How to Use Grok 3 for Free with Cursor

In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-assisted development, xAI’s Grok 3 has emerged as a compelling alternative to industry titans, offering cutting-edge capabilities and novel research functions. Meanwhile, Cursor—the AI-first code editor—has moved decisively to integrate Grok 3 and Grok 3 Mini into its platform, making these powerful models accessible to developers without the steep investment traditionally required. Drawing on the very latest announcements and hands-on guides, this article explores how you can harness Grok 3 for free within Cursor, what to watch out for, and how to maximize your AI-driven productivity.

What is Grok 3 and why does it matter?

How did Grok evolve from version 2 to version 3?

xAI introduced its original Grok chatbot model in mid-2023, focusing on conversational fluency and basic reasoning. With Grok-2, released in September 2024, xAI expanded dataset diversity and improved conversational context, but it was with Grok-3 (launched February 17, 2025) that xAI claimed a quantum leap in reasoning power. According to xAI, Grok-3 was trained on 10× more compute than its predecessor, leveraging the Colossus data center’s 200,000 GPU infrastructure. This training regime enabled Grok-3 to surpass Grok-2 on benchmarks such as AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Examination) and GPQA (Graduate Plus Quant Assessment) for PhD-level science questions .

What key features set Grok 3 apart?

Beyond raw reasoning benchmarks, Grok-3 introduced features like “Think” prompts for step-by-step reasoning and a “Big Brain” mode that allocates additional compute for especially complex tasks. xAI also added DeepSearch, a successor to the original DeepSearch, which integrates real-time internet and X-stream data to ground responses in up-to-the-minute information. Additionally, Grok-3 supports multimodal inputs—text, code, and images—enabling tasks from code autocompletion to image editing within a unified interface.

How can you access Grok 3 for free?

What temporary free access did xAI provide on X and SuperGrok?

In a surprise move, xAI announced that Grok 3 would be made available to all X (formerly Twitter) free users “for a short time” beginning February 20, 2025. This window allowed non-subscribers to experience Grok-3’s advanced reasoning without Premium+ or SuperGrok upgrades. Elon Musk’s announcement came alongside a price hike for X’s Premium+ subscription—from \$22 to \$40 per month—emphasizing that free access was strictly time-limited. Developers had only days to explore Grok-3’s capabilities before the free trial lapsed.

What is Grok 3 Mini and how does it differ?

To extend free access beyond the trial, xAI released Grok-3 Mini—an optimized, lower-compute variant that trades a modest drop in accuracy for faster, cost-free usage. Grok-3 Mini was designed specifically for light workloads, such as single-file code suggestions and quick reasoning tasks. While xAI hinted that pricing for Grok-3 Mini might change, they committed to announcing any future fees well in advance.

How does Cursor enable free use of Grok-3 Mini?

How do you activate Grok 3 Mini in Cursor?

Cursor, the popular AI-powered code editor, integrated Grok-3 and Grok-3 Mini in April 2025. To enable these models:

1. Open your Cursor IDE.
2. Navigate to Settings → Models.
3. Toggle Grok-3 Mini on (it’s marked as free for all users) .

Once enabled, Grok-3 Mini becomes available in both the chat pane and the inline autocompletion dropdown.

What Agent Mode capabilities does Cursor support?

Cursor’s Agent Mode allows Grok models to interact with your project files, run tests, and execute shell commands in a sandbox. With Grok-3 Mini, you can:

• Autogenerate multi-file boilerplate: Prompt Grok to scaffold entire modules (e.g., RESTful API endpoints) based on high-level descriptions.
• Interactive debugging: Ask Grok-3 Mini to identify and fix bugs by analyzing stack traces or failing test logs.
• Documentation generation: Generate docstrings and markdown docs directly from code comments or function signatures.

These features blur the line between editor and AI assistant, boosting productivity for free.

Are there any upcoming pricing changes to watch for?

While Grok-3 Mini is free today, xAI’s commitment to notify users of pricing changes means that Cursor users should monitor both xAI’s and Cursor’s changelogs. Cursor’s product roadmap indicates that Grok-3 Mini will remain free “for the foreseeable future,” but sustained high usage could trigger new tiering, such as usage caps or premium-only features.

