Brief Summary
The video discusses the author's decision to switch back to Cursor as his primary AI coding tool, driven by recent developments including Cursor's hiring of key personnel from Anthropic (the creators of Claude), and the introduction of Cursor's new "Ultra" plan. The author compares Cursor's new offerings with Claude Code, assessing the value and capabilities of each, and shares his experience of testing Cursor Ultra by building a functional application.
- Cursor's strategic hiring of Claude's key developers signals a potential shift in the AI coding landscape.
- Cursor's Ultra plan, priced at $200/month, offers high usage limits and access to multiple AI models, but lacks transparency in its rate limiting.
- The author successfully built a social media transcription app using Cursor Ultra, indicating its practical utility and performance.
Intro: Why I'm Switching Back to Cursor
The author announces his return to using Cursor, highlighting a significant development where Cursor's parent company, Anysphere, hired key individuals from Anthropic, the creators of Claude. He mentions that Claude Code's era might be ending. The video aims to explore the reasons behind this switch and evaluate Cursor's new $200/month "Ultra" plan through practical application.
The Big Move: Cursor Hires Claude Code Leaders
Cursor's parent company, Anysphere, has strategically hired Kathwin Woo, the product manager who shaped Claude Codes road map, and Boris Churnney, the lead developer and self-proclaimed creator of Claude Code. This move is described as strategic warfare, giving Cursor access to Claude Code's weaknesses, limitations, and future plans. While Anthropic is well-funded and will continue developing Claude Code, this is a significant blow. The author also states that Claude Code is overhyped, and Cursor has caught up with new features like the web agent and buckbot.
Cursor's New Ultra Plan
The launch of Claude Code was driven by Anthropic's introduction of Max plans, offering increased limits for fixed prices. Cursor now offers similar plans, including the Pro Plus plan and the Ultra plan with 20x limits for $200 a month. The author will test the Ultra plan in the video, noting claims that it virtually eliminates rate limits, unlike Claude Code's Max plan.
Sponsor: Augment Code
Augment Code is introduced as a smart plug-in that enhances code editors like Cursor, VS Code, and Jet Brains. Its key features include powerful background agents, automatic AI model selection based on the task, and a robust internet search function. As an official Anthropic partner, Augment Code utilizes Claude's models to deliver impressive coding results, offering a free 14-day trial.
Cursor Ultra - Is It Worth It?
The $200/month Ultra plan is examined in comparison to Claude Code's Max plan, acknowledging that while the price may seem high, it can be a good deal for access to top-tier coding models. A significant drawback of Cursor's new plans is the shift from request-based to usage-based pricing, resulting in unclear rate limits for local and burst usage. Claude Code offers more transparency with its token limits and 5-hour session resets. Cursor claims the Ultra plan provides 20 times the limits of the Pro plan and includes Max mode, addressing previous context and thinking time limitations. The author values the availability of all models, including OpenAI's and Gemini 2.5 Pro, within Cursor.
Putting the Ultra Plan to the Test: Building an App
The author tests the $200/month plan by building Social X, a tool that converts content from Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube into transcripts. He aims to update the app to remove the login requirement and implement a global daily limit. Coding for several hours, he encounters occasional connection issues but no rate limiting. He notes mixed reactions to the Ultra plan in Cursor's Discord and Reddit communities, with some users praising it and others calling it a scam due to a lack of transparency.
Cursor vs. Claude Code: Which Plan to Pick?
The author summarizes his experience, expressing positive surprise at Cursor Ultra's performance. He was able to use Claude for Opus in Cursor's max mode for three hours without limitations and successfully built the Social X app. The app supports YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, allowing users to transcribe videos and download the transcripts. The author concludes that the 20x limits are not just marketing and that he was able to build more than expected. For those spending $20 a month, the Cursor Pro plan is recommended. For $60 a month, the Pro Plus plan is a good value. At $100 a month, Claude Code offers a better deal with virtually unlimited coding every 5 hours. For those with $200 a month to spend, the choice is tougher, but the author prefers Cursor Ultra for its availability of all models, background agents, and other features.
