OpenCursor / Free Claude Code alternative

A free alternative to Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's coding agent, and it comes with a paid Claude plan. If you want an agent that reads your code, edits files and runs commands without paying for a plan, OpenCursor does that for free, in a full editor, on free or local models. And if you have Claude Code, OpenCursor runs it too.

Updated October 29, 2026

Is Claude Code free?

No. Claude Code is included in Anthropic's paid plans (Pro and Max) or billed through an API key. Anthropic's free plan does not include it.

What OpenCursor gives you for free

• An agent that reads and searches your code, edits files and runs terminal commands, with Agent, Plan, Debug and Ask modes.
• Every edit as a diff you keep or undo, and checkpoints to roll back any step.
• Free models to run it on: OpenCode's free models with no account, or 18 free tier models with a free key, with Free (auto) switching when one runs out.
• Local models through Ollama or LM Studio, if you would rather keep everything on your computer.
• Rules from CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md, slash commands and MCP servers, so a Claude Code project works as it is.

If you do have a Claude plan

OpenCursor can run Claude Code itself. It starts Anthropic's own claude program under your login, so the work counts against your plan, and shows it in OpenCursor's chat with diffs and checkpoints. You can switch between Claude Code and a free model from the same menu.

Honest trade off

Claude's own models are among the strongest for coding, and free models are smaller or rate limited. For quick fixes, learning and side projects, free models do well. For long agent runs on a big codebase, a paid model will finish more often. OpenCursor lets you start free and switch the moment you need more.

Questions

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