Cursor vs GNU Emacs
Cursor
cursor.comGNU Emacs
gnu.orgSide by side
| Figure | Cursor | GNU Emacs |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $8/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 11 | 1 |
| Spec score · Editor Software | 9.3 (#1) | 8.7 (#4) |
| Documentation | The documentation covers installation, agents, models, CLI, SDKs, integrations, customization, billing, and security. | It includes complete built-in documentation and a tutorial for new users. |
| License | Cursor itself is proprietary; its license notice lists bundled components such as VS Code, Electron, and Monaco under their respective open-source licenses. | GNU Emacs is free software distributed under conditions of the GNU General Public License. |
| Support | Cursor directs users to its forum or to [email protected] for private questions. | Users can seek help through the help-gnu-emacs mailing list or gnu.emacs.help newsgroup, and report bugs with M-x report-emacs-bug. |
Plans
Cursor
- FreeFree
- HobbyFree
- Plus$8 a month
- Pro$20 a month
- Premium$30 a month
- Teams$30 a month
- Pro+$60 a month
- Super$100 a month
- Ultra$200 a month
- Ultra$200 a month
In their own words
Cursor
Cursor is a coding agent for building software, available as a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux. Users can select models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, SpaceXAI and Cursor, and launch fleets of agents to work in parallel for hours or days. Cursor also runs in the terminal, collaborates in Slack and reviews GitHub pull requests. Cloud Agents integrate with Slack, GitHub, GitHub Enterprise Server, GitLab and Linear. The free Hobby plan includes limited Agent requests and Composer access. Pro costs $20 a month, and Teams costs $40 a month. Every plan includes model usage; on-demand usage can continue after the included amount is consumed and is billed in arrears. Privacy Mode is described as preventing training on customer data, with technical and contractual protections applied through model providers. Enterprise adds repository, model and MCP controls, audit logs and service accounts; pricing is custom and no fixed amount is listed. Cursor holds listed security certifications and attestations, and directs users to its forum or an email contact for private questions.