Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?
Cursor IDE
Describe the Bug
Paid Cursor user here since early 2024…
I am being hard-blocked from using AI features and prompted to upgrade to Pro+, despite having a valid Anthropic API Key configured in settings.
The IDE is failing to distinguish between “Cursor-billed” API usage and “User-billed” (BYOK) API usage. As a Pro subscriber, the software should allow me to use the interface with my own keys regardless of internal Cursor quotas. Currently, the UI pops up an “Upgrade to Pro+” modal to get faster responses and prevents the request from being sent to Anthropic.
Steps to Reproduce
Enable “Anthropic API Key” in Settings > Models.
Select a specific model (e.g., claude-3-5-sonnet)—do NOT use “Auto”.
Perform requests until the internal Cursor “API Pool” limit is reached.
Observe that Cursor blocks the request with an upgrade prompt, even though the request should be billed to my own Anthropic account.
Expected Behavior
BYOK usage should bypass all “Premium Request” or “API Pool” limits, as Cursor is not incurring the inference cost.
Screenshots / Screen Recordings
Operating System
MacOS
Version Information
Environment: Cursor Version: 3.0.16 (April 2026 Build)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 475871d112608994deb2e3065dfb7c6b0baa0c50
Plan: Pro ($16/mo Annual)
OS: Darwin arm64 (macOS)
Additional Information
My understanding is that even on the Pro plan ($16–$20/mo), Cursor enforces a “Fast Premium” request limit (typically 500 requests). Once this threshold is crossed, the IDE defaults to “Slow” requests or triggers an upgrade prompt. While I recognize that Cursor’s backend still manages the orchestration—such as codebase indexing, Composer logic, and Agent steps—it appears a logic gate has recently been implemented that classifies users as “Pro+” based on code generation volume, regardless of whether they are providing their own infrastructure.
I want to be clear: I am completely comfortable with, and happy to pay, the $16/month for these backend orchestration features. However, I will not pay a penny more when the bulk of my actual compute costs are already covered by my own Anthropic API key.
Does this stop you from using Cursor
Yes - Cursor is unusable