The best Cursor alternatives in 2026

Cursor is made by Anysphere: its download page offers the Cursor desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, and its pricing page lists a free plan. This guide is for people looking further because they want a full agent, one that takes a whole task, works across the repository and checks its own result. It sets out what to look for, why we put DCode first, and the other agents worth a look, each described from its own pages. We make DCode, so read our pick as our view.

What should you look for in a Cursor alternative?

• An agent that takes the whole task. One prompt in, a checked change out: it reads, plans, edits, runs the tests and reports.
• Room for big jobs. Large changes split into parts, and an agent that can hand the parts to helpers gets through them sooner.
• Reach beyond the code. A browser for web apps, the screen for desktop apps, and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for your own tools.
• The terminal when you want it. The same agent from any shell, editor or script.
• A model with published results. Tests of autonomous work in a live terminal and of long, multi-step reasoning say the most about an agent.
• A clear way to pay. A free start, then a plan or pay-as-you-go credits.

Why do we put DCode first?

Because DCode is built around the agent. Give it one prompt and a crew of up to 24 agents reads your codebase, plans the change, edits files, runs your tests and reports what was verified. Before it changes anything, it indexes repository trees, type definitions and dependency graphs, so a change lands in its full context; compilers, linters and test suites run in your own terminal, and DCode repairs the failures it introduced.

• A crew for large tasks. Up to 24 agents work in parallel, metered in tokens only, and a dock above the chat shows each agent and the Plan, Work and Review stages.
• Browser Use and Computer Use. Both are on by default. DCode drives its own browser, where sites stay signed in for 30 days and a password manager fills passwords without ever showing them to the model; with Computer Use it sees the screen and works desktop apps on Windows and macOS.
• Your yes when it matters. Posting, sending, buying and deleting on a website wait for your confirmation, and you choose how much DCode does on its own.
• MCP and the catalog. Native MCP connects databases, issue trackers and internal developer tools, and skills, MCP servers and plugins sync from our public catalog, where agents can search for what is missing, install it and carry on.
• The CLI. The same agent in a workspace that fills your terminal, on Windows, macOS and Linux, with a live Crew panel. It installs with one line or with npm, and you sign in with your account or an API key; a free account works.
• Four thinking levels. Off, Low, Standard and High, so a quick edit stays quick and a hard problem gets the time it needs.

Which model does DCode run on?

DCode runs on the Raven models: Raven Flash for quick agentic pace and Raven Max for deep work across a codebase. In our published results, which are company-reported and evaluated with maximum reasoning effort, Raven Max placed first on three of the eight tests, Terminal Bench 4.0 at 42.8 and Agent's Last Exam at 39.5 among them. On the other five, another model leads, such as GPT-5.6 Sol on DeepSWE v1.1; the full table is in our report on Raven Max.

What does DCode cost?

DCode is a free download for Windows and macOS. It draws on your Raven plan or, with the switch in Settings, on prepaid API credits at per-token prices, with the API key for DCode set up for you. For engineers who code all day, the DCode Coding Plan is $29 a month, our largest allowance for coding. Plans are on the pricing page.

Which other agents are worth a look?

Each is described here only as its maker describes it, on the page linked.

• Claude Code, from Anthropic, is in its own words an agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands and integrates with your development tools, available in your terminal, IDE, desktop app and browser.
• OpenAI Codex: OpenAI describes the Codex CLI as a coding agent that runs locally on your computer, and the same page points to Codex in your code editor, a desktop app and a cloud-based agent, Codex Web.
• GitHub Copilot, from GitHub, works in editors including Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains IDEs, and its page lists a Free plan.
• Devin Desktop, from Cognition, is the new name for Windsurf, and its download page offers it for macOS, Windows and Linux.

How we think about the agent beside autocomplete and AI-first editors is in our comparison of DCode, Cursor and Copilot, and what DCode does on a Windows machine is in our guide to AI coding agents for Windows.

How do I switch?

1. Download DCode for Windows or macOS from the download page, or install the CLI with one line.
2. Sign in with Google or Apple; your Raven plan works in DCode from the start.
3. Open the repository you know best and hand DCode a real task, such as a change that spans several files.
4. Choose Raven Flash or Raven Max and a thinking level, and let your tests tell you how it went.

Everything DCode does is on the DCode page, plans are on the pricing page, and the DCode docs start with the install.

Product names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to identify the products.