Disappointed with Cursor 1.2.4 Pricing Changes - $20 Pro Plan No Longer Viable

Discussions
1

hi,

I’m writing to express my strong disappointment with the recent changes in Cursor version 1.2.4 regarding the pricing model and usage limitations.

The Issue: With the latest update, the $20 Pro plan has become practically unusable. Despite paying for Pro, I’m now unable to access:

  • GPT-4 (o3)
  • Claude-4 (Sonnet)
  • Gemini 2.5 Pro

The current system is forcing users to either switch to lower-quality “Auto” models or upgrade to usage-based pricing, which defeats the purpose of having a fixed monthly subscription.

My Concerns:

  1. Value Proposition Lost: The $20 Pro plan no longer provides access to the premium models that justified the subscription cost
  2. Forced Upgrade: Users are being pushed toward more expensive usage-based pricing without clear communication about these limitations
  3. Productivity Impact: Being limited to lower-tier models significantly impacts code quality and development efficiency
  4. Poor Timing: I still have a week left before my tokens reset, and I haven’t even used the service heavily this month, yet I’m already hitting limits

What I’m Looking For: I specifically do not want usage-based pricing. I prefer the predictability and simplicity of a fixed monthly fee. Many developers, myself included, chose Cursor because it offered premium AI models at a reasonable flat rate.

Request: Could the Cursor team please:

  • Reconsider the current limitations on the $20 Pro plan
  • Provide a clear pricing tier that includes access to premium models (GPT-4, Claude-4, Gemini 2.5 Pro) without usage restrictions
  • Offer better transparency about what each pricing tier actually includes

Update: Due to these changes, I have decided to cancel my subscription for next month. It’s disappointing that despite having nearly a week left in my current billing cycle and moderate usage, I’m already being restricted from the features I paid for.

I’ve been a satisfied Cursor user, but these changes are making me reconsider my subscription. I believe many other users share these concerns, and I hope the team will address this feedback constructively.

13 Likes
2

Cursor is cleaning up “low-end” users. Initially, it attracted a large number of users just to seize the market more quickly. Now that it needs to make money, these “low-end” users have become redundant. They are making a lot of noise on the whole, so it’s better to filter them out. Now, it needs to focus on serving high-end users. Since the Claude team joined, they have held internal meetings and decided to resolutely clean up these noisy “low-end” user groups. This should have nothing to do with the founder, who is just a young man. It seems that the newly appointed executives have persuaded them. For entrepreneurs, they already have enough money, and now they can relax and stop thinking about the pressure from low-level users. They are ready to hand everything over to the legal department. The rules are so cruel. Maybe they are right, maybe they are wrong. The current competitors are really too weak.

At present, the most profitable, in-demand, and easiest to “harvest” group is programmers. Programmers’ salaries are relatively high. On the other hand, programmers without good jobs engage in free open-source work and are extremely poor. So the wealth gap is quite large, and the world is not that prosperous yet. It’s hard to say whether AI will experience an internet bubble like the one in 2000. At least, the market value of the current leading companies has exceeded 4 trillion, which was completely unimaginable 20 years ago.

4 Likes
3

Same bro

4

their goal is to turn Cursor into a B2B workspace for team leads and corporations, not a playground for enthusiasts. This is evident from the priority of features in 1.2.x and new materials on the site. Cursor is not unique. There are architecturally similar ones, and open paths there

1 Like
5

You got a valid point. i think new competitions would emerge soon.

6

Looks like Windsurf’s user base is growing, turns out all Cursor had to do was sabotage themselves! When I subscribed almost a year ago, Cursor felt like magic. Now it feels more like a vanishing act. On the bright side, at least they’re helping Windsurf with free marketing!

7

Hi, thanks for reaching out!

I’m sorry to hear you are unhappy with the new system of pricing we have introduced. The goal of the new system was to provide as much usage to users as we can in a sustainable way - our new system is not only fairer, but also gives people unlimited access to premium models via Auto.

From the looks of your account, you have actually received almost the same, if not more usage, than on the old plan so far!

Not only have you used >$80 of API-equivalent usage throughout the $20 plan, but you have used over >300 requests, made up of mainly Sonnet 4 thinking, which on the old plan, consumed 2x requests per use.

As you do not want to use usage-based pricing, you do have the option to upgrade to our Pro+ plan, which is $60 but has 3x the usage each month that the $20/m plan has.

We now show a detailed overview of your usage on Cursor - The AI Code Editor, and also show in-app alerts when you are approaching your rate limits, but we are still looking to improve the visibility on where you are in your plan in the near future!

If I can answer any questions or provide any further info here, please throw them in our pricing mega-thread, and I’ll help you there.

1 Like
8

Previously, any model of CLAUDE could be used in unlimited mode in a slow queue. This contradicts your words. The new plans have nothing to do with the old ones.

You are destroying people’s interest to your product by radically changing the cost of use and completely removing unlimited use. (Auto mode does not count—it has nothing in common with the old version of unlimited slow queue.)

You could have given people unlimited Claude 4 sonnet thinking model for $60-100, but you couldn’t even do that.

9

You can see that people hate this new pricing and are canceling their subscriptions on Cursor by looking at the topics I’ve shared below. Please pay attention to what the community is saying.

10

@Kenjiko The slow pool could not really be considered unlimited, as it suffered from increasing delays in usage. Also, it was somewhat misused against it’s intention - it was intended to work as a backup in case a user was just over their 500 requests (e.g. ~550/m usage), but ended up being used as a way to get 1000s of additional requests. This model would not have been sustainable, and means that we could not continue to offer that plan for $20/m while still enabling people to use $100s each month extra.

