Key Terms
- Origin Code Hosting - Cursor's own code hosting layer (launched in early beta August 17): repos, pull requests, code browsing, and two-way GitHub sync, with Vercel/Depot/Buildkite app integrations. For Origin-hosted repos, Cursor is the source of truth and "GitHub is not in the path." Source: Cursor – Origin Code Hosting
- Builds - pre-prepared copies of a cloud-agent environment (repos cloned, dependencies installed) kept warm so agents boot into a ready state; Cursor reports 10x faster environment boot and 3x faster time to first token. Included with Cloud Agents at no extra cost. Source: Cursor – 08 13 26
- Subscriptions (agents) - cloud agents can subscribe to event sources (PRs, Slack threads, schedules) and wake when something happens, driving PRs to completion autonomously. Source: Cursor – 08 19 26
- Subagent VMs - subagents can run on isolated virtual machines with their own copy of the project, enabling swarms that test or fix in parallel without collisions. Source: Cursor – 08 19 26
- Cursor Token Rate - $0.25/MTok surcharge on Teams plans for third-party model requests (direct or router-selected); first-party Grok/Composer models and Auto Cost mode are exempt (carried over from July). Source: Cursor – Pricing
- Grok Bot - xAI's assistant surfaced through Cursor, now listed as an included feature with tiered usage limits across Pro/Pro+/Ultra plans. Sources: Cursor – Pricing , xAI – Bot
- SpaceX acquisition - the $60B all-stock acquisition of Anysphere by SpaceX, signed June 16, 2026, closed during August; Reuters now describes Cursor as "SpaceX-owned." Source: Reuters – Openai End Partnership With Spacexs Cursor 2026 08 29
Latest Changes
Changes since the 2026-07 report.
July watch items verified:
- SpaceX acquisition close: confirmed. The deal closed during August. Reuters (August 29) refers to "SpaceX-owned Cursor" in its report on OpenAI ending the partnership. Source: Reuters – Openai End Partnership With Spacexs Cursor 2026 08 29
- Router billing concerns: no rollback. The Cursor Router's three modes (Intelligence/Balance/Cost) remain the default for Teams, and the Auto modes still bill at whatever model the router picks. No pricing changes were announced in August. Source: Cursor – Pricing
- iOS Privacy Mode Legacy downgrade: still-pending. No fix, documentation, or resolution found in August. Source: News – Item
- US Congressional probe into Anysphere's use of Chinese AI models: still-pending. No public August resolution found.
New August changes:
- [NEW CATEGORY] Origin Code Hosting (August 17): Cursor launched its own code hosting with repos, pull requests, and two-way GitHub sync, plus Vercel/Depot/Buildkite integrations. This moves Cursor from editor/agent into direct competition with GitHub's hosting business. Rolling out in early beta on all paid plans (enterprise orgs can opt out). Source: Cursor – Origin Code Hosting
- Model removal (announced Aug 29, effective Nov 12): OpenAI will cut off its models from Cursor following the SpaceX acquisition, "escalating feud with Musk." GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna and other OpenAI models leave the platform November 12, 2026. Anthropic simultaneously said it will increase compute support for Claude models in Cursor, per Tom Brown. Source: Reuters – Openai End Partnership With Spacexs Cursor 2026 08 29
- Feature added (Aug 19): Agent Subscriptions (event-driven wake on PRs, Slack threads, schedules), Custom Modes (skills pinned "always on"), subagents on isolated VMs,
/goalfor long-lived objectives, and non-interrupting steering. Source: Cursor – 08 19 26 - Feature added (Aug 13): Builds for cloud agents, included at no additional cost. Source: Cursor – 08 13 26
- Feature added (Aug 27): Start-from-scratch cloud agents with no connected SCM; browser live preview via port-forwarding; one-click Vercel publish. Source: Cursor – Start From Scratch
- Feature added (Aug 3): Google Workspace plugins (Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar) in the marketplace. Source: Cursor – Google Workspace Plugins
- Plan page change: Individual plans now advertise tiered "Grok Bot access" and "Generous limits for Grok" on every paid tier; dollar prices unchanged (Pro $20, Pro+ $60, Ultra $200, Teams $40/$120, Enterprise custom). Source: Cursor – Pricing
Plans
| Plan | Price (monthly) | Included usage | Key inclusions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $0 | Limited agent requests, access to Composer | No credit card |
| Start (India only) | INR 649/mo (tax incl.) | Grok 4.5 (fixed medium effort, non-fast) + Composer non-fast | Cloud agents, iOS, plugins; no Bugbot/Auto/on-demand/SDK (carried over) |
| Pro | $20/mo | Extended limits on Agent; "generous limits for Grok" (undisclosed) | Frontier models, Grok Bot, MCPs/skills/hooks, cloud agents, Bugbot (usage-based) |
| Pro+ | $60/mo | 3x Pro limits on Agent | Everything in Pro + higher Grok Bot limits |
| Ultra | $200/mo | 20x Pro limits on Agent | Everything in Pro+ + highest Grok Bot limits, priority access |
| Teams Standard | $40/user/mo | undisclosed | Central billing, team marketplace, shared-context agents, Bugbot, usage analytics, privacy mode, SAML/OIDC SSO |
| Teams Premium | $120/user/mo | 5x Standard limits on Agent | Everything in Teams Standard |
| Enterprise | Custom | Pooled | SCIM, repo/model/MCP access controls, auto-run/browser/network controls, audit logs, service accounts, AI code tracking API |
