Cursor vs GitHub Copilot
Two sides of the AI coding assistants decision: AI-first editor and editor plugin. When each fits, what it costs, who moves from one to the other, and what makers who chose it say.
Ask your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗
Which fits you
Choose Cursor if- You want to see and steer each change inside your editor
Use it whenYou like working in an editor and want to see and steer each change as it happens.
Trade-offHeavy agent use is billed through credits, so costs can grow beyond the base plan.
Choose GitHub Copilot if- You don't want to change editors
Use it whenYou don't want to change editors, or you want to start on a free tier.
Trade-offDeeper agent features vary by editor, and heavy use counts against plan limits.
At a glance
| Cursor | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Used by | 538 makers' products | 26 makers' products |
| Cost at default usagedevelopers 1 seat | $20/mo Pro | $10/mo Pro |
| Moved to it on GitHubpull requests since Oct 2024 | 8 from GitHub Copilot | fewer than 3 |
| Downloads | ||
| Pricing | Free Hobby tier; paid Pro/Pro+/Ultra individual plans and per-seat Teams/Enterprise plans, usage billed via credits. · paid from $20/mo | Free tier with limited completions; paid individual plans and per-seat Business/Enterprise plans with pooled usage credits. · paid from $10/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | No |
| Incidents, 90 daysfrom its status page | 50+ (15 major) | 50+ (15 major) |
Who moves from one to the other
Public pull requests on GitHub since Oct 2024 whose title says "Cursor to GitHub Copilot" or the reverse — real code changes, by developers in general rather than makers only.
GitHub Copilot → Cursor8 PRs- Convert copilot from a Claude Code plugin to a Cursor pluginbernardoforcillo/copilot · 2026-09-07
- extensive changes from copilot to cursorkevinwolrath/expo-dice-calculator · 2026-08-24
- Sync fork with upstream + migrate added harnesses (agy/cline/copilot) to upstream cursor modelkunchenguid/firstmate · 2026-08-14
- chore: migrate AI tooling from GitHub Copilot to CursorTrec-TorConsulting/Tendril · 2026-08-06
- migrate Copilot instructions to Cursor project ruleskensodemann-projects/recreation-planner · 2026-06-13
- Add copilot setup workflow to stabilize Cursor dependency installationtruvis25/aml-kyc-cdd-portal · 2026-04-21
- chore: migrate AI configuration from GitHub Copilot to Cursor formatknirski/czerstwapp · 2026-02-01
- Add github copilot instructions to match cursor.obytes/react-native-template-obytes · 2025-04-20
Fewer than 3 pull requests move from Cursor to GitHub Copilot.
What makers say
Makers on using it for AI coding assistants, from Product Hunt and Starter Story interviews, each linked to the source. Products with a page of their own and fuller notes first.
On CursorCursor was our main AI assisted IDE for coding. Writing complex backend logic became so much faster. It literally feels like having a senior developer building the product with you.
Fork of VSCode with an agentic coding focus. Especially easy to manage models and spin up multi-model results for a single query and have all the work trees handled automagically.
Cursor speeds up our coding. It’s like a better version of GitHub Copilot and lets us chat with our codebase, making it easier to navigate and understand. Cant go back without this.
On GitHub CopilotOur token compression technology has to be compatible and efficient with Github Copilot, so we have to use it extensively to understand how we can optimize its context.
Copilot is everywhere, but it often works in isolation. Stash MCP bridges it to your team’s repos, issues, and docs. Making Copilot way more context-aware.
Copilot was the first agent I ran inside scritty every day; it set the bar for what a CLI agent's capture and replay had to feel like.
Loved and watch-outs
Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises.
