Side by side
Cursor vs Dify
Both stand on ai development tools. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APIiPhoneLinux+3
Cursor offers coding-agent workflows from a free entry plan through paid individual, team, and enterprise options. Account for the separate on-demand usage billing after included model usage is consumed.
Visit Cursor
Free plan Open source APIExtensionLinux+4
Dify brings workflow building, knowledge retrieval, model connections, and several publishing options into one platform. Its free plans offer a starting point, while paid and Enterprise plans have defined costs or custom pricing and varying deployment options.
Visit DifyThe facts
| Cursor | Dify | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Runs on | API, iPhone, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows | API, Extension, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Plus: $8 a month | Professional: $590 a year |
| Plans published | 10 | 7 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | cursor.com | dify.ai |
| On ai development tools | #2 of 26 | #1 of 26 |
Cursor: what it does well
- Desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Choose from models by several providers
- Agents can work on tasks in parallel
- Free Hobby plan includes Composer access
- Privacy Mode says customer data is not used for training
What to know first
- Hobby has limited Agent requests
- On-demand model usage is billed in arrears
- Enterprise has no fixed listed price
- No self-hosted option
Dify: what it does well
- Visual workflow canvas includes human review.
- Knowledge retrieval supports citations and metadata filters.
- Applications can publish as web apps, APIs, or MCP servers.
- Community Edition can be self-deployed with Docker.
- Enterprise supports VPC, on-premises, and air-gapped deployments.
What to know first
- Sandbox limits usage to 200 message credits.
- Professional costs $590 per workspace per year.
- Team costs $1590 per workspace per year.
- Enterprise pricing is custom.