Source: Cursor – Pricing
API Pricing
Cursor is not an API supplier; on-demand usage is billed in arrears at per-model rates once included usage is exhausted. First-party rates carried over from July: Grok 4.5 at $2/$6 per MTok (base) and $4/$18 (fast); Composer 2.5 smaller-class pricing unchanged. Third-party model rates (Anthropic, Google, Moonshot) mirror provider list prices plus the $0.25/MTok Teams Token Rate where applicable. OpenAI model rates become moot for most users after November 12, 2026. Regional data residency adds a 10% uplift on eligible models. Source: Cursor – Pricing
Model Performance / Benchmarks
No new Cursor-published benchmark results in August (Grok 4.5's CursorBench score remains asterisked due to the training-data contamination disclosed in July). Independent August rankings (aitoolsrecap) place Cursor second on in-editor workflows behind Claude Code for long autonomous sessions. Sources: Cursor – Cursorbench , Aitoolsrecap – Best Ai Coding Agent Harness 2026
Latest News
SpaceX Acquisition Closed; OpenAI Pulls Models (Aug 29, 2026)
Reuters reported that OpenAI will end its partnership with SpaceX-owned Cursor, cutting off OpenAI model access as of November 12, 2026, in an escalation of the OpenAI-Musk feud. The acquisition itself (signed June 16 for $60B in stock) closed during August. Practical impact: Cursor customers using GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna must migrate to Grok 4.5, Composer, or third-party models within roughly 10 weeks of the announcement. Source: Reuters – Openai End Partnership With Spacexs Cursor 2026 08 29
Cursor Becomes a Code Host (Aug 17, 2026)
Origin brings repos, pull requests, browsing, and GitHub two-way sync under cursor.com, with a Codebase tab and app integrations (Vercel previews on every PR, Depot/Buildkite CI). Origin-hosted repos bypass GitHub entirely, while synced repos keep GitHub as source of truth. Source: Cursor – Origin Code Hosting
Always-On Agent System (Aug 19, 2026)
Cloud agents gained Subscriptions (wake on PR/Slack/schedule events), isolated subagent VMs, custom modes, and /goal persistence. Combined with Builds (Aug 13), this positions cloud agents to "operate as a system, building and shipping software on their own." Source: Cursor – 08 19 26
Community Signals
OpenAI Departure Coverage
The Reuters story drew two HN threads: "OpenAI to cut off AI models for SpaceX-owned Cursor, escalating feud with Musk" (4 points, 1 comment) News – Item and "OpenAI to Cut Off AI Models for SpaceX-Owned Cursor" (5 points, 2 comments) News – Item . Follow-up coverage: "OpenAI Cuts Off Cursor's Model Access After SpaceX Acquisition" (3 points) News – Item .
Ecosystem Drift
Cursor's post-acquisition positioning is already spawning third-party tooling for users considering exit paths, e.g. "Aplexica - keep memory and conversations when you leave Cursor for Claude" (1 point). News – Item . Community utilities around session data continue (cursor-chat-cleaner, 2 points). News – Item
Engineering Write-ups
Cursor's own "What we've learned building cloud agents" was published September 2 (post-period). News – Item
Enterprise Readiness
| Feature | Available? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| SSO (SAML) | Yes | Teams plans and above. Source: Cursor – Pricing |
| SSO (OIDC) | Yes | Listed alongside SAML for Teams. Source: Cursor – Pricing |
| SCIM | Yes | Enterprise. Source: Cursor – Pricing |
| Audit logs | Yes | Enterprise (audit logs and service accounts). Source: Cursor – Pricing |
| IP indemnity | No | Not mentioned on pricing, security, or enterprise pages. |
| Data residency | Partial | Regional data residency available with 10% pricing uplift on eligible models. Source: Cursor – Pricing |
| HIPAA | No | Not mentioned; no BAA advertised. |
| Air-gapped / on-prem | No | No on-prem offering. |
| SLA | No | No published SLA. |
| Admin controls (RBAC) | Yes | Repo/model/MCP access controls, auto-run/browser/network controls, usage analytics, AI code tracking API (Enterprise). Source: Cursor – Pricing |
| Certifications | Yes | SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, AIUC-1 badges displayed site-wide. Source: Cursor – Security |
Transparency Gaps
| Gap | Details | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI transition terms | Which OpenAI models remain usable via API-key BYOK after Nov 12, if any, and whether on-demand OpenAI usage is refunded or pro-rated, is not documented. | High |
| Included usage amounts | "Generous limits" and "x Pro limits" still have no absolute token/request numbers on any plan. | High |
| Post-acquisition governance | Changes (if any) to data handling, model routing, or training under SpaceX ownership are undocumented; the Privacy Mode guarantee remains the only stated commitment. | High |
| iOS Privacy Mode Legacy downgrade | Unresolved since June; no fix or documentation. | Medium |
| Router cost variance | Auto Intelligence/Balance still bill at the chosen model's rate with no per-session cost ceiling; the $0.25/MTok Teams surcharge applies on top. | Medium |
| Origin beta scope | Which Origin features will remain free vs paid, retention policy for Origin-hosted repos, and compliance posture of the hosting itself are undocumented. | Medium |
| Grok Bot limits | "Higher/highest Grok Bot usage limits" per tier are not quantified. | Low |