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Cursor vs GitHub Copilot

The short answer. Both are for people who write code. GitHub Copilot is the cheaper helper that lives inside the editor you already use. Cursor is a whole editor built around AI and goes further when you want an agent to change many files.

Which one should you pick?

Choose Cursor if

  • You want the AI to plan and make changes across a whole project
  • You are happy to switch to a new code editor
  • You are willing to pay more for heavier use

Choose GitHub Copilot if

  • You want to keep VS Code or your current editor
  • You mostly want suggestions as you type and a chat for questions
  • You want the lowest price, or a useful free plan
Side by side
Cursor
GitHub Copilot
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Price
Free Hobby plan with limited Agent requests. Pro $20/month, Pro+ $60/month, Ultra $200/month, Teams $40/user/month.
Free plan with 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests a month. Pro $10/month, Pro+ $39/month, Max $100/month.
Skill needed
For developers
For developers
Made by
Anysphere
GitHub (Microsoft)
The details

Cursor

by Anysphere

A code editor for your computer with an AI that writes and edits code alongside you.

People use it to

  • Write or change code by describing what you want
  • Ask questions about a large codebase
  • Let an agent fix bugs across many files

What it costs

Free Hobby plan with limited Agent requests. Pro $20/month, Pro+ $60/month, Ultra $200/month, Teams $40/user/month.

Good to know

Made for people who can read code; the AI can make confident mistakes. Your code is sent to AI providers unless you turn on privacy mode.

Open CursorHow to start

GitHub Copilot

by GitHub (Microsoft)

An AI helper inside code editors that suggests code and answers programming questions.

People use it to

  • Get code suggestions as you type in VS Code
  • Ask why code is broken and how to fix it
  • Have an agent draft a change and open a pull request

What it costs

Free plan with 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests a month. Pro $10/month, Pro+ $39/month, Max $100/month.

Good to know

Suggestions can look right but be wrong or insecure; always check them. Needs a GitHub account.

Open GitHub CopilotHow to start

Prices as listed by each company when we last checked; they change often and can differ by country. Spotted something wrong?

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