GitHub Copilot
Free (limited) / Pro $10 per mo
Cursor
Free (limited) / Pro $20 per mo
GitHub Copilot is an affordable AI assistant that lives inside VS Code and other editors. Cursor is a full AI-first editor built around deep, codebase-aware edits across many files. Copilot wins on price and fitting your existing setup; Cursor wins on power and ambition.
Pick GitHub Copilot if you want affordable, reliable AI help inside the editor you already use, with the backing of GitHub and Microsoft.
Pick Cursor if you want the most powerful, codebase-aware AI editing and you are happy switching to a dedicated AI-first editor.
GitHub Copilot and Cursor are the two most popular AI coding tools, and they take different approaches. Copilot is an add-on: it plugs into VS Code, JetBrains, and other editors to provide autocomplete, chat, and increasingly agentic features, at a low price and with the backing of GitHub and Microsoft. Cursor is a standalone editor, a fork of VS Code, built from the ground up around AI, with strong whole-codebase understanding and multi-file edits.
On price, Copilot Pro is $10 a month and Cursor Pro is $20, with both offering limited free tiers. Cursor's higher price reflects its more aggressive, codebase-aware capabilities; Copilot's lower price and editor integration make it the easy default for many developers.
We compare price, codebase awareness, editor integration, agentic features, and which suits your workflow.
| Quick facts | GitHub Copilot | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Editor add-on | Standalone AI editor |
| Pro price | $10/mo | $20/mo |
| Works in your editor | VS Code, JetBrains, more | Its own (VS Code fork) |
| Codebase awareness | Good | Best-in-class |
| Best for | Affordable, familiar | Power + multi-file edits |
Each row reflects the feature on each product's current public release.
| Feature | G GitHub Copilot | C Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| AI autocomplete | Yes | Yes |
| In-editor chat | Yes | Yes |
| Whole-codebase understanding | Good | Best-in-class |
| Multi-file / agentic edits | Growing | Strong |
| Works in existing editors | Yes | No |
| Choice of models | Several | Several |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Lower price | Yes | No |
Pricing and features change often. Always verify the current details on each product's official site. Last reviewed 2026-06-21.
Things neither product's marketing page leads with.
Cursor is more capable for large, multi-file changes, but it means adopting a new editor and paying twice as much.
Copilot is cheaper and fits your existing setup, but its deepest agentic features have trailed Cursor's.
The two are converging fast, so the gap on any given month depends on the latest releases from both.
The average person juggles a dozen subscriptions and forgets at least one. Subkept is a privacy-first subscription tracker: add GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and everything else, then get renewal reminders, price-hike alerts, and a clear monthly total, with no bank connection, ever. Free for up to 5 subscriptions, no time limit.
See how the price has moved