Anysphere is facing backlash over a confusing pricing update to its popular AI coding tool Cursor. The company’s $20/month Pro plan changed June 16, switching from a fixed 500 fast AI responses plus unlimited slower ones to a $20 usage cap billed at API rates. Users hit the new limits fast and were surprised by extra charges.
The issue started with the announcement that Pro subscribers get $20 worth of usage per month on models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. After hitting $20, users must buy more credits or shift to Cursor’s “auto mode” for unlimited use. Many users on social media reported running out of requests quickly, especially with Anthropic’s Claude models, and some said they were charged unexpectedly.
Anysphere CEO Michael Truell apologized Friday for the rollout and poor communication in a blog post. 
Michael Truell stated:
We recognize that we didn’t handle this pricing rollout well and we’re sorry.
Our communication was not clear enough and came as a surprise to many of you.
The company says it will refund users hit with surprise fees and promises clearer pricing updates moving forward. It declined further comment to TechCrunch.
The pricing shift aims to cover rising costs. Newer AI models are more expensive, using more tokens for complex tasks, which Cursor’s old plan couldn’t sustain.
Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 model charges $15 per million input tokens and $75 per million output tokens, pricier than Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro. Enterprise customers for OpenAI and Anthropic now also pay premiums for “priority” model access.
The pressure isn’t unique to Cursor. Other AI coding tools like Replit recently bumped prices, surprising users.
Cursor’s Pro plan brought in over $500 million ARR but faces tight competition. Anthropic’s Claude Code is growing fast, reportedly hitting $4 billion ARR, pulling some enterprise users from Cursor.
Recently, Cursor hired two former Anthropic product leads. It also struck deals for a $200/month Ultra plan with high rate limits from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI.
Jared Kaplan, Anthropic co-founder, told TechCrunch in June he expects a long partnership with Cursor. But the strain between Cursor and AI model makers is building.
Expect more pricing friction as costs from cutting-edge AI keep rising.
