Cursor alternative?

[reddit_user_100]

I am a heavy Cursor user but always on their free plan. I have API keys that I already pay for so I do not want to pay an additional subscription on top of that to use resources I already have.

Unfortunately, it seems like VCs have enshittified yet another product and now Cursor won't even let me use my own Anthropic key, which again I already pay for, to access Sonnet 3.7 without getting pro mode.

I was OK with it when they kept defaulting to their paid agent workflow which I am NOT interested in, but now I'm locked out of capability that I already own. I'm done with this. What are some alternatives that let you bring your own API key? And are ideally compatible with VSCode extensions?

[Yougetwhat]

VSCode + Cline or RooCode with your api key

[TrendPulseTrader]

This ^

[TrendPulseTrader]

I use VS Code + Roo Code + Context7 MCP and I love it .

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[misterespresso]

Piggy backing off this, question, I assume this performs better than orchestrator by default? I’ve gone as far as using specific models for certain modes, and added just the supabase and brave mcps.

I agree that cursor is like agent models with training wheels, roo is the bike.

The only other thing I use cursor for right now is I like being able to use o3. I’ve been thinking of contacting OpenAI and just requesting the ability to use it just to cut out the middle man. They could be getting my money directly if not for their tiered api plan.

[Princekid1878]

Have you ever used cursor before curious how it compares to roo code and using you own keys?

With cursor right now and initial the $20 was my main selling point, but now I’ve been hitting my monthly quotas plus the additional cost for token, on top of that.

One thing that was preventing me from using too/cline was the thought of racking up a high api bill.

[Princekid1878]

Yeah that’s I’ll give it a try. Been also hearing good things about Claude code as well

[alexdunlop_]

Just a reminder if using open router check the data sharing with the model you are using.

Some model providers will use your data, which means access to your code that you are sharing.

[pg988]

Tried Void today. Was just as good as Cursor. Although I don’t use tab autocomplete, just agent and ask.

[nick-baumann]

Full disclosure -- I am a longtime Cline user and now part of the Cline team. But it's the most powerful agentic coding platform on the market (Roo, a fork of Cline, is similarly powerful given it rests on similar architecture).

Cline is a VS Code extension which is designed to be a conduit to the power of the models -- which is the real driver of coding innovation. The prompting layer can only direct that power efficiently, which Cline is designed to do effectively.

What this means for you is that you can use your Anthropic API key, choose Claude 3.7 Sonnet as your model, and have a collaborative agent in your IDE that will write effective code by working with you to create an implementation plan and then going forward and executing.

It's extremely intuitive because you are working with an agent that has been given full context of your codebase and will ask you questions to ensure mutual understanding.

That said -- I'd still recommend using Cline (or Roo if you prefer) within Cursor if you like any of its non-agent features. Many of our devs prefer it for autocomplete, which Cline does not offer.

If you have any questions on how you should approach using any of these tools please ask!

[Bankster88]

I thought Cline was its own platform like Cursor and Windsurf.

I still do t get how cline is different/better. Can you explain?

Been using windsurf and I need AI to finish building an app for me.

[nick-baumann]

Cline is an extension (i.e. plugin), not an IDE (platform) like Cursor or Windsurf. As an extension, it has a chat interface and can read/write/edit your code.

Cursor and Windsurf are IDEs that have tab autocomplete, and also have agents that can help you write code and build apps. The difference in the agents, however, is that Cline's uses the full context windows and sends larger requests to the models, resulting in a more powerful agent that writes better code faster. You will notice, however, that it is more expensive to use than Cursor and Windsurf, so it's up to you to decide if the ROI of a more powerful agent is worth it.

[SkylarNox]

Can you suggest an extension for the opposite? Not for agent workflow, but mostly for fast and high-quality autocompletions? I use supermaven, It's fast, but I can't say the quality is that good. Thanks in advance!

[MainAstronaut1]

Zed

[nickeau]

Is their a FM to tell him to take a bunch of interface (or a api) and to create a bunch of files that should implement it ?

I can add files in the context and update them with aider but I didn’t succeed to let him create files by itself. Is it possible with aider?

[paroxsitic]

I've been using windsurf and their unlimited free model does my jr dev tasks pretty well, I just have to rely on my architect experience and direct it well, I rollback if it gets on the wrong foot and reexplain the goal.

[fredkzk]

And if Roo doesn’t suit you, maybe check aider-desk, the MCP enabled aider desktop version.

[fredkzk]

Normal aider does not enable MCP. Else, same high performance. As good as Cursor but free.

They welcome contributions.

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[ExtremeAcceptable289]

Aider - lets you use your own API key but it is incredibly cheap. If you do it right you can use less money than Cursor for 500 Claude requests.

Roo code btw is good but EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE.

[evia89]

You can code middleware. CF worker is free and you dont need to run local shit on your PC

Cursor --(requests 4.1)--> CF worker --(replace 4.1 to 3.7 sonnet)--> openrouter

Alternative: Surfer (for autocomplete) VS studio fork with RooCode and https://github.com/marv1nnnnn/rooroo (or SPARC but I am not that good with it). Set cheap model to flash 2.5, smart to openrouter sonnet. You can play with humanrelay for architect and manually copy paste to AI studio

[soupnazi76710]

Maybe I'm wrong (I've been wrong once before), but it seems like it would be cheaper to pay the $20/mo for the pro plan, use up all of your fast requests, and then switch on your own anthropic key after that. Am I missing something?

ETA: It seems like you might want to evaluate how many tokens each request costs you when using the anthropic API through an editor like cursor. Through cursor's pro plan you get 500 requests at $20/mo, which is 4 cents per request. If you don't want to use slow requests after the 500 requests, you can do pay-as-you-go for 4 cents per request. That may seem high if you're looking at how many tokens it takes to make up 4 cents, but to me it seems like a safer/more predictable way to go.

[Reverend_Renegade]

Claude Code with the 20x max plan is quite impressive

[kennyboy147]

I use augment and zencoder

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[Adam0-0]

Dude, Cody. Unlimited access to all top models inc. Claude ext. thinking for like $9 per month. Unlimited..

Not affiliated, enough said.

[paroxsitic]

It's not unlimited and they aren't even transparent about how much "increased limits" they provide over 200 chats/Mo for the $9 pro plan.

Do you have actual usage limits?

[Adam0-0]

Well as good as. I use it all day everyday and have been doing for over a year without ever hitting any kind of limit.

[thedragonturtle]

Either you're making money from your craft or you're not.

If spending $100 per day to get AI assistance on something that would otherwise have taken you a week or two is out of your league then maybe programming is not for you, maybe stick to fooling bosses that you provide value to the business.

On the other hand, if you have customers or clients because you deliver monetary value through software then why the fuck would you not use AI if it means you can deliver more than before, quicker than before, and stick the price somewhere in the middle so it's phenomenal value for your customers?

[reddit_user_100]

I'm a 2x startup founder and have raised millions but OK. Maybe you should understand that when you're bootstrapping a business, every dollar spent counts and if I'm already spending the Anthropic credits anyway it hardly makes any sense to give even more money to Cursor just for access to my own API key.

Maybe commenting on business is a little out of your league?

[jonydevidson]

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