Pick BBEdit if
mac writers/devs who will stay on Free Mode or pay $59.99 — not Cursor first unless they want an agent editor.
Read the BBEdit pageBBEdit vs Cursor
Our take
Pick BBEdit if mac writers/devs who will stay on Free Mode or pay $59.99 — not Cursor first unless they want an agent editor. Pick Cursor if software engineers already in git who want an agent in the editor. Skip Cursor if non-developers, or teams that cannot send code to a third-party model API.
Best for
BBEdit Edit that file at a public $
Cursor Changing a real repo
Free plan
BBEdit $0 · subset of features; you can download and work
Cursor $0 · limited Agent and Chat requests
Lowest paid
BBEdit Upgrade from 15.x $29.99
Cursor Plus $8/mo · Grok models only
Next step up
BBEdit Upgrade from 14.x or prior $39.99
Cursor Premium $30/mo · other models at API price
Coding agent
BBEdit
Cursor Agent + Tab inside the editor
Runs where
BBEdit
Cursor Desktop editor; models hosted
Watch out
BBEdit Free Mode is a subset
Cursor Plus is Grok-only
Last checked
BBEdit 2026-10-26 · barebones.com/products/bbedit
Cursor 2026-10-19 · cursor.com/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Cursor if
software engineers already in git who want an agent in the editor.
Read the Cursor page