Grok Bot vs Cursor Cloud Agent
cursor/grok-bot-vs-cloud-agent · Updated · Tags: cursor, grok-bot, cloud-agent, agents, pricing
Grok Bot vs Cursor Cloud Agent
TL;DR
- Two different products, one Cursor account: Grok Bot = shared persistent cloud PC for teammates; Cloud Agent = per-run coding VM (repo → PR).
- Not on Hobby (free). Paid Individual (Pro $20, Pro+ $60, Ultra $200) and Teams ($40 Standard / $120 Premium per user) include both features; Grok Bot has a separate weekly allowance that does not eat IDE usage, while Cloud Agents bill model API rates (plus spend limits / on-demand).
- Use Grok Bot for multi-app ops, inbox/CRM/browser work, and optionally supervising many Cloud Agents; use Cloud Agents when the job is clone, build, test, and ship code in git.
What each product is
| Grok Bot | Cloud Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Named Bots with durable context — browser, files, apps, routines | Repo-focused coding in a full dev environment |
| Environment | One persistent Firecracker microVM per user, shared by all your Bots | Isolated VM per agent run (optional private worker, e.g. Mac mini) |
| Typical output | Work finished in real tools (not chat drafts) | Branch, commits, PR, logs, screenshots |
| Where you start | Grok Bot app (desktop/mobile), Cursor sign-in | Cursor desktop (Cloud), cursor.com/agents, Slack/GitHub/Linear @cursor, API |
| Not the same as | Standalone Grok chat (separate app; Grok Bot auth is Cursor) | Local Cursor Agent chat in the IDE on your machine |
Cloud Agents were formerly Background Agents — hosted sandboxes for clone/build/PR workflows.
Grok Bot is co-branded with xAI; sign-in and billing go through Cursor (or a linked SuperGrok account).
Plans and pricing
Check cursor.com/pricing and Models & Pricing for current numbers; summary below reflects Cursor’s published docs.
Included in which Cursor plans?
| Plan | Grok Bot | Cloud Agents (feature access) |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby (free) | No | No — docs say a paid plan is required to start cloud agents |
| Pro ($20/mo) | Yes | Yes |
| Pro+ ($60/mo) | Yes | Yes |
| Ultra ($200/mo) | Yes | Yes |
| Teams Standard ($40/user/mo) | Yes | Yes — shared team context, automations |
| Teams Premium ($120/user/mo) | Yes | Yes — higher Agent limits (5× Standard) |
| Enterprise (custom) | Yes — admin controls for Bot access, delegation, network | Yes — pooled usage, advanced controls |
| Start (India, ₹649/mo) | Not listed on Start announcement | Yes (Start includes Cloud Agents) |
Also: individual SuperGrok / SuperGrok Plus / SuperGrok Heavy can link for Grok Bot access without relying only on Cursor tier (x.ai plan expansion).
What you actually pay beyond the subscription
| Product | How usage is metered |
|---|---|
| Grok Bot | Included access on eligible plans — not a separate SKU. Bot work uses a dedicated Grok Bot allowance that resets weekly and, per xAI/Cursor, does not count against your normal Grok chat or Cursor IDE agent pools. Heavy parallel Bot fleets can still hit limits; there is no public per-token price sheet for Bot-only turns in the same way as Cloud Agents. |
| Cloud Agents | Pay for model tokens at API pricing for the model you pick (Cloud Agent billing). Larger context windows cost more. First use prompts a spend limit; overage follows on-demand billing like other agent usage. Teams/Enterprise also apply the Cursor Token Rate ($0.25/M tokens) on many third-party models — Grok/Composer first-party routes are exempt per pricing docs. |
Plan subscription ≠ unlimited Cloud Agent compute: Pro and above unlock Cloud Agents and include monthly model usage pools (Cursor Models vs Other Models); long or parallel cloud runs consume those pools or on-demand dollars at listed API rates.
When to use which
| Situation | Prefer |
|---|---|
| Implement a feature, fix a bug, open a PR with build/test in the repo | Cloud Agent |
| Parallel coding tasks while your laptop is off or busy | Cloud Agent |
| Multi-repo change (frontend + backend + shared lib) in one workspace | Cloud Agent |
Need MCP, secrets, .cursor/environment.json, hooks, artifacts, remote desktop on the change | Cloud Agent |
Slack / GitHub / Linear @cursor to kick off repo work | Cloud Agent |
| Research accounts, draft email, CRM hygiene, browser portals without a git clone | Grok Bot |
| Routines and skills learned by demonstration (weekly report, inbox triage) | Grok Bot |
| Several non-code roles in parallel (researcher + writer + ops) on one shared cloud PC | Grok Bot |
| You want one teammate to spawn and supervise many coding agents (fleet orchestration) | Grok Bot delegating to Cloud Agents (if team allows) |
| Quick edit in your local checkout with full IDE context | Local Agent in Cursor — neither product required |
Rule of thumb: if the deliverable is merged code, start a Cloud Agent (or local Agent). If the deliverable is work done inside SaaS tools or you are managing a fleet of coding agents, use Grok Bot — optionally wired to Cloud Agents for the coding slice.
Can they connect?
Yes — Grok Bot → Cloud Agent (delegation):
- Team admins control Cloud Agent delegation on the Grok Bot dashboard (typically on by default).
- Bots can start Cloud Agents under existing Cloud Agent controls (secrets, network, self-hosted worker pools).
- Bots can read transcripts and artifacts, review PR proofs, queue follow-ups, or interrupt runs.
- Private workers: register your own machine (VPN, iOS Simulator, specific OS) as a Cursor Cloud worker and point delegated agents at it.
What connection does not mean:
- Grok Bot browser sessions do not automatically live inside a Cloud Agent VM.
- You can run Cloud Agents without Grok Bot from the IDE or web as usual.
- Admins can disable delegation so Bots cannot spawn coding agents.
Known friction: Some users see a spurious “Privacy Mode (Legacy)” error when starting a Cloud Agent from Grok Bot while starting from Cursor Desktop still works — treat as a product bug, not a settings mistake, if settings already use current Privacy Mode.
Mental model
flowchart LR
You --> GrokBot[Grok Bot]
You --> CursorIDE[Cursor IDE / web]
GrokBot --> SharedPC[Shared cloud computer per user]
GrokBot -->|delegation optional| CloudAgent[Cloud Agent VMs]
CursorIDE --> CloudAgent
CloudAgent --> PR[Repo / PR / artifacts]
Sources
Disclaimer: These documents are personal notes. The information may be incomplete, out of date or wrong, so check it before you rely on it.