Why My AI Coding Was Stalled and How I Designed a Better Pricing Plan for Cursor IDE

I was deep into a coding project using Cursor IDE when I hit a wall. Every AI request felt like wading through molasses — wait times stretched to 5 minutes. It wasn’t just slow; it made coding painful. I was constantly worrying about rate limits and costs.

After some trial and error, I realized a simple pricing change could fix this nightmare.

The Core Problem: Unbearable Slowdowns

In my daily workflow, slow requests were meant to be a cost-effective option. But they often failed or took forever to respond.

One time, an interaction with Gemini 2.5 Pro took nearly 5 minutes to start. That capped me at about 12 requests per hour — way too slow for rapid coding.

Constant rate limiting messages, like “We’ve hit a rate limit with Vertex,” just added stress. Coding should be creative and fun, not a waiting game.

What I Learned About AI Limitations

Through testing, I discovered why unlimited fast requests aren’t possible. AI providers like Anthropic charge per use, and Cursor has to manage server loads.

Slow requests were even disabled due to high demand for Claude 4. Paid fast plans still had limits, like on Sonnet 4.

This reliance on external models means Cursor needs smarter pricing. Otherwise, users like me might switch to alternatives like Claude Code in VSCode.

My Proposed Solution: Fair Pricing Tiers

I designed a tiered model based on actual coding needs:

• Option 1: Premium Tier at $40-50/month — Unlimited reasonably fast requests, with responses in seconds and no throttling. Many coders would pay this to avoid slowdowns.
• Option 2: Flexible Add-ons — Choose what fits your workflow:
  • $10/month: 200 fast requests daily — great for lighter users
  • $20/month: Current plan with clearer limits
  • Extra requests: $5 for 100 more interactions
• The best part? You can code without constantly tracking costs. Cursor might get volume discounts, and users get reliable access.

Try This Today

While waiting for Cursor to make changes, try these workarounds: Use ‘auto-select’ models or faster options like Gemini 2.5 Flash for urgent tasks.

Share your experiences — ask for an “all-in” plan. Future models like Claude 3.7 might help, but pushing for tiered pricing now keeps us coding smoothly.