---
title: Cursor
slug: cursor
url: "https://toolweight.com/tools/cursor"
homepage: "https://cursor.com"
categories: coding-agents
last_verified: 2026-11-07
dataset_version: 0738be72
license: CC-BY-4.0
---

# Cursor

> VS Code fork with a real codebase index, background cloud agents and a CLI.

- VS Code fork treating agentic editing as the primary interaction, not a bolted-on extension.
- Maintains a genuine embeddings index that shows on large repos where grep-based harnesses flounder.
- Background agents run on Cursor's infrastructure and open pull requests; a CLI covers headless use.
- An in-house model handles the fast path; pricing is a subscription with usage-based spend above the included amount.

## Identity

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Name | Cursor |
| Company | Anysphere |
| One-liner | VS Code fork with a real codebase index, background cloud agents and a CLI. |
| Site | https://cursor.com |
| Docs | https://docs.cursor.com |
| Founded | 2022 |
| Funding | Series C+ |
| Open source | No |
| Licence | Proprietary |
| Compared in | 1 |

## Where it is compared

### [Coding agents](https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents)
Ranked **#7 of 17** on default weights.
| Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Surface | standalone editor, CLI, web, cloud delegate | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://docs.cursor.com | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--surface |
| Default model | Cursor's in-house Composer model, with frontier models selectable | Community-reported | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--default_model |
| Model breadth | multi-vendor | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and in-house models through Cursor's gateway. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--model_breadth |
| Repo indexing | embeddings index | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://docs.cursor.com/context/codebase-indexing | A genuine persistent vector index, and the reason it holds up on large repos. Not unique here: Windsurf and Kilo Code also index, and Copilot and Devin pair an index with live search, which this column ranks higher again. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--repo_indexing |
| Plan mode | ● | Community-reported | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--plan_mode |
| Checkpoint & undo | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--checkpointing |
| Headless / CI | ● | Community-reported | - | - | The Cursor CLI supports non-interactive runs. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--headless_ci |
| Local models | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--local_models |
| Where it stops | 4 | Inferred | - | - | Background agents run on Cursor's infrastructure and open pull requests. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--stops_at |
| MCP | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--mcp_support |
| Subagents | ◐ | Community-reported | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--subagents |
| Hooks | ● | Community-reported | - | - | Lifecycle hooks added during 2025. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--hooks |
| Skills / commands | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Repo-scoped rules files and custom commands. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--skills_commands |
| Background agents | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--background_agents |
| Opens PRs | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--pr_authoring |
| Permissions | allowlist + OS sandbox | Community-reported | - | - | Auto-run allowlist plus a sandboxed terminal mode; weaker than Codex's kernel-level containment. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--permission_model |
| BYOK | ◐ | Community-reported | - | - | You can supply provider keys, but several agent features assume Cursor's own gateway. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--byok |
| Licence | proprietary | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--licence |
| Pricing model | subscription + token overage | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://cursor.com/pricing | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--pricing_model |
| Entry price | $20/seat/mo | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://cursor.com/pricing | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--entry_price |
| Token markup | ◐ | Community-reported | - | - | Cursor states usage-based spend is billed at provider rates for most models; it has carried a margin in the past. Verify before budgeting. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--gateway_markup |
| GitHub stars | - | Unknown | 2026-11-07 | - | Closed source. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--github_stars |
| Terminal-Bench | - | Unknown | 2026-11-07 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--terminal_bench |
| Bench model | - | Unknown | 2026-11-07 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--terminal_bench_model |
| Positioning | The AI code editor, built to make you extraordinarily productive. | Vendor-claimed | - | https://cursor.com | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--positioning |
| First release | 2023-03-01 | Community-reported | - | - | Approximate. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#cursor--first_release |

**Verdict.** A real persistent codebase index inside the editor you review in, paid for in lock-in.

## Alternatives

- [Aider](https://toolweight.com/tools/aider), Minimal terminal pair-programmer with a tree-sitter repo map and automatic git commits.
- [Amp](https://toolweight.com/tools/amp), Sourcegraph's opinionated agent with no model picker and an ad-supported free tier.
- [Claude Code](https://toolweight.com/tools/claude-code), Anthropic's terminal-first agent, with IDE, web and GitHub Action surfaces.
- [Cline](https://toolweight.com/tools/cline), Open-source VS Code and JetBrains agent built around an explicit plan/act split.
- [Codex CLI](https://toolweight.com/tools/codex-cli), OpenAI's open-source Rust agent, with the strongest local sandboxing on this page.
- [Devin](https://toolweight.com/tools/devin), Fully delegated cloud engineer: file a task in Slack or the web app, get a PR back.
- [DIY harness](https://toolweight.com/tools/diy-harness), Your own loop over a model API with an agent SDK, the build-it-yourself reference point.
- [Gemini CLI](https://toolweight.com/tools/gemini-cli), Apache-2.0 terminal agent from Google with an unusually generous free tier.
- [GitHub Copilot (Agent HQ)](https://toolweight.com/tools/github-copilot), Copilot's coding agent plus a control plane for running third-party agents on your repos.
- [Goose](https://toolweight.com/tools/goose), Block's Apache-2.0 agent, MCP-native from the start, as both a CLI and a desktop app.
- [Grok Build](https://toolweight.com/tools/grok-build), xAI's coding harness, launched July 2026, on this page but not yet verified.
- [Kilo Code](https://toolweight.com/tools/kilo-code), Open-source VS Code agent in the Cline/Roo lineage, with an orchestrator mode and a CLI.

## Logo & brand colours

SVG files: https://toolweight.com/teams/cursor/logo.svg and https://toolweight.com/teams/cursor/mono.svg. JSON: https://toolweight.com/api/v1/brands/cursor.

| Hex | oklch |
| --- | --- |
| #000000 | oklch(0.0% 0.000 0.0) |

## Licence and attribution

Data from Toolweight (https://toolweight.com), licensed CC-BY-4.0.

- Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- Canonical HTML: https://toolweight.com/tools/cursor
- Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/tools/cursor.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp
- Toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements.