Cursor alternative
Pumpkin vs Cursor
Cursor is a popular AI editor, and since August 2026 it is part of SpaceX. Pumpkin is an independent AI editor that sends your own-key requests straight to the provider, with no token markup.
Side by side
| Topic | Pumpkin | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns it | Independent. Built by developers at Ezoic; no model company owns it. | Cursor's blog says SpaceX completed its acquisition of Cursor on August 14, 2026. |
| Your own API keys | Use your keys for chat and agent work. The provider bills you, and Pumpkin adds nothing per token. | Own keys work with chat models; Tab completion keeps using Cursor's models. On Teams and Enterprise, a Cursor Token Rate of $0.25 per million tokens applies even with your own key. |
| How requests travel | Own-key requests go from your machine to the provider, with no Pumpkin inference relay. | Cursor says every request, including own-key requests, is routed through its servers for final prompt building. It says keys are not stored. |
| Subscriptions you already pay for | Connect a supported Claude Code or Codex subscription and use its quota first. | Paid plans include usage allowances. On individual plans, own-key requests do not draw from them. |
| Data policy with your own key | Your provider's data policy applies to the requests you send it. | Cursor says its Zero Data Retention policy does not apply to own-key requests; the provider's policy does. |
Pumpkin fits when
- You want your editor independent of the big model companies.
- You want own-key model use with no per-token fee from the editor, on any plan.
- You want own-key requests to go straight from your machine to the provider.
Cursor may fit better when
- You want Cursor's own Tab completion models and the usage bundled into its plans.
- Your team has standardized on Cursor and its cloud agents.
Sources
Cursor details come from these pages, checked October 7, 2026. Products change, so check them before you decide.