Cursor is a full IDE built around AI with native Claude integration and superior code editing, while GitHub Copilot is a lightweight autocomplete extension that works across any editor and integrates with GPT-4 and o1. Cursor is better for AI-first development workflows; Copilot is better for developers who want AI assistance without switching tools.
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
AI-native code editor IDE built on VS Code with Claude integration and agentic features.
AI code assistant by Microsoft/OpenAI with GPT-4 integration and enterprise-grade accuracy.
Primary Distribution Model. Default AI Model. Pricing for Individual Developers. Code Context Window Size. Multi-Editor Support. Agentic Capabilities (Auto-fix, autonomous edits). Community & Adoption (2025 estimates)
Choose Cursor if you want an AI-native IDE with advanced agent capabilities, superior context awareness, and seamless Claude integration for complex refactoring and multi-file edits. Choose GitHub Copilot if you prefer affordability, cross-editor flexibility, broad language model support (GPT-4/o1), and integration with your existing development environment without switching tools.
Cursor: 3 (familiar) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: VS Code-based only | GitHub Copilot: 7 major IDEs (VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, etc.)
Cursor: 5-10 minutes | GitHub Copilot: 2-3 minutes
Cursor: Excellent | GitHub Copilot: Good
Cursor: Native & Superior | GitHub Copilot: Good
Cursor: Growing | GitHub Copilot: Very Large
Cursor: 7 days | GitHub Copilot: 30 days
Cursor: 2 model choices | GitHub Copilot: 3+ model choices
Cursor: Not publicly disclosed | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Not disclosed | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Significant but undisclosed | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Enterprise-grade | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: VS Code fork | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Baseline (1.0x) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: <5 minutes | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Proprietary Commercial | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Cursor Pro $20/mo | GitHub Copilot: Copilot Pro $10/mo
Cursor: Business $40/user/mo | GitHub Copilot: Business $19/user/mo (Enterprise $39)
Cursor: Standalone editor — a fork of VS Code (install Cursor itself) | GitHub Copilot: Plugin/extension installed into your existing IDE
Cursor: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, plus Cursor fast models (per-request switching) | GitHub Copilot: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini (model picker in chat/agent)
Cursor: Composer (Agent) plan-execute-verify loop across many files; runs commands and tests | GitHub Copilot: Agent mode + Copilot Workspace + coding agent (issue-to-PR); strong but tighter loop trails Cursor
Cursor: Whole-repo semantic embeddings with automatic relevant-file retrieval; built for monorepos | GitHub Copilot: Repository context, @workspace search, and Enterprise knowledge bases; less aggressive auto-indexing
Cursor: Very fast predictive Tab completions that jump to the next edit location | GitHub Copilot: Very fast, low-latency completions; category pioneer and still excellent inline
Cursor: SSO, privacy mode (no retention/training), admin controls, SOC 2 | GitHub Copilot: Org policy management, SSO, audit logs, content exclusion, data residency, IP indemnification
Cursor: Graphical IDE (VS Code fork) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Interactive in-editor coding | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: ~$20/mo (Pro) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Flat plan with request quota + usage add-ons | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Monthly fast-request quota | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Multi-model (Claude, GPT, Gemini, etc.) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Not designed for it | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Workspace indexing + @-mentions | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Low (VS Code familiarity) | GitHub Copilot: Minimal (extension)
Cursor: Interactive feature building & quick edits | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Yes — free Hobby tier plus a 2-week Pro trial | GitHub Copilot: Free tier with limited completions/chat, plus free for verified students, teachers, and OSS maintainers
Cursor: Agent (formerly Composer) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Cursor Tab model | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Claude, GPT, Gemini families (frequent day-one additions) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Mature enterprise tier with SSO + privacy mode | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: macOS, Windows, Linux | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Largest AI-IDE community and mindshare | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 128,000 tokens | GitHub Copilot: 128,000 tokens
Cursor: 2 (slow) | GitHub Copilot: Unlimited completions
Cursor: 0 (paid tier required) | GitHub Copilot: 50
Cursor: Cursor only | GitHub Copilot: VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Visual Studio, Sublime
Cursor: Claude 3.5 Sonnet (Superior) | GitHub Copilot: Copilot (GPT-based, Good)
Cursor: Native @-indexing across entire codebase | GitHub Copilot: Limited to current + adjacent files
Cursor: 10,000+ | GitHub Copilot: Integration with VS Code
Cursor: Native Claude integration | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Code sent to Anthropic servers | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Native support | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 50-200ms (Tab autocomplete) | GitHub Copilot: 150-250ms per suggestion
Cursor: Desktop (Mac, Windows, Linux) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4, Others | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: ~500K (estimated based on download trends) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Entire projects (no hard limit) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 1.5 years (launched Oct 2024) | GitHub Copilot: 4+ years (2021)
Cursor: 500K (Claude 3.5 Sonnet) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: ~50 (via Claude AI) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Limited (chat requires internet) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 50 premium requests | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 70,000+ (VS Code) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 4+ (Claude, GPT-4, local) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Electron (VS Code fork) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: VSCode only | GitHub Copilot: 20+ IDEs
