Save 20% on Cursor AI Costs: Integrating Claude Code with Cursor

For those who are vibe coding with Cursor, they would know that Cursor can be expensive. As a developer who heavily relies on AI assistance, I quickly discovered that Cursor's built-in AI pricing comes with a catch: a 20% markup on API costs. For occasional use, this might not seem significant. But when you're deep in development, making hundreds of AI requests daily, that markup adds up fast. Here's what you need to know:

Understanding Cursor's AI Pricing Structure

Built-in AI Usage:

• Standard API pricing + 20% markup
• Even with Cursor Pro, you'll quickly exceed the 500 "fast" requests
• Additional requests still incur the markup

Direct API Integration:

• Pay provider rates directly (e.g., Anthropic for Claude)
• No middleman markup
• Complete control over your AI costs

How to Slash Your Cursor AI Costs with Claude Code Integration

Here's a step-by-step guide to cutting your Cursor AI costs while maintaining all the functionality you love:

Step 1: Set Up Your Direct API Access

1. Create an account with Anthropic (for Claude)
2. Set up billing directly with Anthropic
3. Note your API key - you'll need this for Cursor

Step 2: Configure Cursor for Direct API Usage

1. Open Cursor's settings
2. Navigate to the AI or Models section
3. Look for API configuration options
4. Enter your Anthropic API key

Step 3: Start Saving

• Use Cursor's chat feature or inline suggestions as normal
• Select Claude Sonnet 4 from the model dropdown
• Monitor your actual usage through Anthropic's dashboard

Pro Tip: Set up billing alerts in your Anthropic console to track usage during heavy development periods.

Understanding the Cost Savings:

Let's break down the actual savings with direct Claude integration:

*M = Million tokens

Save Token Cost Using Apidog's Free MCP Server

While you're optimizing your AI costs, consider using Apidog's free MCP Server to help reduce token usage.

What is Apidog MCP Server?

Apidog MCP Server is a powerful feature of Apidog that bridges your API specifications directly to AI-powered IDEs like Cursor. The best part? It's completely FREE! This integration enables:

• Direct API Spec Access: Your AI assistant can read and understand your API structure
• Automated Code Generation: Generate accurate code based on your API specs
• Seamless Documentation: Keep your API docs and code in perfect sync

How Apidog MCP Server Helps You Save Tokens (and Money)

When you use AI coding assistants like Claude in Cursor, every prompt and context you send to the model counts toward your token usage—and your bill. If you’re working with large API specifications, sending the full spec to the AI every time can quickly rack up costs.

Apidog MCP Server solves this problem:

• It caches your API specification locally on your machine.
• The AI can reference this local cache, so you don’t need to send the full API spec with every request.
• This dramatically reduces the number of tokens used per prompt, especially for repeated or complex API-related tasks.

Benefits:

• Lower token usage: Only the relevant parts of your API spec are sent to the AI as needed.
• Faster responses: Local caching means less data transfer and quicker access.
• Direct cost savings: Fewer tokens used = less money spent, especially with pay-as-you-go LLM APIs.

How to Integrate Apidog MCP Server with IDE

Integrating the Apidog MCP Server with IDE allows your AI assistant to tap directly into your API specifications. Here’s how to set it up:

Prerequisites:

Before you begin, ensure the following:

✅ Node.js is installed (version 18+; latest LTS recommended)

✅ You're using an IDE that supports MCP, such as: Cursor

Step 1: Prepare Your OpenAPI File

You'll need access to your API definition:

• A URL (e.g., https://petstore.swagger.io/v2/swagger.json)
• Or a local file path (e.g., ~/projects/api-docs/openapi.yaml)
• Supported formats: .json or .yaml (OpenAPI 3.x recommended)

Step 2: Add MCP Configuration to Cursor

You'll now add the configuration to Cursor's mcp.json file.

Remember to Replace <oas-url-or-path> with your actual OpenAPI URL or local path.

• For MacOS/Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "API specification": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "apidog-mcp-server@latest",
        "--oas=https://petstore.swagger.io/v2/swagger.json"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For Windows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "API specification": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": [
        "/c",
        "npx",
        "-y",
        "apidog-mcp-server@latest",
        "--oas=https://petstore.swagger.io/v2/swagger.json"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Verify the Connection

After saving the config, test it in the IDE by typing the following command in Agent mode:

Please fetch API documentation via MCP and tell me how many endpoints exist in the project.

If it works, you’ll see a structured response that lists endpoints and their details. If it doesn’t, double-check the path to your OpenAPI file and ensure Node.js is installed properly.

Conclusion: Maximize Value While Minimizing Costs

By combining direct Claude integration with Apidog's free MCP Server, you're not just saving money - you're building a more efficient development workflow. The 20% savings from direct API integration means more budget for other tools and resources, while Apidog's MCP Server adds powerful API development capabilities at no extra cost.

This combination gives you:

• Reduced AI costs through direct API integration
• Enhanced API development capabilities with Apidog
• Seamless integration between your tools
• Complete control over your development environment

Don't let unnecessary markups eat into your budget. Take control of your AI costs with direct Claude integration, and supercharge your workflow with Apidog's free MCP Server. The future of efficient, cost-effective development is here - and it's more accessible than you might think.