Cursor apologizes for unclear pricing changes that upset users

Anysphere, the company behind the popular AI-powered coding environment Cursor, has issued an apology following user backlash over poorly communicated pricing changes to its $20-per-month Pro plan. The adjustments led to unexpected additional costs for some subscribers.

“We recognize that we didn’t handle this pricing rollout well and we’re sorry,” stated Michael Truell, CEO of Anysphere, in an official blog post. He further admitted, “Our communication was not clear enough and came as a surprise to many of you.”

The changes in question, detailed in a June 16 update to Cursor’s Pro plan, shifted the model from 500 fast responses on advanced AI models (from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google) with subsequent unlimited slower responses, to a $20-per-month usage allowance billed at API rates. Under the new structure, users can run coding tasks with their AI model of choice up to the $20 limit, after which additional credits must be purchased to continue usage.

In the weeks following the announcement, numerous Pro users voiced their complaints across social media platforms. Many reported quickly exhausting their requests, with some instances noted after just a few prompts, particularly when utilizing Anthropic’s new Claude models, which are highly favored for coding tasks. Other users claimed to have been unexpectedly charged additional costs, expressing confusion over exceeding the $20 usage limit without having set a spend cap. Currently, only Cursor’s “auto mode,” which intelligently routes to AI models based on capacity, offers unlimited usage for Pro subscribers.

Anysphere has pledged to refund users who incurred unexpected charges and committed to greater clarity in future pricing communications. The company declined further comment to TechCrunch beyond its blog post.

Truell elaborated in the blog post that the pricing alteration was necessitated by the evolving nature of AI models. He explained that “new models can spend more tokens per request on longer-horizon tasks,” indicating that the latest AI models are becoming more expensive due to their capacity to handle complex, multi-step operations. Previously, Cursor absorbed these costs under its old Pro plan, but these expenses are now being passed on to users.

While many AI models have seen price reductions, the cutting edge of AI performance remains costly. For instance, Anthropic’s recently launched Claude Opus 4 model is priced at $15 per million input tokens and $75 per million output tokens. This surpasses the cost of Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro, launched in April 2025, which was considered its most expensive AI model to date. Additionally, both OpenAI and Anthropic have recently begun charging enterprise customers for “priority” access to AI models, adding another premium for guaranteed high-speed performance.

These escalating expenses appear to be influencing pricing across the AI coding tool industry. Users of Replit, another prominent AI tool, also encountered unexpected pricing changes in recent weeks that increased the cost of completing large tasks with AI.

Despite these challenges, Cursor has emerged as one of the most successful AI products, achieving over $500 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) largely through its Pro plan subscriptions. However, Cursor now faces fierce competition from the very AI providers it relies on, while simultaneously navigating how to affordably integrate their increasingly expensive AI models.

Anthropic’s recent introduction of its AI coding tool, Claude Code, has garnered significant enterprise adoption, reportedly contributing to Anthropic’s ARR reaching $4 billion and potentially drawing some users away from Cursor. In a strategic move last week, Cursor reciprocated by recruiting two former Anthropic employees who were instrumental in the product development of Claude Code.

For Cursor to maintain its leading market position, continued collaboration with state-of-the-art model providers is crucial, at least until its own home-grown models achieve a more competitive standing. Anysphere recently secured multi-year agreements with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI to introduce a $200-a-month Cursor Ultra plan, offering significantly higher rate limits. Anthropic co-founder Jared Kaplan also confirmed his intention to maintain a long-term partnership with Cursor.

Nevertheless, the discernible pressure between Cursor and its foundational AI model developers continues to mount.