What is the difference between Cursor and GitHub Copilot?

Cursor: The AI code editor GitHub Copilot: AI pair programmer in your editor

Is Cursor or GitHub Copilot free?

Cursor is freemium. GitHub Copilot is freemium.

Who should use Cursor?

Cursor is for Professional developers who live in VS Code; Teams that want AI across a whole codebase; Indie hackers shipping fast.

Who should use GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is for Developers using VS Code, JetBrains or Visual Studio; Engineering teams on GitHub; Students learning to code.

Cursor vs GitHub Copilot

A side-by-side look at Cursor and GitHub Copilot: what each one does, who it is for, pricing, and what users say. Data comes from the listings, which a person reviewed.

	C Cursor cursor.com	G GitHub Copilot github.com
What it does	The AI code editor	AI pair programmer in your editor
Pricing	Freemium	Freemium
Category	Coding	Coding
Rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Upvotes	0	0
Deal	—	—
Best for	Professional developers who live in VS Code Teams that want AI across a whole codebase Indie hackers shipping fast	Developers using VS Code, JetBrains or Visual Studio Engineering teams on GitHub Students learning to code
Key features	Autocompletes multi-line edits as you type Chats with your codebase using full project context Runs an agent that edits many files and runs commands Applies suggested changes with a diff review Supports multiple frontier models	Suggests code completions in the editor Answers coding questions in chat Runs a coding agent that opens pull requests Reviews pull requests on GitHub Explains and fixes errors
Pros	✓ Familiar VS Code experience and extensions ✓ Excellent codebase awareness ✓ Fast, low-friction edits	✓ Deep GitHub integration ✓ Works in many editors ✓ Free tier for individuals
Cons	✕ Heavy use needs a paid plan ✕ Agent changes still need careful review	✕ Best features need a paid seat ✕ Suggestions can include outdated patterns
	Visit Cursor ↗	Visit GitHub Copilot ↗

Which one should you choose?

Choose Cursor if you are professional developers who live in VS Code and want to start for free.
Choose GitHub Copilot if you are developers using VS Code, JetBrains or Visual Studio and want to start for free.

Questions

What is the difference between Cursor and GitHub Copilot?: Cursor: The AI code editor GitHub Copilot: AI pair programmer in your editor
Is Cursor or GitHub Copilot free?: Cursor is freemium. GitHub Copilot is freemium.
Who should use Cursor?: Cursor is for Professional developers who live in VS Code; Teams that want AI across a whole codebase; Indie hackers shipping fast.
Who should use GitHub Copilot?: GitHub Copilot is for Developers using VS Code, JetBrains or Visual Studio; Engineering teams on GitHub; Students learning to code.

More options: Cursor alternatives · GitHub Copilot alternatives