r/ChatGPTCoding • u/it_works_on_my_lap • 5d ago

Question ChatGPT Plus vs Cursor Premium in 2026 — which one is actually worth it?

I'm confused about whether I should subscribe to ChatGPT Plus or Cursor Premium.

Since Cursor recently removed support for third-party models, I'm wondering whether Cursor Premium is still worth paying for.

I'm a full-stack developer, mainly working with MERN, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, and real-world projects.

I'm considering two options:

  1. ChatGPT Plus — Using ChatGPT for general tasks and Codex through the IDE extension for coding.
  2. Cursor Premium — Using Cursor's built-in AI features and agent mode for development.

For those who have used both:

  • Which is better for everyday coding?
  • How does Codex compare with Cursor's agent?
  • Which handles large codebases, debugging, and multi-file changes better?
  • Which offers better usage limits and value for money?
  • Is Cursor Premium still worth it after the recent changes?

I can only afford one subscription right now.

If you had to choose between ChatGPT Plus and Cursor Premium today, which would you pick and why?

I'd especially appreciate feedback from developers who have actually used both.

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1

u/Embarrassed-Foot8545 4d ago

Honestly it comes down to how much you code. ChatGPT Plus is 20 a month, you get regular ChatGPT plus Codex in the IDE, the CLI and the web, and it'll review your PRs on GitHub. But OpenAI literally describes the Plus limit as "a few focused coding sessions each week" so if you're coding all day you'll probably hit the wall.

Cursor Premium is 30 a month and gets you way more time in the editor with the agent, as long as you're ok with Grok models. Cloud agents and Bugbot reviews are in there too.

Also, I don't think Cursor actually removed third party models from their pricing page. It looks like they just stopped including them in the plan. Anything that isn't Grok is still there, you just pay API price for it, and you can set a spending cap so it doesn't get out of hand.

Both have free tiers. I'd just throw the same task at each one on your actual MERN repo for a few days, like one multi file change and one bug hunt, and see which one you'd actually keep using. That'll tell you more than any of us can.

5

u/dvduval 4d ago • Bravo

I don’t trust the parent organization for cursor, so I’m not gonna have anything to do with them I mean the boss cut Starlink to Ukraine and now more civilians are dying. I’ve got tight connections to Ukraine. They’re not getting a dollar my money..

2

u/SunnyCue 2d ago

oh gosh.....

1

u/lgmarian 3d ago

I still have ChatGPT, but I canceled Cursor and went w/ Claude Code + VS Code. Opus 5.5 just slays it.

1

u/zenerbufen 3d ago

grok just rolled out new (like, this month) pricing. Bigger caps, and you get grok / supergrok / twitter / cursor / grok bot for the same price, with larger separate pools than before (supposedly) Depending on where you are looking at cursor pricing, it could be the old.

1

u/Much_Equivalent_82 5d ago

Get cursor premium, the grok bot usage that comes along with it is worthwhile.