Pro
$10/mo
Limits Unlimited edit predictions; $5 of tokens included monthly; beyond that billed at API list price +10%.Source: zed.dev · checked 2026-10-16
Zed vs Cursor: pricing and usage limits (Oct 2026)
Zed starts at $10/mo, Cursor at $8/mo. Both have a free plan. Every plan from both vendors, the limits each one actually publishes, and what changed recently, with a source on every line.
The short answer
Verdict from the data
- Cheaper to start
- Cursor. Cursor Plus is $8/mo; the cheapest Zed plan, Zed Pro, is $10/mo ($2 more).
- Free plan
- Both have one. What each includes is quoted under Free plans below.
- Top of the ladder
- Zed Pro at $10/mo vs Cursor Ultra at $200/mo.
- Paying yearly
- Cursor takes up to 17% off (Plus); Zed shows no yearly discount on the plans we track.
- Hard numbers
- Cursor doesn't publish exact allowances, so the limits below are quoted, not counted.
- Latest move
- Cursor, 12 Oct 2026: Cursor moves into The X Subscription: new Plus $8 / Premium $30 / Super $100 / Ultra $200 plans with a weekly pool.
Pick Cursor if you want the lowest monthly bill. Beyond price and free access, the deciding factor is which models and features you need; we track the money, not the model quality.
Head to head
| Fact | Zed | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free tier | Free tier |
| Cheapest plan | Pro · $10/mo | Plus · $8/mo |
| Top plan | Pro · $10/mo | Ultra · $200/mo |
| Plans tracked | 2 | 5 |
| Yearly discount | None shown | up to 17% |
| Allowance periods | Monthly | Weekly |
| Latest change | None logged | plan restructure |
| Last checked |
Closest price match: Zed Pro vs Cursor Plus
Plus
$8/mo
Annual: $80/yr
Limits Base weekly usage pool for Cursor models, shared across Grok and Cursor; refreshes weekly. Only Grok models; third-party models not available. Absolute pool size not published.Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16
Every plan side by side
| Tool | Plan | Price | Limits as stated & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zed | Pro | $10/mo | Unlimited edit predictions; $5 of tokens included monthly; beyond that billed at API list price +10%. Source: zed.dev · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Zed | Business | $30/mo | Unlimited edit predictions; no bundled LLM credit allotment (hosted AI at standard usage rates or BYO keys). No free trial. Source: zed.dev · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Plus | $8/mo | Base weekly usage pool for Cursor models, shared across Grok and Cursor; refreshes weekly. Only Grok models; third-party models not available. Absolute pool size not published. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Premium | $30/mo | 4x Plus weekly usage. Third-party models at API list price from prepaid credit. Adds Cloud Agents, Bugbot, Origin hosting. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Super | $100/mo | 15x Plus weekly usage; priority model access at peak times. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Ultra | $200/mo | 50x Plus weekly usage; earliest access to new products/models. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Teams | $30/mo | Each seat matches the weekly usage of the matching individual tier; third-party models at API list price + $0.25/M token Cursor Token Rate. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
Free plans
| Tool | Free? | What you get for $0 & source |
|---|---|---|
| Zed | Free tier | Personal: editor free forever; unlimited use with your own API keys or external agents (Claude Agent, Codex CLI). Pro has a 14-day free trial with $5 of GPT-6 Luna usage, no credit card. Source: zed.dev · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Free tier | Free plan $0/month: 'Limited agent requests', 'Limited Chat requests'. No third-party models (Claude/GPT/Gemini) on Free. Exact request counts not published. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
Recent price and limit changes
-
plan restructureCursor moves into The X Subscription: new Plus $8 / Premium $30 / Super $100 / Ultra $200 plans with a weekly pool
New customers now buy Cursor as part of The X Subscription (Grok + Cursor + X). Usage moves from two monthly pools to one weekly pool shared with Grok; third-party models (Claude, GPT, Gemini) are no longer included and bill at API list price on Premium and above. Legacy Pro ($20), Pro+ ($60), Ultra ($200) continue for existing subscribers.
-
limit changeCursor Pro switches from 500 requests/month to $20 of frontier-model usage at API rates
Cursor later apologized (July 4, 2025) for the unclear rollout and offered refunds for unexpected charges between June 16 and July 4.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Zed or Cursor?
Cursor is cheaper to start: Cursor Plus costs $8/mo, against $10/mo for Zed Pro. At the top end, Zed Pro is $10/mo and Cursor Ultra is $200/mo.
Is Zed or Cursor free?
Zed: Yes. Personal: editor free forever; unlimited use with your own API keys or external agents (Claude Agent, Codex CLI). Pro has a 14-day free trial with $5 of GPT-6 Luna usage, no credit card. Cursor: Yes. Free plan $0/month: 'Limited agent requests', 'Limited Chat requests'. No third-party models (Claude/GPT/Gemini) on Free. Exact request counts not published.
How do the usage limits compare at the closest price?
Zed Pro ($10/mo): Unlimited edit predictions; $5 of tokens included monthly; beyond that billed at API list price +10%. Cursor Plus ($8/mo): Base weekly usage pool for Cursor models, shared across Grok and Cursor; refreshes weekly. Only Grok models; third-party models not available. Absolute pool size not published.
Is it cheaper to pay yearly?
Zed: no yearly discount on the plans we track. Cursor: up to 17% off when billed yearly (Plus: $6.67/mo instead of $8).
When did Zed and Cursor last change their pricing?
12 Oct 2026, Cursor: Cursor moves into The X Subscription: new Plus $8 / Premium $30 / Super $100 / Ultra $200 plans with a weekly pool. 16 Jun 2025, Cursor: Cursor Pro switches from 500 requests/month to $20 of frontier-model usage at API rates.
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