← All models

Best Model for Cursor

Cursor lets you choose the model behind its agent and chat. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the most popular daily driver; Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 are the picks for the hardest tasks; Gemini 3.1 Pro shines on huge-context work; and Grok 4.3 offers frontier-class quality at better value.

Read the full Cursor review → · updated 2026-06-22
#1Claude Sonnet 4.6Anthropic · $6.60/1M · 1M ctx

The default most Cursor users keep selected — excellent agentic editing at a sensible price and speed.

Overall 91/100 · Value 46 · 78% community winFull breakdown →
#2Claude Opus 4.8Anthropic · $11/1M · 1M ctx

For the hardest changes where output quality matters most — Cursor's heavy-lifting option.

Overall 94/100 · Value 41 · 79% community winFull breakdown →
#3GPT-5.5OpenAI · $13/1M · 1.1M ctx

OpenAI's flagship for top-tier reasoning, when you prefer the GPT family in Cursor.

Overall 93/100 · Value 40 · 79% community winFull breakdown →
#4Gemini 3.1 ProGoogle · $5.00/1M · 1.0M ctx

The pick for very large contexts — holds big codebases for whole-repo reasoning.

Overall 89/100 · Value 49 · 77% community winFull breakdown →
#5Grok 4.3xAI · $1.63/1M · 1M ctx

Frontier-class quality at a friendlier price — a strong value choice in Cursor.

Overall 84/100 · Value 62 · 75% community winFull breakdown →

FAQ

Which model is best in Cursor?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 for everyday editing, Opus 4.8 or GPT-5.5 for the hardest tasks, and Gemini 3.1 Pro when you need a huge context. Cursor's model picker makes it easy to switch per task.
Does the model choice affect Cursor's cost?
Yes — on usage-based pricing, flagship models burn through your limits faster. Many users default to Sonnet 4.6 and only switch to Opus or GPT-5.5 for genuinely hard work.

The model is half the story — the agent is the other half

The model picks the moves; the agent runs the loop, the tools, and the guardrails. Once you've chosen a model, see which agent gets the most out of it.

Compare AI agents →