Head to head · Coding · updated Oct 15, 2026
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot
Cursor scores 70 to GitHub Copilot's 58 on public evidence for AI code editor, and they rank #2 and #3 there. Both are free to start. Numbers below are the same public signals the ranking uses, recomputed nightly — nothing here is sponsored.
Cursor
A VS Code fork with built-in AI autocomplete, chat, and an agent mode that edits across your codebase.
+ Tab autocomplete predicts multi-line edits across files better than any competitor.
− Usage-based pricing changes and request limits on Pro have repeatedly frustrated heavy users.
GitHub Copilot
AI pair programmer in your IDE and on GitHub, with completions, chat, code review, and a cloud coding agent.
+ Deepest GitHub integration: assign an issue to Copilot and it opens a PR.
− Completions and agent lag behind Cursor and Claude Code in quality despite more models being offered.
Side by side
public evidence| Cursor | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence score / 100 | 70 | 58 |
| GitHub stars | closed source | closed source |
| Hacker News stories, 30d | 77 | 21 |
| Release-feed mentions, 30d | 1 | 3 |
| Last activity | 0 days ago | 0 days ago |
| Pricing | Free tier · Pro $20/mo | Free tier; Pro $10/mo; Pro+ $39/mo |
| Platforms | mac, windows, linux | vscode-extension, jetbrains-plugin, cli, web |
| Maker | Anysphere | GitHub (Microsoft) |
Which one?
Pick Cursor if
- you want the stronger public evidence (70 vs 58)
- you need it on linux, mac, windows
Best for developers who want the most polished AI editor today.
Pick GitHub Copilot if
- you need it on cli, jetbrains-plugin, vscode-extension
Best for teams already standardised on GitHub and VS Code.