Cursor vs GitHub Copilot (2026)
Pricing, features and who each one is for, checked against both vendors' pricing pages in November 2026.
Quick verdict: These solve different jobs: Cursor is a ai code editor, GitHub Copilot is a ai coding agent and extension. Many developers use one of each. Cursor is cheaper to start (from $8/mo). Pick Cursor for professional developers, teams. Pick GitHub Copilot for cheap and free AI coding tools, professional developers, teams, beginners.
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Side by side
| Cursor | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | AI code editor | AI coding agent and extension |
| Made by | Anysphere | GitHub (Microsoft) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Starts at | From $8/mo | From $10/mo |
| Plans | Plus $8/mo (Grok models only), Premium $30/mo, Super $100/mo, Ultra $200/mo, Teams from $30/user/mo | Free (2,000 completions/mo), Pro $10/mo, Pro+ $39/mo, Max $100/mo; Business and Enterprise for orgs |
| Open source | No | No |
| Runs in | Desktop IDE, CLI, Cloud, Mobile | IDE extension, CLI, GitHub.com, Mobile |
Cursor strengths
- Mature agent workflow inside a familiar VS Code fork
- Cloud agents, automations and AI code review on Premium+
- Usage allowance refreshes weekly
GitHub Copilot strengths
- Cheapest serious paid tier at $10/mo
- Works in almost every editor
- Assign issues to Copilot and get a pull request back
Cursor drawbacks
- Third-party models (Claude, GPT) cost extra at API list price
- Plus tier is limited to Grok models
- Subscription bundled with X/Grok features many devs won't use
GitHub Copilot drawbacks
- Agent usage draws down monthly AI credits
- Individual-plan data may be used for training unless you opt out
- Third-party agent delegation needs Pro+
Read the full reviews: Cursor · GitHub Copilot