Cursor is a full IDE built on VS Code with integrated AI features, while GitHub Copilot is an AI code completion plugin that works across multiple editors. Cursor offers a more unified experience with its own AI models, whereas Copilot focuses purely on code suggestions through an extension.
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
AI-first code editor built on VS Code with integrated Claude AI assistance and superior context awareness.
AI code completion extension available across VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, and other major editors
Product Type. Supported Editors. AI Models Available. Code Understanding Scope. Tab Completion Speed. Monthly Subscription Cost. Setup Time for New Users
Choose Cursor if you want a cohesive AI-first development environment with superior codebase awareness and faster inference, especially if you're starting a new project. Choose GitHub Copilot if you're already invested in a preferred editor (JetBrains, Vim, etc.), prefer lower cost, or need cross-platform editor flexibility without switching your entire setup.
Cursor: 3 (familiar) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: VS Code-based only | GitHub Copilot: 10+ IDEs
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: 200KB (Claude) | GitHub Copilot: 8,000 tokens
Cursor: 1 IDE 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: 30-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: 14 days | 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: 40+ languages | GitHub Copilot: 80+ languages
Cursor: 2 (VSCode + standalone) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: $20/month | GitHub Copilot: $10/month
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: 0 (students only)
Cursor: 1+ million | GitHub Copilot: 5+ million
Cursor: 2 years | GitHub Copilot: 4+ years
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: $20 | GitHub Copilot: $10 or free with GitHub Pro
Cursor: Via extension | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Cursor: 5+ (GPT-4, Claude, local) | 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: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5 major IDEs
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Not available
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: GPT-4o / o1 (OpenAI)
Cursor: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 8+ (VS Code, JetBrains Suite, Vim, Visual Studio, etc.)
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
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 260 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.
Can I use GitHub Copilot with my existing editor like PyCharm or Neovim?
Yes, GitHub Copilot is available as a plugin/extension for 15+ editors including VS Code, JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, etc.), Vim, Neovim, Visual Studio, and others. Cursor is only available as its own IDE, so you cannot install it as a plugin in your existing editor.
Which AI models does each tool support, and can I choose between them?
Cursor lets you switch between GPT-4, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, o1-preview, and other models directly in the UI. GitHub Copilot primarily uses GPT-4o and Claude models, but model switching is less flexible and often handled server-side. Cursor gives you more direct control over which model to use for each request.
How much codebase context does each tool understand?
Cursor can index and reference your entire codebase (100k+ tokens) using its @-mention system to pull in files, functions, and symbols anywhere in the project. GitHub Copilot primarily works within a single file plus imports, giving it 8k-32k tokens of context, making it better for isolated functions but weaker for understanding large architectural patterns.
What's the total cost difference over a year?
Cursor costs $240/year ($20/month), while GitHub Copilot costs $120/year ($10/month for individuals) or $100/year on annual billing. GitHub Copilot is 50% cheaper. Enterprise plans vary by vendor—GitHub Copilot offers corporate discounts while Cursor's team pricing is less established (as of 2026).
Which tool is faster at completing code?
Cursor's tab completion latency averages 150-200ms compared to GitHub Copilot's 200-300ms, making Cursor approximately 25-50% faster. This difference is noticeable when writing code continuously but both feel responsive for typical development workflows.
How to Choose Between Cursor and GitHub Copilot
Product Type: Cursor has Full IDE with integrated AI, while GitHub Copilot has AI plugin/extension.
Supported Editors: Cursor has Cursor IDE only, while GitHub Copilot has VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim.
AI Models Available: Cursor has GPT-4, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, o1-preview, while GitHub Copilot has GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet (models handled by Anthropic/OpenAI).
Code Understanding Scope: Cursor has Full codebase context via indexing, while GitHub Copilot has File-level context primarily.
Tab Completion Speed: Cursor has ~150-200ms average latency, while GitHub Copilot has ~200-300ms average latency.
Monthly Subscription Cost: Cursor has $20/month (Pro tier), while GitHub Copilot has $10/month individual or $100/year.
Setup Time for New Users: Cursor has 5-10 minutes (download IDE), while GitHub Copilot has 2-3 minutes (plugin install).