We built three real projects using Cursor as our only editor for 30 days. Here's the honest verdict from a team of developers — what it does brilliantly, what frustrates, and whether it's worth ditching VS Code.
Cursor is the most impressive AI coding tool we've tested. The codebase-aware chat and multi-file Composer are genuinely game-changing — not just marginally better autocomplete. After 30 days, our team estimated a 40–60% reduction in time spent on boilerplate, debugging, and refactoring. At $20/month, it's the best ROI of any developer tool we've reviewed. Recommended for: all professional developers, especially on medium-to-large codebases.
Most AI coding tools are VS Code extensions that bolt on autocomplete. Cursor is a fork of VS Code — meaning it keeps everything you love about VS Code (all your extensions, keybindings, themes, settings) but rebuilds the editor AI from the ground up with three new capabilities that change how you code:
Cursor indexes your entire repo. In the chat, type @filename or @function and it pulls in exact context. Ask "why does the auth middleware fail for admin users?" and it actually knows your specific middleware code.
Describe a feature in plain English. Composer writes across multiple files simultaneously — creating the component, updating the router, adding the types, and writing the tests. This alone makes Cursor worth it.
Select any block of code, press Cmd+K, type your instruction. "Add error handling to this function" or "Convert this to TypeScript" — it edits inline with a diff view so you can accept or reject each change.
We asked Cursor Composer to "Add a user profile settings page with avatar upload, name editing, and email change with re-verification." In about 90 seconds it created:
The output needed some tweaking, but it saved approximately 3 hours of work.
Free: 2,000 completions + 50 slow requests. Great to get started. Pro ($20/mo): Unlimited completions, 500 fast requests, access to premium models. Business ($40/user/mo): Team management, centralized billing, SOC 2 compliance.
Replace VS Code in 5 minutes. All your extensions and settings transfer automatically.
Download Cursor Free →Free tier available · Pro: $20/mo · Works on Mac, Windows, Linux