How to Use Cursor AI for Free in 2026

Cursor AI has become one of the most popular AI-powered code editors, offering intelligent code completion, inline chat, and agentic coding features powered by Claude and GPT models. But at $20/month for Pro and $40/month for Business, it is not cheap.

The good news: there are several legitimate ways to use Cursor AI for free in 2026. This guide covers every method, from the built-in free tier to student discounts and strong alternatives.

What You Get with Cursor Free Tier

Cursor offers a free Hobby plan that includes a generous set of features out of the box.

Feature	Free (Hobby)	Pro ($20/mo)	Business ($40/mo)
Slow completions	2,000/month	Unlimited	Unlimited
Fast premium requests	50/month	500/month	500/month
Claude Sonnet access	Limited	Full	Full
GPT-4o access	Limited	Full	Full
Cursor Tab (autocomplete)	Limited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Agent mode	Limited	Full	Full
Privacy mode	No	No	Yes

The free tier gives you 50 fast premium requests per month and 2,000 slow completions. For casual use, hobby projects, and learning, this is often enough.

Step 1: Download and Set Up Cursor Free

Go to cursor.com and download the editor for your OS (macOS, Windows, or Linux).
Install and open Cursor. It will prompt you to sign in or create an account.
Create a free account using your email or GitHub.
You are automatically on the Hobby (free) plan.

Cursor is built on VS Code, so all your existing extensions and settings carry over. You can import your VS Code configuration during onboarding.

Step 2: Maximize Your Free Requests

Here are practical tips to get the most out of your 50 monthly fast requests:

Use slow requests for routine tasks. Switch to slow completions for tasks that are not time-sensitive. They use the same models but queue behind paid users.

Be specific with prompts. Vague prompts waste requests. Instead of "fix this code," try "fix the null reference error on line 42 in the handleSubmit function."

Use Cursor Tab wisely. The autocomplete feature (Cursor Tab) counts separately from chat requests. Use it for line-by-line completions and save chat for complex multi-file edits.

Batch your questions. Instead of asking five separate questions, combine related queries into one chat message with context.

Step 3: Get Cursor Pro Free Trial

Cursor offers a 14-day free trial of the Pro plan for new accounts. To activate it:

Open Cursor and go to Settings > Subscription.
Click "Start Free Trial" under the Pro plan.
You will need to enter a payment method, but you will not be charged during the trial.
Set a calendar reminder to cancel before day 14 if you do not want to continue.

During the trial, you get 500 fast premium requests and unlimited Cursor Tab completions.

Step 4: Apply for the Student Plan

Cursor offers discounted or free access for students through their education program.

Visit the Cursor education page from your account settings.
Submit your .edu email address and proof of enrollment.
Approval typically takes 1-3 business days.
Students get Pro-level access at a significant discount (often free or 50% off).

If you have a GitHub Student Developer Pack, mention this in your application -- Cursor has historically honored GitHub Education partnerships.

Step 5: Use Cursor with Free API Keys

You can bring your own API keys to Cursor, which lets you bypass the built-in request limits entirely:

// In Cursor Settings > Models > OpenAI API Key
{
  "openai_api_key": "sk-your-key-here",
  "anthropic_api_key": "sk-ant-your-key-here"
}

Where to get free API credits:

Google AI Studio: Gemini models are free up to rate limits. You can use Gemini 2.0 Flash with a free API key in Cursor.
Anthropic: New API accounts sometimes come with promotional credits.
OpenRouter: Aggregates multiple providers, some with free tiers. Set the OpenRouter API key in Cursor's OpenAI-compatible field.
Groq: Offers free inference for Llama and Mixtral models at very fast speeds.

Step 6: Use Open-Source Alternatives (100% Free)

If the free tier is not enough, consider these fully free alternatives:

Editor	AI Model	Free Tier	Best For
Continue.dev (VS Code)	Any (bring your own)	Unlimited	Full flexibility
Cody by Sourcegraph	Claude + StarCoder	Generous free tier	Large codebases
Cline (VS Code)	Any (bring your own)	Unlimited	Agentic coding
Windsurf (Codeium)	Proprietary	Free plan available	Autocomplete
Aider	Any (bring your own)	Unlimited (CLI)	Terminal users
Void	Any (bring your own)	Fully open source	Privacy-focused

Setting Up Continue.dev (Free Cursor Alternative)

Continue is an open-source AI code assistant that works inside VS Code:

# Install from VS Code marketplace
code --install-extension continue.continue

# Or search "Continue" in the VS Code extensions panel

After installation, configure it to use a free model:

// ~/.continue/config.json
{
  "models": [
    {
      "title": "Gemini 2.0 Flash",
      "provider": "google",
      "model": "gemini-2.0-flash",
      "apiKey": "your-free-google-ai-key"
    }
  ],
  "tabAutocompleteModel": {
    "title": "Codestral",
    "provider": "mistral",
    "model": "codestral-latest",
    "apiKey": "your-free-mistral-key"
  }
}

This gives you a Cursor-like experience with zero cost.

Step 7: Run Local Models with Cursor

For fully offline, unlimited, and free AI coding, you can connect Cursor to local models via Ollama:

# Install Ollama
curl -fsSL https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh

# Pull a coding model
ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:14b

# The model runs on localhost:11434

Then in Cursor, add a custom model pointing to http://localhost:11434/v1 as an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. This works entirely offline and has no request limits.

Comparison: Free Cursor vs. Paid vs. Alternatives

Criteria	Cursor Free	Cursor Pro	Continue + Gemini	Local (Ollama)
Monthly cost	$0	$20	$0	$0
Request limit	50 fast	500 fast	API rate limits	Unlimited
Model quality	High	High	High	Medium-High
Offline use	No	No	No	Yes
Setup difficulty	Easy	Easy	Medium	Medium

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cursor free forever? Yes, the Hobby plan is permanently free with 50 fast requests and 2,000 slow completions per month.

Can I use Cursor free for commercial projects? Yes, the free tier has no restrictions on commercial use.

Does the free trial require a credit card? Yes, the 14-day Pro trial requires a payment method, but you can cancel before being charged.

What happens when I run out of free requests? You can still use slow completions, which process your requests with lower priority but use the same AI models.

Wrapping Up

Cursor AI's free tier is surprisingly capable for most developers. By combining the built-in free plan with strategic use of free API keys, local models, or open-source alternatives like Continue.dev and Cline, you can get a premium AI coding experience at zero cost.

If you are building projects that involve AI-generated media like images, video, or avatars, try Hypereal AI free -- 35 credits, no credit card required. It pairs well with any code editor for building AI-powered applications.