We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page. It never changes a score or a ranking. How we make money
It's a split decision.
OpenCode is an open-source coding agent that runs on your machine and connects to 200+ model providers, including local models. Choose it if self-hosting, model choice and an SDK for scripts or CI matter. Cursor is a coding agent for desktop, CLI and cloud workflows, with Slack and GitHub integrations. Choose it if you want agents to work on tasks in parallel and review their output. Both offer free tiers; their paid plans and usage models differ.
01Side by side
| OpenCode | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free models; Go $10/month; Go Plus $40/month | Free; paid plans from $8/month |
| Free tier | Free models available without an account | Limited agent and chat requests |
| Open source and license | Open source; license name not published | Open-source status not published |
| Self-hosting | Self-hostable; works on your machine | No public self-hosting option stated |
| API and SDKs | SDK for scripts, CI jobs and tools | CLI and model access; SDK not described |
| CLI and docs | Terminal UI, documentation and SDK | Cursor CLI and agent workflows |
| Integrations | 200+ providers, MCP servers and named services | Slack, GitHub, terminal and model providers |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone; Android coming soon | macOS, web, CLI and Slack |
OpenCode Choose OpenCode if
- Choose OpenCode if you want to self-host your coding agent.
- Choose OpenCode if you need local models or broad provider choice.
- Choose OpenCode if you want an SDK for scripts and CI.
Cursor Choose Cursor if
- Choose Cursor if you want agents to plan and write code for review.
- Choose Cursor if you want parallel cloud agents on tasks.
- Choose Cursor if Slack and GitHub are part of your coding workflow.
02Pricing at real usage
OpenCode has free models that work without an account, then paid Go subscriptions: $10/month and Go Plus at $40/month. Go lists estimated five-hour windows of 110 Kimi K3 or 1,050 DeepSeek V4 Pro requests; Go Plus lists 440 and 4,200, respectively. Those are estimates, not fixed token allowances. Extra Usage credit top-ups have no published price, and Go Teams starts with Extra Usage on. The pricing page lists monthly billing, with no annual option.
Cursor’s Free plan has limited agent and chat requests. Plus is $8/month and lists only Grok models; Premium is $30, Super $100 and Ultra $200 per month. Their listed usage allowances scale at 4x, 15x and 50x Plus. Third-party models bill separately at API list price, and usage top-offs are available. Teams starts at $30 per user monthly; Enterprise has custom pricing. Actual costs depend on usage and add-ons.
03API, SDKs and integration
OpenCode connects to more than 200 model providers, including local models, and supports local and remote MCP servers. Its SDK is intended to drive the agent from scripts, CI jobs and other tools. The homepage links to documentation, but does not name SDK languages. Its terminal UI works in shells, editors and remote servers; installation options include curl, npm, Bun and Homebrew. Listed service integrations include GitHub, Linear, Figma, Sentry, Notion, Slack, Supabase and Stripe.
Cursor provides a CLI for command-line coding and connects to models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, SpaceXAI and Cursor’s Composer. Its homepage also describes Slack workflows and GitHub pull-request review and creation. It presents cloud agents as able to work in parallel, with results handed back for review. The materials describe these integrations and workflows, rather than a general-purpose SDK for building against Cursor.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
OpenCode is open source and self-hostable, and it can connect to local models as well as hosted providers. The specific license name is not published. That combination gives teams options if they want to run the agent on their own machine or change model providers. Cursor’s public product details do not specify an open-source or self-hosting option; its feature set includes cloud agents.
Neither product’s public materials specify a portable export format for agent sessions or related data. Treat repository code and agent history as separate migration concerns: keep code in your version-control system, and check whether prompts, settings, indexes and session history can be exported before moving tools. OpenCode’s provider choice may reduce model-vendor dependence, but it does not by itself guarantee that agent state transfers cleanly.
Questions people ask
Is OpenCode cheaper than Cursor?
OpenCode offers free models without an account, with Go at $10/month and Go Plus at $40/month. Cursor also has a free tier; its listed Plus plan is $8/month but includes only Grok models. Premium is $30/month, and third-party models are billed separately. Which costs less depends on the models and usage you need.
Can OpenCode use local models?
Yes. OpenCode connects to local models as well as more than 200 model providers. Cursor’s listed model choices include OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, SpaceXAI and Composer; its public product details do not specify local-model support.
Can OpenCode and Cursor run agents in parallel?
OpenCode supports multiple sessions running agents in parallel on the same project. Cursor describes cloud agents that can work in parallel on tasks for hours or days. Both support parallel agent work, but their listed workflows differ: OpenCode emphasizes sessions on a project, while Cursor emphasizes cloud task fleets.
Which tool can I self-host?
OpenCode is self-hostable and works on your machine, with connections to local models and hosted providers. Cursor’s public product details do not specify a self-hosting option. If running the agent within your own environment is a requirement, OpenCode is the option with that capability stated.