Cursor's $8 Plus Plan Is Grok Only: What $30 Premium Really Buys, and Why GPT Leaves on 12 November

Cursor changed its pricing on 12 October 2026, and the headline number is misleading if you read it alone. New signups no longer get the old $20 Pro plan. They get The X Subscription, which bundles Cursor, Grok, and X Premium perks: Free, Plus at $8 a month, Premium at $30, Super at $100, and Ultra at $200. The trap is in what each tier actually includes. Plus at $8 is Grok models only inside Cursor. Claude, GPT, and Gemini do not come with it at any price inside that tier, and cloud agents, Bugbot code reviews, and automations do not either. If Claude or GPT is the reason you use Cursor, $8 does not buy you Cursor as you knew it.

This matters now for two reasons. First, existing subscribers are not moved automatically, but switching is reported as opt in and permanent, so one careless click can end a better legacy deal. Second, OpenAI says it is winding down its contract to provide OpenAI models to Cursor, with a proposed shutoff date of 12 November 2026, and future models will not be added. That date is close, and it changes the GPT part of this decision even if you keep your current plan.

What do the new Cursor plans actually include?

The new ladder is shared across Cursor, Grok, and X, with one weekly usage pool instead of a monthly limit. Cursor publishes pool sizes only as multiples of Plus, not as token or dollar numbers, which makes direct comparison harder. Premium gets 4 times the Plus usage, Super gets 15 times, and Ultra gets 50 times. Annual billing costs $80 a year for Plus, $300 for Premium, $1,000 for Super, and $2,000 for Ultra, which works out to two months free on the monthly price.

Third party models work differently on the new plans. On Premium and above, Claude, GPT, and Gemini are billed at API list price from prepaid credit, starting with the first request, and you can set a spending cap. Cursor's own pricing language says third party usage is not included in the monthly prices shown and must be purchased separately. In plain terms, the subscription buys you the editor, the Grok pool, and the agent features. The Claude or GPT tokens are an extra bill on top.

That is why the monthly math in the table below matters more than the plan price alone. The example uses a simple $70 of Claude usage at API list price, taken as an illustration, not as a promise about your usage. Your Claude cost depends on your models, your tokens, and your tasks.

| Monthly scenario | Subscription | Third party API cost in the example | Total in the example | | --- | --- | --- | | New signup on Premium, using $70 of Claude at list price | $30 | $70 | $100 | | New signup on Plus, wanting Claude | $8, but Claude is not available in this tier | Not available | You must move to Premium or above to use Claude at all | | Existing subscriber who keeps legacy Pro at $20 | $20, under old terms until you switch | Covered under old terms for now, check your own plan details | $20 in this comparison, with no extra API bill in the old model |

That comparison is the point. A developer who moves from legacy Pro to new Premium and keeps the same Claude workload can end up paying the subscription plus the full API bill, instead of one bundled price. The $8 Plus plan is even sharper: it is not a cheaper way to run Claude. It is a different product, built around Grok and Cursor's own models.

What is happening to GPT in Cursor?

OpenAI says it is winding down its contract to provide OpenAI models to Cursor, now owned by SpaceX, with a proposed shutoff date of 12 November 2026. Until then, Cursor keeps the OpenAI models it uses today, but OpenAI says Cursor may end access sooner, and future models, including its upcoming Astra model, will not be added. As of 23 October 2026, Cursor's models page still listed GPT models, but that listing does not override the wind down notice. Treat 12 November as the planning date, and sooner as a real possibility.

If GPT is why you use Cursor's agent, you have three practical routes, and none of them is automatic. First, use OpenAI's own Codex extension or command line tool inside Cursor's editor, which is OpenAI's route, not Cursor's agent. Second, use your own OpenAI API key in Cursor's local agent on an eligible plan, where supported, and pay OpenAI directly. Third, move your GPT work to another model, such as Claude, Grok, or Gemini, and accept that the workflow will change. A ChatGPT subscription does not pay for Cursor's agent, and Cursor staff have confirmed there is no way to use a ChatGPT subscription inside Cursor's agent. Do not buy a ChatGPT plan expecting it to unlock Cursor.

Should you stay, switch, or leave?

If you are an existing subscriber on legacy Pro at $20 or Pro+ at $60, the safest default is to stay put until you have done the math on your own usage. Your included third party usage continues under the old terms until you switch, and switching is reported as permanent. Before you switch, export or note your current plan details, your average monthly usage, and which models you actually use. If Grok models alone can do your daily work, test that claim on Plus first, on a separate account or trial if you can, without giving up your legacy plan. If Grok cannot, Premium at $30 is the realistic starting point for new signups, plus whatever your third party API bill adds.

If you are a new signup, start with the honest question: which model does your work? If the answer is Grok or Cursor's own Composer models, Plus at $8 is a genuine low cost entry, with the limits above. If the answer is Claude or GPT, budget Premium at $30 plus your API spend, set a spending cap on day one, and compare that total with the bundled alternative you would otherwise use, such as Claude Code on a Claude plan or GitHub Copilot, on your own numbers. Do not compare $8 with $20 and call it a saving, because those two prices do not buy the same models.

Set the spending cap before your first large agent run on a new plan. Third party billing starts with the first request, and agent runs can burn tokens fast when they loop, retry, or spawn subagents. A cap does not make the work cheaper, but it stops a bad run from becoming a large bill. Also check the weekly pool rhythm: new plans share one weekly pool across Cursor, Grok, and X, so heavy Grok use outside Cursor can reduce what is left for coding. If you use Grok heavily elsewhere, Premium's 4 times multiple matters more than it looks on paper.

Key takeaways:

• New Cursor plans since 12 October 2026 are Free, Plus $8, Premium $30, Super $100, and Ultra $200 a month.
• Plus at $8 is Grok models only in Cursor, with no cloud agents, Bugbot, or third party models.
• Premium at $30 adds cloud agents and third party models, but Claude, GPT, and Gemini bill separately at API list price from prepaid credit.
• Legacy Pro $20 and Pro+ $60 continue for existing subscribers until they switch, and switching is reported as permanent.
• OpenAI proposes ending its Cursor model deal on 12 November 2026, so plan GPT work on another route before that date.

Sources: Cursor pricing page and Models and Pricing documentation, as checked 19 to 23 October 2026 and reported by Cursor pricing coverage; SpaceX and xAI announcement of The X Subscription, 12 October 2026; OpenAI wind down notice for Cursor models, proposed 12 November 2026, as reported 23 October 2026; Cursor forum reports that switching from legacy plans is opt in and permanent.

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