COMPARE

Cursor sells the agentic IDE. Pass sells the gateway behind your agents.

Cursor is an AI-first editor with Agent UI, Cloud Agents, Automations, and usage-metered frontier models. TDE Pass is a flat-rate AI Gateway for open coding models — Anthropic and OpenAI-compatible endpoints you can point Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode at — plus Sync on public bundles and a free terminal desktop with My Loop.

See TDE Pass plansInstall TDE free
  • List prices in USD
  • Point Cursor at Pass via OpenAI-compatible BYOK
  • Soft fair-use — agents keep running

PRICING

Same $20 sticker. Different goods underneath.

Cursor Pro includes a $20 “Other Models” usage pool (plus a separate Cursor Models pool for Grok/Composer). Pass Pro sells flat monthly gateway access sized to an agent routine — with Sync on the public bundle — not an IDE seat.

TDE Pass

  • TDE Pass Pro

    Flat monthly access · Sync included

    $20/mo

  • TDE Pass Maxrecommended

    Flat monthly access · Sync included

    $50/mo

  • TDE Pass Ultra

    Flat monthly access · Sync included

    $100/mo

Public Pro / Max / Ultra are Pass + Sync bundles. Desktop and My Loop stay free forever.

Cursor

  • Hobby

    Limited Agent requests and Tab completions. Evaluation only.

    $0

  • Pro

    $20 Other Models usage included · generous Cursor Models (Grok/Composer) · Cloud Agents · MCPs/skills/hooks

    $20/mo

  • Pro+

    $70 Other Models included · Cursor’s recommended tier for daily Agent users

    $60/mo

  • Ultra

    $400 Other Models included · power users running multiple agents / automations

    $200/mo

Cursor figures from cursor.com/pricing and cursor.com/docs/models-and-pricing. Exceeding included usage continues via on-demand API rates (or upgrade). Teams from $40/user/mo.

All list prices shown in USD. Checkout may show your local currency via Stripe where supported — that is checkout UX, not a second list price.

FEATURES

Side by side.

Cursor wins as the agentic IDE product. Pass wins as the predictable open-model gateway — and the free TDE loop around it.

AspectTDE PassCursor
Product shapeAI Gateway + free TDE desktop / My LoopAI-first IDE (VS Code fork) + Agent UI + Cloud Agents + Automations
Entry paid seatFrom $20/mo (Pass + Sync bundle)Pro $20/mo (IDE + Agent + included usage pools)
What $20 buysFlat monthly gateway access + Sync — open coding models$20 Other Models pool at API rates + Cursor Models pool + Cloud Agents
When you exceedFair-use slowdown — work is not cut offOn-demand pay-as-you-go at API rates, or upgrade Pro+ / Ultra
Daily Agent realitySized routines: Pro for individual use → Max for several agents → Ultra for multi-project fleetsCursor docs: daily Agent users often $60–$100/mo total; power users $200+
Agentic surfaceMy Loop pipeline, worktrees, gates — terminal-native loopIn-editor Agent, Tab, Composer, Cloud Agents, Automations
Model catalogCurated open coding set (Kimi, DeepSeek, GLM, MiniMax, MiMo, GPT-OSS; Kimi K3 on Ultra)Frontier Anthropic / OpenAI / Google / SpaceXAI + Cursor Grok & Composer
ProtocolsAnthropic Messages + OpenAI Responses on cloud.tde.shBuilt-in Cursor routing; OpenAI-compatible BYOK / custom base URL supported
Use them togetherYes — point Cursor’s OpenAI-compatible override at the Pass gatewayYes — keep the IDE; route open-model spend through Pass when you want flat rate
Privacy claimThird-party open-weight hosts under Pass — not Anthropic/OpenAI ZDRPrivacy mode available; frontier traffic still hits provider / Cursor infrastructure
TeamEnterprise Org Brain add-on (separate SKU)Teams $40–$120/user/mo · Enterprise custom

FIT

When to pick which.

Many developers will keep Cursor as the editor and add Pass as the gateway. Others leave the IDE seat when the loop itself is the product.

Choose TDE Pass when…

  • Agent spend is the pain, not the editor chrome

    You want a predictable open-model gateway instead of climbing Pro+ / Ultra as frontier tokens burn the included pool.

  • You want the loop, not only chat-in-IDE

    My Loop, Sync, and a free terminal desktop are part of the product — Pass is the optional cloud brain behind them.

  • You already run Claude Code / Codex / OpenCode

    Pass speaks their protocols. Cursor is optional; the gateway is the unit of sale.

Choose Cursor when…

  • The IDE is the product

    You want Tab, Composer, in-editor Agent, Cloud Agents, and Automations as one polished surface.

  • You need frontier models by default

    Claude / GPT / Gemini via Cursor’s pools matter more than a curated open catalog.

  • Your team standardizes on Cursor

    Teams / Enterprise billing, Bugbot, shared Cloud Agents context, and SSO are already decided.

Is Pass a Cursor replacement?

No. Pass is an AI Gateway (and TDE is a terminal desktop). Cursor is an agentic IDE. You can keep Cursor and point OpenAI-compatible BYOK at Pass, or move agent work into TDE’s free My Loop.

Pro is $20 on both — which is cheaper for agents?

Same sticker, different burn. Cursor Pro’s $20 Other Models pool is API-priced frontier usage that daily Agent work often outgrows (Cursor’s own guidance points many people at Pro+). Pass Pro is flat monthly gateway access with soft fair-use — not a dollar pool that refills at API rates.

Do you show local-currency comparison tables?

No. List prices are USD only. Stripe may localize currency at checkout where supported.

TDE PASS

Keep the editor you love — or leave it. Own the gateway either way.

Install the free TDE desktop, add Pass when open models should be flat-rate behind Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or OpenCode — without a per-token surprise at month end.

See TDE Pass plansInstall TDE free