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Cursor vs Bolt: which is worth paying for?

The current plans and our verdict on each tool, side by side. Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page and are checked every day.

Prices, verdicts, test results or user reports behind this comparison changed on Sep 28, 2026. We are re-checking it; the plan table below always shows the current prices.

The short answer

Choose Cursor if…

Our pick for most people

  • you need extended agent limits and frontier models for $20/month
  • you want Grok Bot, MCPs, and cloud agents in one IDE
  • you prefer centralized billing and SSO for teams at $40/user/month

Choose Bolt if…

  • you want to build websites with no daily token caps for $25/month
  • you need 10M tokens per month and custom domain support
  • you want unused tokens to roll over to the next month

Bottom line: Pay for Cursor if you are a daily agent user who needs extended limits and frontier models.

Key differences

  • Cursor offers a free Hobby plan with limited agent requests and Composer access. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (cursor.com), checked Sep 26, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • Bolt offers a free plan with 300K daily tokens, 1M monthly tokens, and Bolt branding. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (bolt.new), checked Sep 24, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • Cursor Pro costs $20/month for extended agent limits, frontier models, and Grok Bot access. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (cursor.com), checked Sep 26, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • Bolt Pro costs $25/month for no daily token limit, 10M monthly tokens, and no Bolt branding. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (bolt.new), checked Sep 24, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • Cursor Teams costs $40/user/month for centralized billing, SSO, and team marketplace. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (cursor.com), checked Sep 26, 2026.Go to sources ↓
  • Bolt Teams costs $30/user/month for centralized billing and granular admin controls. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (bolt.new), checked Sep 24, 2026.Go to sources ↓

Plans and limits side by side

PlansCursorBolt
Free planHobby $0Agent requests Limited, Access ComposerFree $0Tokens daily limit 300K, Tokens per month 1M, File upload limit 10MB, Web requests Up to…
Paid plansPro $20/moAgent limits Extended, Grok limits Generous, Models Access to frontier models, Grok Bot A…Pro+ $60/moUltra $200/moPro $25/moTokens per month Start at 10M, File upload limit 100MB, Web requests Up to 1M
Business plansTeams Standard $40/user/moBilling Centralized team billing and administration, Marketplace Team marketplace for int…Teams Premium $120/user/moEnterprise CustomUsage Pooled usage, Billing Invoice/PO billing, Management SCIM seat management, Access c…Teams $30/user/moEnterprise Custom

From each vendor's own pricing page · Cursor checked Sep 28, 2026 · Bolt checked Sep 27, 2026.

Our tests

We have not run our task suite on Cursor or Bolt yet, so this comparison has no test scores.

What users say

Cursor

One Reddit user says Cursor is worth it because Grok 4.6 offers usage similar to Opus 4.6 but with much more usage HNUser report · positive · Hacker NewsPosted Sep 3, 2026See the report ↓. Several HN users note that Cursor becomes expensive due to the Cursor Token Rate for BYOK HNUser report · mixed · Hacker NewsPosted Aug 29, 2026See the report ↓. Some users report that Cursor randomly replies in Chinese during normal work days RedditUser report · mixed · Redditr/cursor, posted Feb 21, 2026See the report ↓. One user mentions that Cursor Ultra removes concerns about limits HNUser report · positive · Hacker NewsPosted Aug 18, 2026See the report ↓. A reviewer notes that Cursor Implied Success Without Evidence, with not one of 100 selected commits even building RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/programming, posted Jan 16, 2026See the report ↓. Another user installed the Cursor iOS app and found it irreversibly changes privacy settings HNUser report · negative · Hacker NewsPosted Jun 30, 2026See the report ↓.

Reports cited (6)
  1. Positive · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Cursor is worth it because Grok 4.6 is around Opus 4.6 but you get much more usage with it than with Claude Code.
  2. Positive · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    … Oh yeah and I do not care about limits with cursor ultra at all . Unlike with you .
  3. Negative · Reddit · r/programming · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Cursor Implied Success Without Evidence | Not one of 100 selected commits even built
  4. Negative · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Tell HN: Installing Cursor on iOS irreversibly changes your privacy settings. Just hit this today and I'm furious. I installed the Cursor iOS app to see what it had. I've been on Privacy Mode (Legacy) for a long time, which is the "Do not store my code" setting. …
  5. Mixed · Hacker News · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    I use Cursor at work and love it. It's a great IDE, the best IMHO. But it becomes really expensive. Since the introduction of the Cursor Token Rate, my company tells us to use Claude and Codex directly with Anthropic (or Vertex AI) and OpenAI, respectively. I'm now using Grok 4.6 most of the time. …
  6. Mixed · Reddit · r/cursor · · Open thread ↗ ↩ text
    Cursor randomly replies in Chinese This was during a normal work day yesterday. I glanced down and it just started this chat off in a new language. Maybe I hit a stray key? Seems like Chinese (based on Google translate) which I don't speak, nothing in the context window in Chinese characters AFAIK

Bolt

We do not have enough user reports about Bolt yet.

Questions people ask

Does Cursor have a free plan?

Yes, Cursor offers a free Hobby plan that includes limited agent requests and access to Composer.

Does Bolt have a free plan?

Yes, Bolt offers a free plan with 300K daily tokens, 1M monthly tokens, and Bolt branding on websites.

What is the price of Cursor Pro?

Cursor Pro costs $20/month.

What is the price of Bolt Pro?

Bolt Pro costs $25/month.

Do Bolt tokens roll over?

Yes, starting July 1, 2025, tokens from a paid Bolt subscription roll over for one additional month.

Does Cursor offer team billing?

Yes, Cursor Teams costs $40/user/month and includes centralized team billing and administration.

Sources

Drafted with AI from these pages, our tests and the linked user reports, and checked automatically against them before publishing: every price, score and report above is tied to the tool it is about.

Cursor

Bolt

Each tool's verdict and plans

Cursor

DEPENDS DEPENDS — worth it for some people Re-checking after a price change

Paying $20/month unlocks extended agent limits and frontier models, but per-token costs can make it pricey for heavy users.

Based on pricing, docs & user reports — not yet tested by us

Cheapest paid
$20/mo
What's free
$0
Our test score
—

Hobby

$0

Pro

$20/mo

Pro+

$60/mo

Ultra

$200/mo

Teams Standard

$40/user/mo

Teams Premium

$120/user/mo

Enterprise

Custom
Visit Cursor(opens in a new tab) Full Cursor verdict →

Bolt

YES YES — worth paying for

Paying removes daily token limits, branding, and file size caps, making it worth it for serious builders.

Based on pricing & docs — not yet tested by us

Cheapest paid
$25/mo
What's free
$0
Our test score
—

Free

$0

Pro

$25/mo

Teams

$30/user/mo

Enterprise

Custom
Visit Bolt(opens in a new tab) Full Bolt verdict →

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