Although builders have been utilizing VSCode, GitHub Copilot, and different AI instruments for coding for years, Cursor was the one which began the ‘vibe coding’ period. Hailed as a must have AI coding assistant, it shortly outshone everybody else. These days, nonetheless, the attract of the ‘tab tab tab’ software program has been fading away.
In what could come as a shock, a rising variety of builders are abandoning their subscriptions, annoyed by declining efficiency, hidden prices, and a shift away from Cursor’s authentic developer-first focus.
From Hero to Zero: What Went Unsuitable?
Builders who’ve been utilizing Cursor since its early days are noticing a steep decline in its ‘usefulness’. In a viral Reddit dialogue titled ‘Cursor’s path, from hero to zero,’ builders identified how Cursor was an irreplaceable instrument earlier however is now “a large number of hidden expenses and deteriorating efficiency”.
Some say that the introduction of Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.7 marked the start of Cursor’s downfall. In some instances, Cursor uninstalled itself routinely, whereas on different events it will refuse to uninstall.
Amusingly, it as soon as requested a developer to be taught coding as an alternative of counting on AI to jot down the code.
Customers have reported a noticeable lack of precision, an incapacity to know associated code, and an elevated want for handbook interventions. “I used to have the ability to belief Cursor to deal with medium duties seamlessly,” the OP of Reddit wrote. “Now I’ve to interrupt them down into tiny fragments, doubling or tripling my workload.”
In the meantime, Google’s Gemini 2.5 is gaining reward as the very best AI coding mannequin, a title solely Anthropic’s Claude has convincingly claimed. It’s accessible on Cursor, although all options should not but launched.
Builders had been additionally beforehand transitioning from Cursor to Codeium’s Windsurf in giant numbers as they found that the platform was not solely much like Cursor but additionally sooner and extra correct.
Rick Lamers, an AI researcher and engineer at Groq, mentioned he waited too lengthy to check out Windsurf and has now realised that it’s “way more agentic than Cursor”. This sentiment is echoed in group discussions, the place customers spotlight Windsurf’s superior context dealing with, particularly when modifying a number of recordsdata.
Additionally learn: Developers are Finally Ditching Cursor for Windsurf
“After three months of utilizing Cursor, I switched to Windsurf and located it less expensive with its limitless Cascade base mannequin performing very near Claude 3.5 Sonnet,” one other developer mentioned on the Cursor discussion board.
Builders Really feel Betrayed
In what many see as a blatant enterprise transfer, Cursor launched the $20-per-month with Claude Sonnet 3.7 MAX plan, which requires customers to pay extra charges per immediate. Builders argue that it is a deliberate downgrade of the free-tier mannequin to push customers towards MAX.
“Humorous how the free model instantly acquired worse whereas MAX grew to become the ‘answer’,” one person remarked.
However the final straw for a lot of was the introduction of Google’s Gemini 2.5—the free mannequin with a 1M-token context window. Google affords it without cost, but Cursor expenses $0.04 per request. You must pay for one thing that’s freely accessible via the API. This was the breaking level for a lot of customers.
Builders really feel betrayed by this. Though Cursor, created by the startup Anysphere, has gained important consideration, it wants to boost cash to proceed its providers, which has led to a rise in its worth per token.
One other main ache level is the opacity in Cursor’s pricing. The $20 subscription comes with imprecise limitations, hidden API name prices, and an unpredictable billing mannequin. Customers have repeatedly requested for a transparent pricing construction, however no modifications have been made.
This sentiment shouldn’t be broadly accepted by many, as many are able to pay the value for Cursor to spice up their productiveness.
Nevertheless, a typical grievance amongst ex-subscribers is Cursor’s failure to know its core viewers. Initially designed for builders, Cursor now appears to cater to absolute freshmen in a bid to make everybody a developer, which paradoxically is resulting in ability erosion.
A number of customers level to JetBrains or VSCode for instance of keep developer-centric whereas increasing market attain.
Alternate options are Getting Higher
Cursor’s lack of communication is one other sore spot for builders. Regardless of lively developer engagement on boards and Reddit, suggestions seems to be ignored. “Bug fixes occur, however actual points stay unaddressed,” a developer mentioned.
However not everyone seems to be sad with the vibe coder Cursor. Adarsh Shirawalmath, the founding father of Tensoic, instructed AIM that he nonetheless makes use of Cursor as it’s the finest platform for auto-coding proper now.
“In actual fact, I see extra folks beginning to use Cursor. My mates have been launching apps simply by vibe coding. I really feel instruments like Cursor are to [here] keep and with options like Sonnet MAX, or simply paired with the lengthy context on Gemini 2.5 professional, folks can do lots,” he mentioned.
Shirawalmath agreed that Windsurf was additionally quick catching up, however “Cursor’s moat is indexing your whole codebase effectively after which utilizing highly effective LLMs to work on these codebases. Microsoft is doing that with VS Code, however has misplaced its market to Cursor. Cursor advertising and marketing must be studied on this case,” he laughed.
What do most builders nonetheless agree works effectively? Autocomplete. Nevertheless, as one person acknowledged: “It’s not value $20 a month.”
As builders cancel their subscriptions, they’re turning to options like RooCode, Cline, and Windsurf. Whereas these instruments aren’t excellent, they’re gaining traction by studying from Cursor’s errors. “I wished to like Cursor, however they’ve misplaced my belief. I’m giving RooCode and Cline a shot. They’ll’t be worse than what Cursor has change into,” a developer mentioned.
The submit Why Builders are Cancelling Cursor Subscriptions appeared first on Analytics India Journal.
