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Cursor Hobby (free) vs ChatGPT Free
Cursor Hobby (free) is our pick of the free band. Both are free tiers.
Our verdict
The Cursor ladder. Both Cursor plans are the same agent in the same IDE with the same Composer model, metered monthly. Hobby is a taste of the request budget; Pro is the real one.
The OpenAI ladder. Every paid ChatGPT rung runs the same Codex CLI and the same GPT 5.6 models; upgrading changes the weekly allowance and nothing else. Plus is already the lightest quota burn we measure, about 3% of its window per real-world run, so the upper rungs sell headroom most people never touch.
Cursor Hobby (free) is our pick of the free band.
Cursor Hobby (free) is for finding out if you want an agent in your editor at all; ChatGPT Free is for occasional questions and drafting.
Both are free tiers.
We have not measured Cursor Hobby (free) on its own plan; its card below points at the closest graded evidence.
We have not measured ChatGPT Free on its own plan; its card below points at the closest graded evidence.
Free tiers are usually chat with a demo attached; this one is an actual agent editing your repo. The catch sits at both ends: Composer 2.5 is a weak model, and the request budget dies within a few tasks. Use it to find out whether you like the workflow, not whether you like the model.
Pros
- An agent that edits your repo, for nothing
- The same agent and IDE as Cursor Pro
- No card, nothing to cancel
Cons
- A few tasks and the requests are gone
- Composer 2.5 barely clears Haiku 4.5
Best for Finding out if you want an agent in your editor at all.
How far it goes: we have not measured this plan
We grade the same Cursor agent on the $20 Pro plan - its scorecard is the closest evidence.
The leaderboard lists every plan we do grade.
A capable chat app with a taste of Codex on the side. Ask it questions all day; just do not plan on it carrying work to the end, because the agent allowance is a sample, not a budget.
Pros
- Costs nothing
- Fine for questions and drafts
Cons
- Codex access is a taste, not an allowance
- Real agent work needs a paid rung
Best for Occasional questions and drafting.
How far it goes: we have not measured this plan
Same Codex CLI family as ChatGPT Plus with tight limits - the Plus scorecards are the closest evidence.
The leaderboard lists every plan we do grade.
Verdicts and prices are the quiz's versioned editorial catalog, last reviewed 2026-08-20; usage figures come from our own published runs and stay a share of each plan's own allowance. Any other pair composes on the subscription comparison, and the quiz turns your answers into a recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
Which should I pick, Cursor Hobby (free) or ChatGPT Free?
Cursor Hobby (free) is our pick of the free band. Cursor Hobby (free) is for finding out if you want an agent in your editor at all; ChatGPT Free is for occasional questions and drafting.
How much do Cursor Hobby (free) and ChatGPT Free cost?
Cursor Hobby (free) is free (per cursor.com/pricing, as of 2026-08-12); ChatGPT Free is free (per chatgpt.com/pricing, as of 2026-08-12).