Tempr vs Cursor
Cursor is its own editor, built on VS Code, with its own models and usage-based plans. Tempr is an extension for the IDE you already use (Visual Studio, VS Code, or a JetBrains IDE) that runs every feature on your own API keys.
The short answer
- Pick Cursor if you're happy to switch to an AI-first editor, want its multi-line Tab completion and cloud agents, and would rather buy model usage from Cursor than manage keys.
- Pick Tempr if you want to stay in Visual Studio, VS Code, or your JetBrains IDE, and want your own keys to power every feature, completions included.
Side by side
| Tempr | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An extension for Visual Studio 2022 and 2026, VS Code, and JetBrains IDEs, plus a CLI | A standalone editor built on the VS Code codebase, plus a CLI |
| Visual Studio | Yes | No |
| JetBrains IDEs | Yes, as a plugin | Cursor's agent, inside JetBrains AI Assistant, on a paid Cursor plan |
| VS Code extensions | Runs inside VS Code, with its full Marketplace | Installs extensions from Open VSX, where not every VS Code Marketplace extension is available |
| Your own key | Every feature; about 30 providers | Chat models only: OpenAI (standard, non-reasoning models), Anthropic, Google, Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock |
| Completion on your own key | Yes | No; Tab always runs on Cursor's models |
| Built-in models | None; every model runs on your key | Cursor's own models (such as Composer and Grok) and third-party models, drawn from your plan's usage |
| Price for one person | Standard $15/mo, Pro $20/mo; 7-day free trial | Hobby (free, limited); Pro $20/mo, Pro+ $60/mo, Ultra $200/mo |
| Teams | From $35/seat/mo (10-seat minimum), with SSO | From $40/user/mo, plus a token rate of $0.25 per million tokens on third-party models, including your own key |
| Where requests go on your own key | Through Tempr's servers to your provider | Through Cursor's servers; Cursor's zero-data-retention policy doesn't cover requests on your key |
| Training on your data | Your prompts, code, and chats aren't used to train models | Not with Privacy Mode on; with it off, Cursor may store and train on code data |
Switching editors or staying put
Cursor asks you to move to its editor. That's easy from VS Code, since Cursor is built on the same codebase, though extensions come from Open VSX rather than Microsoft's Marketplace. There's no Cursor for Visual Studio, and in JetBrains IDEs Cursor's agent runs inside JetBrains AI Assistant on a paid Cursor plan.
Tempr goes the other way: it's an extension, so you keep Visual Studio, VS Code, or your JetBrains IDE, with your settings, extensions, and debugger, and add chat, the agent, and inline completion to it.
What your own key covers
Cursor accepts keys from OpenAI (standard, non-reasoning chat models), Anthropic, Google, Azure OpenAI, and AWS Bedrock, for chat models only; Tab completion always uses Cursor's built-in models. On individual plans, requests on your key don't count against your included usage; on Teams and Enterprise plans, Cursor still charges its token rate on them.
Tempr has no built-in models, so your key is behind every feature, including inline completion, with about 30 providers to choose from and your own OpenAI-compatible endpoints on Pro.
Where your code goes
Cursor routes every request through its servers for final prompt building, including requests on your own key, and its zero-data-retention policy doesn't apply to those; your provider's policy does. With Privacy Mode on, Cursor doesn't train on your code; with it off, it may store and train on code data.
Tempr also relays requests through its servers: the agent's tool-calling loop runs server-side so a turn survives a dropped connection, and each run is deleted 72 hours after it finishes. Tempr doesn't use your prompts, code, or chats to train models. See the Privacy Policy.
Using Cursor already?
Point Cursor's OpenAI base URL at the Tempr Gateway to use any model on your Gateway allowlist from inside Cursor.
Questions
How we checked
Everything about Cursor comes from its own pricing pages, documentation, and release notes, checked on September 21, 2026. These products change quickly, so prices and features may have moved since. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Sources: Cursor pricing · API keys · token rate · extensions · JetBrains integration · data use
Try Tempr on your own keys
Every paid Chat plan starts with a 7-day free trial, and the CLI is included.