Cursor: Advanced (full workspace) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Primary AI Model Quality (MMBENCH score)
Cursor: 88 (Claude 3.5) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 1-2 steps (download IDE) | GitHub Copilot: 2–5 min (GitHub sign-in)
Cursor: 3 models | GitHub Copilot: GitHub Copilot (proprietary, Codex-based)
Cursor: 1 (Cursor only) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 8000-16000 | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: No (proprietary) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 1 (Cursor IDE only) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 14-day free trial | GitHub Copilot: None (14-day trial only)
Cursor: 200,000 tokens | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: No (via extensions only) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 40,000+ (VS Code marketplace) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 5-10 minutes | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Limited (basic) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 200,000 tokens | GitHub Copilot: 8,000 tokens (~6,000 words)
Cursor: Code, text, file references | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Native VS Code-based editor | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 1–3 seconds (avg inline suggestion) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Automatic full-project indexing | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: No native mobile app | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Varies by plan (Pro tier higher) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 128,000 tokens | GitHub Copilot: 8,000
Cursor: 60-120 minutes | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: ~500KB+ codebase context | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Claude 3.5 Sonnet + GPT-4 | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Full native support | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 5/10 (new IDE) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: $20/month | GitHub Copilot: $20/month
Cursor: Unlimited | GitHub Copilot: 100 chat prompts
Cursor: 1 (VS Code) | GitHub Copilot: 4+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim)
Cursor: 7-10 minutes | GitHub Copilot: 2-3 minutes
Cursor: 4+ (GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, local) | GitHub Copilot: 2 (GPT-4, GPT-4o)
Cursor: 0 (paid from start) | GitHub Copilot: 2 days for new accounts
Cursor: Yes, full project indexing | GitHub Copilot: No, single-file awareness
Cursor: 50 requests/month | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 50+ | GitHub Copilot: 80+ languages
Cursor: 2 (VSCode + standalone) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: $20/month | GitHub Copilot: $10/month
Cursor: ~400-600ms | GitHub Copilot: ~300-500ms
Cursor: 1 (Cursor IDE only) | GitHub Copilot: 6+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Visual Studio, etc.)
Cursor: $240/year | GitHub Copilot: $100/year
Cursor: Standalone only | GitHub Copilot: 15+ IDEs
Cursor: Native (full project) | GitHub Copilot: Limited (single file)
Cursor: 20 per month | GitHub Copilot: 60
Cursor: 1+ million | GitHub Copilot: 5+ million
Cursor: 2 years | GitHub Copilot: 4+ years
Cursor: Advanced (cmd+k, Composer, auto-fix) | GitHub Copilot: Basic (autocomplete only, no agents)
Cursor: Claude 3.5 Sonnet (Anthropic) | GitHub Copilot: GPT-4o / o1 (OpenAI via Microsoft)
Cursor: 3-5 days (new IDE to learn) | GitHub Copilot: 0-1 days (plugin in existing IDE)
Cursor: Download .dmg/.exe (1-click installer) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Proprietary (not public) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 100,000 tokens/month (Claude only) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: VS Code only (or Cursor standalone IDE) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Liveshare integration included | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Via extension | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 3 (GPT-4, Claude 3.5, o1-preview) | GitHub Copilot: 2 (GPT-4, Claude)
Cursor: $20/month unlimited | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 4GB (practical minimum) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 30+ via extensions | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 82% (AI-assisted, broader context) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Basic rename, extract, inline via extensions | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 2-3 seconds | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Community-based, limited official support | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Yes (cached models) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Yes (native support) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Local machine only | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 1 (Proprietary VS Code fork) | GitHub Copilot: 6+ major IDEs
Cursor: Claude 3.5 Sonnet (default) + GPT-4o (configurable) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Advanced multi-tab with @files, @docs, @web references | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Built-in with error explanation | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: Full codebase refactoring across files | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: No (cloud-only with Claude) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5 major IDEs
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Not available
Code Suggestion Accuracy (Python/JavaScript)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-4 seconds (inline)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: October 2023 (~27 months old)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~1,200,000
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Yes (OpenAI servers)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Deep (PR, commits, issues)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 180 code completions
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 15+ editors (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim, etc.)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Suggestion-based only, no autonomous execution
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: OpenAI GPT-4 / Anthropic Claude
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~1200ms average completion
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $10/month individual, $19/month business
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~5-10 visible files in editor
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Vim, Neovim)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No—suggestions only, manual edit required
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 1 (IDE-native, like autocomplete)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No (cloud-only)
