“Free” AI coding offers are marketing surfaces that change. GitHub Copilot’s free or limited offers belong on GitHub’s docs—do not invent 2026 quotas here. Cursor’s Hobby/free positioning likewise belongs on Cursor’s docs; do not claim DeepSeek is built into Cursor Hobby for free. Start India at ₹649/mo is a paid India plan covering Cursor models only. Verify both vendors before you promise a team $0 forever.
What “free Copilot” usually means
GitHub periodically offers free or restricted Copilot access for certain users. The exact limits, model access, and eligibility live on docs.github.com/en/copilot. Do not invent a 2026 price or request cap in this article. Treat free Copilot as an IDE assistant experiment, not a production API budget. When eligibility ends, your workflow should still compile without panic. Treat every rate and limit as a dated snapshot from DeepSeek or the other vendor docs linked in sources, not as a permanent contract price. Recheck platform.deepseek.com for Flash and Pro cards, and confirm peak UTC windows on that
What “free Cursor” usually means
Cursor’s free/Hobby details change—read Cursor’s models and pricing docs. Do not claim DeepSeek is included for free on Hobby. Know the paid anchors we can state: Start India ₹649/mo covers Grok 4.6, Grok 4.5, Composer 2.5 only; Pro $20 includes Other Models billed at API rates. If a free Cursor plan exists for you, confirm its model list on the official page before building habits on it. Treat every rate and limit as a dated snapshot from DeepSeek or the other vendor docs linked in sources, not as a permanent contract price. Recheck platform.deepseek.com for
The missing free layer: DeepSeek chat
Separately, DeepSeek consumer chat is free as of the 17 September 2026 pricing page report, with API pay-per-token. That free chat is not Copilot and not Cursor. A practical $0 exploration path is DeepSeek chat plus a free editor tier—if policy allows—then graduate to paid Cursor or Copilot seats and DeepSeek API keys as needed. Recheck all three vendors. Treat every rate and limit as a dated snapshot from DeepSeek or the other vendor docs linked in sources, not as a permanent contract price. Recheck platform.deepseek.com for Flash and Pro cards, and confirm peak UTC
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Frequently asked questions
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Is Cursor free in India?
Check Cursor’s current docs for Hobby/free. Start India at u20b9649/mo is a paid plan for listed Cursor models. Do not invent a free DeepSeek entitlement. Confirm live details on the vendor docs linked in this brief before you quote a client or ship production traffic. Attribute DeepSeek Flash and Pro figures to the 17 September 2026 pricing page when you reuse them, then recheck platform.deepseek.com.
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Is Copilot free for students?
Eligibility rules change. Use GitHub’s Copilot docs for student or free offersu2014do not trust a screenshot from 2024. Confirm live details on the vendor docs linked in this brief before you quote a client or ship production traffic. Attribute DeepSeek Flash and Pro figures to the 17 September 2026 pricing page when you reuse them, then recheck platform.deepseek.com.
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Can I code for free with DeepSeek only?
Free DeepSeek chat helps humans. You still need an editor. API automation costs tokens. Recheck platform.deepseek.com. Confirm live details on the vendor docs linked in this brief before you quote a client or ship production traffic. Attribute DeepSeek Flash and Pro figures to the 17 September 2026 pricing page when you reuse them, then recheck platform.deepseek.com.
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What is the first paid upgrade that matters?
Often a real editor plan (Cursor Start India/Pro or paid Copilot) once free limits block you. Measure with your own week of usage. Confirm live details on the vendor docs linked in this brief before you quote a client or ship production traffic. Attribute DeepSeek Flash and Pro figures to the 17 September 2026 pricing page when you reuse them, then recheck platform.deepseek.com.
Sources
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