Cursor

Cursor is an AI-powered code editor (a VS Code fork) that autocompletes and rewrites code from chat. Students can code for free on the Hobby tier with no credit card, then decide whether Pro is worth $20/mo.

Best for: CS students who live in their editor

What you get

• Free Hobby tier: no credit card, but limited AI Agent requests and limited Tab completions
• Pro is $20/mo month-to-month, or ~$16/mo billed annually (20% off) — check their site to confirm
• New accounts may get a short full-Pro trial, but the official pricing page lists none and reports conflict in 2026 — don't count on it
• Student gotcha: the free-year student Pro offer closed to new signups on June 25, 2026; now only occasional campus/event credits, so no reliable universal student discount

How students use it

• Refactor a messy class project by describing the change in chat
• Let Tab autocomplete the boilerplate while you focus on the logic
• Point the agent at failing tests and review its proposed fix