Average Response Time for Code Suggestion
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 0.5-1 (inline suggestion)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Native PR reviews, CLI, GitHub.dev, Copilot X
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Data exclusion available (enterprise only)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $120 (monthly) or $100 (annual with 17% discount)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Up to 150 lines
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: April 2024
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~15 MB extension
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 27% of developers
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-5 seconds per suggestion
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5 IDE integrations
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 20-40% faster on routine tasks
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Yes (GitHub Copilot Free)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 4 major (VS Code, Visual Studio, GitHub.com, JetBrains Beta)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 1.5+ million (GitHub official, 2024)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Yes (GitHub Enterprise available)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Mandatory (cloud-based)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 27 million
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Plugin only (requires VS Code/JetBrains)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited to referenced files
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 10+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim, etc.)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 8+ (VS Code, JetBrains Suite, Vim, Visual Studio, etc.)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: April 2022
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 72% correct on HumanEval benchmark
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-5 seconds (in-editor, no switching)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Code may be retained (opt-out available)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited (logs code references)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited (generic suggestions)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $100/year or $120 with GitHub Pro
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Cloud-only
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2,000 completions
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 340ms average
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Cloud (GitHub servers)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 250,000,000
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $10 (Pro) or $0 (Limited)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 0.5 minutes
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 90+ languages
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 50-100ms per suggestion
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Fixed $10 (Copilot Individual) or $19 (Copilot Pro)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Single file at a time
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: None: requires manual git commands outside Copilot
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No: GitHub Copilot model is fixed and proprietary
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~8,000 (estimated Copilot context)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Available in all tiers
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Yes (Enterprise Server)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2 proprietary models
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 87,000 stars
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Cloud-only, data sent to servers
How to choose between Cursor and GitHub Copilot
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Cursor vs GitHub Copilot. Contains 291 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Cursor vs GitHub Copilot.
No, Cursor is built around Claude integration and does not support GitHub Copilot as a backend. However, Cursor allows you to select alternative models (GPT-4, o1) through API keys if desired. Copilot only works with VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, and other external editors.
Cursor has a 200KB context window vs Copilot's 120KB, giving Cursor 67% more context. Cursor's codebase indexing and @-mentions also help it understand large projects better. For projects exceeding 10K lines, Cursor's agents are more reliable at multi-file refactoring.
GitHub Copilot is free for students and open-source contributors. For individual developers, it costs $10/month or $100/year. GitHub Copilot Business (teams) is $30/month per user. Cursor offers a free tier with limited requests and 200K tokens/month; Pro is $20/month.
Output quality depends on model choice and use case. Cursor's Claude 3.5 excels at code explanations and refactoring. Copilot's GPT-4o is stronger at boilerplate and API generation. Copilot's o1 model (reasoning) outperforms both on algorithmic problems. Both score ~85% on HumanEval benchmarks.
Can I use Cursor with VS Code extensions?
Cursor is built on VS Code's architecture and supports most VS Code extensions. However, extensions specifically tied to VS Code's core (like remote development) may have limited functionality. Cursor maintains 95%+ compatibility with the VS Code extension ecosystem.
How to Choose Between Cursor and GitHub Copilot
Primary Distribution Model: Cursor has Standalone IDE (desktop app), while GitHub Copilot has Extension/plugin for existing editors.
Default AI Model: Cursor has Claude 3.5 Sonnet (native integration), while GitHub Copilot has GPT-4o / o1 (Microsoft partnership).
Consider: Pricing for Individual Developers
Pricing for Individual Developers: Cursor has $20/month (Pro) or free tier, while GitHub Copilot has $10/month (Copilot) or free with GitHub Student.
Code Context Window Size: Cursor has Up to 200KB context per request, while GitHub Copilot has Up to 120KB context per request.
Multi-Editor Support: Cursor has Cursor IDE only (VS Code-based), while GitHub Copilot has VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim, Visual Studio.
Consider: Agentic Capabilities (Auto-fix, autonomous edits)
Agentic Capabilities (Auto-fix, autonomous edits): Cursor has Advanced agents, cmd+k inline edits, composer mode, while GitHub Copilot has Basic autocomplete, no native agent mode.
Consider: Community & Adoption (2025 estimates)
Community & Adoption (2025 estimates): Cursor has ~500K active users, rapid growth, while GitHub Copilot has ~3M+ active users, GitHub-backed scale.