Our new plan is not only fairer and more representative of each persons actual usage, but will be much more resiliant to future model releases and pricing changes - any discounts and cost savings can be passed directly to the user without having to give each model an arbitrary request cost.

Pro+ at $60 offers 3x the usage of Pro, and for $200, our Ultra plan offers near-unlimited usage of all models in Cursor.

@Recevix I appreciate you flagging these posts. We do stand by our new pricing plan as a better structure long term, allowing us to give more usage to our most price-sensitive users, while allowing those who are willing to pay for more to also get better value with our newer plans.

3 Likes
11

Cool, this helps a lot with more unsubscriptions :slight_smile: good stuff.

12

This clearly shows that you as a community manager is unable to clearly understand the message you’re receiving lol. It was always FAST x SLOW requests, then 500 usages, and now the new horrible pricing, don’t matter how much “extra” we receive on top of the 20$ it’s just not the same as the extra is a new way to milk more money from your subscribers. It’s not a PRO plan anymore, this is just a paid trial.

1 Like
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  1. The Pro+ plan isn’t available for direct purchase — it only shows up after a user exceeds their Pro limits. So it’s not really a clearly offered tier, but rather an upsell trap once someone is already locked in.
  2. I’ve been using your product for a long time, and I really appreciated it — it was one of the best tools out there. But the recent pricing changes have seriously undermined that experience.

Before, on the $20 Pro plan, we could use Claude 3.7 thinking model in the slow pool with almost no real limit. Now, you’re saying the system is “fairer,” but in practice, users are forced to spend $60 to $200/month to get what they previously had for $20.

That’s not “more fair” — it’s just a major price increase.
$20 for near-unlimited slow usage and $200 for the same thing are not the same. Let’s be honest about what changed: you removed value from the base plan and are now charging heavily for what was previously standard.

14

I still like the original 500 times billing model

15

Can you just stop saying how your new plan is fairer? Pretty please? Just don’t offend people intelligence.

No one is here for being fair, neither Cursor or people paying for it. You sold us something. You broke the contract. Simple as that. Just stop talking about being fairer please.

1 Like
16

Don’t expect honesty from him.

17

:health_worker:Doctor (cautiously):

— Tell me, is the advantageous plan… still with us in the room?

:man_technologist:Danperks (eyes wide, whispers):

— Yes… It’s always nearby… It’s just called Ultra now, and it… it deserves $200… a month… for honesty!

:health_worker:Doctor (skeptically):

— You pay $1 for each request, your forum threads are deleted, people demand refunds, threaten lawsuits, and you say everyone is satisfied?

:man_technologist:Danperks (starts rocking back and forth):

— It’s normal! We’re more sustainable now! Cursor cares! They allowed me to make 650 GPT-4.1 requests a month! And if I want more — just sell a kidney!

:health_worker:Doctor:

— What about the old plan with 500+ requests and an unlimited pool?

:man_technologist:Danperks (hysterically):

— DON’T SAY THAT WORD! The unlimited pool… it… it was too good… people abused it! We had to be stopped… (starts hugging the Ultra plan and whispers) Now everything is fair… now everything is clean… now it’s all… Cursor.

:health_worker:Doctor (trying to understand):

— Wait, but the company is on the brink of bankruptcy. Clients are leaving, there are hundreds of complaints on the forum. How can you say everything is under control?

:man_technologist:Danperks (with manic confidence):

— It’s a test! Cursor is cleansing itself of the weak who can’t see our greatness. Only the chosen ones will remain — those who are ready to pay $200 for Ultra. They will carry our banner into the future!

:health_worker:Doctor (sarcastically):

— The chosen ones? You mean those who haven’t sued yet?

:man_technologist:Danperks (condescendingly):

— Lawsuits are just their way of saying how much they love us! They want us to get better. And the complaints on the forum? We remove them for the sake of harmony. Cursor is about positivity, transparency, and honesty!

:health_worker:Doctor:

— Transparency? You delete threads where people say they’re being robbed. They pay $200 and then have to wait until the next month if their budget runs out. That’s unfair.

:man_technologist:Danperks (enthusiastically):

— No, it’s brilliant! Limits teach them to value each request. For $200, they get up to 13,000 GPT-4.1 requests! And if they run out — it’s their chance to become more disciplined. Cursor is nurturing coding masters!

:health_worker:Doctor (shocked):

— Do you seriously think restrictions are a gift?

:man_technologist:Danperks (nods, eyes shining):

— Yes! We’re not just providing a tool; we’re forming an elite. Those who pay for Pro+ or Ultra are the future of programming. And $20 for Pro? That’s mercy for beginners!

:health_worker:Doctor:

— But if the plans are so wonderful, why is everyone running away from you?

:man_technologist:Danperks (whispers, hugging the air):

— They’re not running away… they’re just… not ready. Cursor is too great for them. But soon they’ll return. They’ll all return… and thank us.

:health_worker:Doctor (sighs):

— I think you need to rest. This is abnormal.

:man_technologist:Danperks (shouts):

— Abnormal? It’s abnormal not to see Cursor’s genius! We’re not robbing anyone; we’re saving the world! One token at a time! Ultra… my sweet Ultra… you understand me…

4 Likes
18

You’re framing it like I got “more than I paid for,” but that’s based on your valuation. In reality, daily metered billing, unpredictable Auto downgrades, and inflated API pricing make it feel like a bait-and-switch. This isn’t about fairness, it’s about profit, mate!

19

I have sent email for refund as I spent $300. Or actually more now… fab

20

Hey don’t worry the dev reel or what ever said you’re getting more than you paid for anyway :slight_smile: