fable 5.1, may bill usage credits) · third-party providers Bedrock, Google Cloud, Foundry
OpenAI model access
OpenAI proposed ending Cursor's access to its models on 2026-11-12
Terminal CLI, VS Code, JetBrains, desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux beta), web, iOS and Android app
Use with other tools
Not published
Subscription OAuth may not be used to route requests for third-party products
Scores appear side by side only when both were published for the same test. Settings differ between sources, so small gaps can reverse under another harness.
SpaceXSI introduced The X Subscription, one plan covering Grok, Grok Bot, Cursor and X Premium with a weekly shared pool of Grok model usage. On Premium and above, third-party models in Cursor are billed separately at API list prices. Current Cursor plans keep included third-party usage until the user switches.
Who is affected:
New Cursor, SuperGrok and X Premium subscribers, and anyone who uses Claude, GPT or Gemini models inside Cursor.
Action needed:
If you rely on third-party models in Cursor, check the cost before switching plans and set a spending cap.
After SpaceX's acquisition of Cursor, OpenAI announced it is winding down its contract supplying models to Cursor with a proposed November 12 cutoff. Cursor's CEO said OpenAI models serve about 5% of Cursor traffic. Cursor's model docs list no GPT-6 models. The Hacker News thread drew 852 points and 544 comments.
Takes effect Nov 12, 2026 · in 11 days
Who is affected:
Cursor users who rely on OpenAI models.
Action needed:
Move Cursor workflows off OpenAI models before November 12, 2026, or use Codex or another tool for them.
Cursor announced it has been acquired by SpaceX, completing a process announced in April 2026 (Hacker News: 823 points and 989 comments in April. 107 points and 130 comments on August 14). Cursor's pricing page now sells plans through X Subscription Corp with a shared Cursor and Grok usage pool, and third-party models billed at API list price.
Who is affected:
Cursor subscribers and teams evaluating Cursor.
Action needed:
Review the new plan structure. third-party models are no longer included in plan allowances.
Claude Code with Opus 5.5 at max effort resolved 64.85% of Terminal-Bench 4.0 tasks (plus or minus 3.1, 330 trials, $4,718.65 total cost), ranked first. The entry was posted October 6, 2026.
Install Claude Code with curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash on macOS or Linux, or irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex in Windows PowerShell, then run claude in your project.
Sign in with a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan, or a Console account. The free Claude plan does not include Claude Code.
Move your .cursor/rules files. They use Cursor's .mdc format, so copy always-apply rules into CLAUDE.md and file-specific ones into .claude/rules/.
Keep AGENTS.md if you have one: Cursor and Claude Code both read it.
Copy each server from Cursor's mcp.json into Claude Code with claude mcp add-json, passing the object inside mcpServers.
Recheck your costs: Claude models in Cursor are billed at API list price outside plan usage, while Claude Code is included in Claude Pro and Max.
Install the VS Code or JetBrains extension if you want Claude Code inside an editor.
Run one real task in your own repository with both tools and compare the diffs before moving a team.
FAQ
How much does Cursor cost now?
Free, Plus $8 (Grok models only), Premium $30, Super $100 and Ultra $200 a month. Teams from $30 per user.
Does Cursor include Claude models in its plans?
No. Claude, Gemini and OpenAI models are available at API list price, outside plan usage.
Is Cursor losing OpenAI models?
OpenAI proposed ending Cursor's access on November 12, 2026, after SpaceX acquired Cursor.
Who owns Cursor?
SpaceX. Anysphere, Cursor's maker, became a SpaceX company on August 14, 2026.
Is Claude Code better than Cursor?
There is no shared test. Claude Code with Opus 5.5 leads Terminal-Bench 4.0 at 64.85%, and Cursor has no entry on that board.
Does Cursor read AGENTS.md?
Yes, in the project root and subfolders, as a simpler alternative to .cursor/rules. Claude Code reads AGENTS.md too when there is no CLAUDE.md.
How much does Claude Code cost?
It comes with Claude Pro at $20 a month ($17 billed annually) and Max from $100. It is not in the free plan.
Prices, specs and limits come from each maker's own pages. Benchmark scores come from independent benchmark publishers and the makers' announcements, with the setting each was measured in. Changes come from changelogs, deprecation pages and status pages. The summary is written from these facts only.