CursorMost loved
- Tab completion is fast and accurate, and stays useful when hand-editing code or when agents fall short on large tasks. PHHNHN 2PH 2
- Changes arrive as reviewable diffs in the editor, keeping the developer in control in bite-size steps. PHHNHN 2PH 2
- Chatting with the codebase in context helps developers navigate and understand unfamiliar code. PHPH 2PH 3PH 4
Watch-outs
On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 956 reviews · mentioned most: seamless integration, intelligent code suggestions, code generation · complaints: context aware, occasional crashesGitHub CopilotMost loved
- Inline completions work in every major IDE, including Vim and Visual Studio, cutting boilerplate as you type. PHPH 2
- One subscription gives a choice of models from several labs, including some free ones. PHHN
- Deep editor integration, such as a semantic index of the solution in Visual Studio and a read-only plan mode in VS Code. HNHN 2PH
Watch-outs
On Product Hunt: 4.8★, 34 reviews · mentioned most: productivity boost, suggests code snippets, focus on problem-solving- The switch to usage-based billing made it far worse value, driving people to other tools. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
- As an agent harness it trails Claude Code and Codex, with truncated or bloated context that confuses models. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
- Built-in pull request review misses too much and raises many wrong findings. HN
Who uses each
Cursor538 makers' products
AdCreative.ai
ai_licia
Amurex
APIRadarGitHub Copilot26 makers' products
Packmind Open Source
Salem Robotics
StashUsed by both — often one replacing the other, or each for a different part of the product
What makers pair each with
With CursorHosting
Cursor + Amazon Web Services:
Agentplace.io
AI Context FlowAstrio
Beatoven.ai
Blink.new
Bond
BooleanMaths Pulse
ChronicleClusy
ComputerX
Databox
Edgeeand 34 more
Agentplace.ioAI Context FlowAstrioBeatoven.aiBlink.newBondBooleanMaths PulseChronicleClusyComputerXDataboxEdgeeand 34 more
Chat Data
Documentation.AI
Flexprice
IFTTT
Integral
Klariqo AI Voice Assistants
Mailercloud
Glims (Beta)
Jinna.ai
NeedleTransactional Email
Cursor + Resend:
Airbook AI
AraAsteroid
Atomic Bot
Basedash
BentofyBlink.newBrief My Meeting
CardboardClaio.ai
Clarm
Conduitand 63 more
Airbook AIAraAsteroidAtomic BotBasedashBentofyBlink.newBrief My MeetingCardboardClaio.aiClarmConduitand 63 more
Boxo
Breyta.ai
BetterBugs.io
FimoLLM API
Cursor + OpenAI API:Agentplace.ioAI Context Flow
AirtopAndsendArtMathCode
Assembly
BasaltBasedashBlink.newBooleanMaths Pulsecanitbebuilt
Centraland 77 more
Agentplace.ioAI Context FlowAirtopAndsendArtMathCodeAssemblyBasaltBasedashBlink.newBooleanMaths PulsecanitbebuiltCentraland 77 more
dr.aft
FunBlocks MindMax
giselle
Hyring
Melies
MindPal
Askiva AI
Geocities.live
Kanbanq
kuku
Migma AI
Backed AI
devlogs.gg
Imbue
Katalog
Kick
Querri
papermark
QualGent
STORI
Dodo Payments
Langfuse
NovuWith GitHub CopilotTransactional Email
GitHub Copilot + Resend:Billy.shEdgee
Open Paperscritty
EdgeeOpen PaperscrittyGitHub Copilot + SendGrid:
Bolt
Perfai Security
BoltPerfai SecurityHosting
GitHub Copilot + Amazon Web Services:Beatoven.aiEdgee
KastraTellus
Beatoven.aiEdgeeKastraTellusGitHub Copilot + GitHub Pages:Billy.sh
PeakRoutine
PeakRoutineFrontend Framework
FeedPalGitHub Copilot + Next.js:Open Paper
Open PaperNeither quite right?
See the whole AI coding assistants decision →
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)AI-first editorA VS Code-style editor with unlimited Tab completions, an in-editor agent, and one place to manage local and cloud Devin agents.vs Cursor →vs GitHub Copilot →
Claude CodeTerminal agentHanding off multi-step tasks — features, refactors, bug hunts — to an agent that reads the repo, edits files and runs commands.vs Cursor →vs GitHub Copilot →
OpenAI CodexTerminal agentDelegating tasks to an agent in the terminal, IDE or desktop app, or to cloud tasks that run in the background and open pull requests.vs Cursor →vs GitHub Copilot →
OpenCodeTerminal agentAn open-source coding agent that works with almost any model provider, local models, or an existing Copilot or ChatGPT subscription.vs Cursor →