How can you use the Full Grok 3 for free with Cursor?

Prerequisites

1. Cursor IDE installed (desktop app, latest version)
2. CometAPI account with a valid API token and base URL
3. Basic familiarity with Cursor’s Settings → Models section

1. Obtain Your CometAPI Credentials

• Sign in to your CometAPI dashboard.
• Navigate to API Tokens and click Add Token. Copy the newly created token (e.g. sk-abc...) and note your base URL (it will be shown as https://api.cometapi.com) .
• Keep these two pieces of information handy for the Cursor configuration.

2. Open Cursor’s Model Settings

• Launch Cursor and click the gear icon (⚙️) in the bottom‑left corner to open Settings.
• Search for “OpenAI API Key”, then paste CometAPI API key into the field.
• Below that, locate “Custom OpenAI URL” and set it to https://api.cometapi.com/v1 (include /v1).

3. Add a New Grok 3 Model

• Click Add Model.
• Model Name: grok‑3 (you can also repeat for grok‑3-fast, grok‑3-mini, etc.) .
• Model ID: enter grok‑3 (or one of CometAPI’s variants: grok‑3-fast, grok‑3-fast-latest, grok‑3-mini, etc.) .
• Override OpenAI Base URL: toggle this option on.
• API Base URL: (already set via Custom URL)
• Confirm to save the new model entry.

4. Verify and Activate

• Click the Verify button next to your new model entry.
• Cursor will send a test request to CometAPI’s chat endpoint using your token and base URL.
• On success, you’ll see a confirmation indicator (green checkmark) and your model will be live .

5. Set Grok 3 as Your Default Model

• Still in the Models panel, find the dropdown labeled Default AI Model.
• Select your newly‑verified “grok‑3” entry from the list.
• Click Apply or Save to persist the change.

6. Test Your Configuration

• Open or create a code file in Cursor.
• Press Ctrl+K to invoke the AI prompt.
• Enter a simple coding request (e.g. “Write a Python function to reverse a list”).
• If configured correctly, Cursor will call CometAPI behind the scenes and return a Grok 3–generated response

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What benefits and limitations should you expect?

How does free access boost your productivity?

• Cost savings: No subscription fees for Grok-3 Mini or CometAPI-routed Grok-3.
• Higher reasoning power: Grok-3 outperforms many peers on technical benchmarks, elevating code quality.
• Seamless integration: Agent Mode and Composer features reduce context switching between editor and browser.

These factors combine to reduce development cycle times, particularly for tasks like algorithm design, documentation, and complex refactoring.

What limitations and best practices apply?

• Token limits: Free tiers often cap tokens; plan prompts to fit within context windows.
• Rate limits: Cursor and CometAPI may throttle high-frequency requests.
• Model accuracy: Grok-3 Mini trades precision for speed; for mission-critical code, verify suggestions thoroughly.
• Privacy considerations: Avoid sending sensitive code to public APIs without reviewing data handling policies.

By batching requests, managing prompt length, and leveraging local caching of responses, you can mitigate these constraints and maintain a robust, free AI-driven workflow.

Conclusion

Grok 3 represents a significant leap forward in AI‑driven code assistance, and with Cursor’s free mini‑model tier and proxy‑based access to the full model, developers can harness this power without recurring fees. By following the setup steps outlined above, leveraging advanced prompting techniques, and being mindful of rate limits, you can integrate Grok 3 seamlessly into your daily workflow. Whether you’re a solo developer, part of a startup, or an educator empowering students, free access to Grok 3 via Cursor democratizes cutting‑edge AI tooling—bringing you closer to faster development cycles, higher‑quality code, and a more efficient programming experience.

For ongoing updates, keep an eye on Cursor’s official changelog and community forums, and explore CometAPI’s evolving proxy offerings to maintain uninterrupted, cost‑effective access to Grok 3.

More details about grok 3 see Grok 3 API.Please refer to the cursor intergrate tutorial .