Cursor vs GitHub Copilot
Cursor is its own AI code editor, with agents you can start from Slack or a phone; GitHub Copilot works inside VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode and GitHub. Here is how they compare on free plan, platforms and the jobs each does best, from each vendor's own pages.
| Compared on | Visit | Visit |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI code editor with agents that write and change code | GitHub's AI coding assistant for code completion, chat, agents and review |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $20/mo (Pro)Cursor pricing | $10/mo (Pro)GitHub Copilot pricing |
| What it covers | The page says yearly billing saves 20%; yearly per-month prices were not shown. | Unlimited code completions and next edit suggestions; 1,500 AI credits a month (1,000 base and 500 flex). |
| Free trial | None stated | None stated |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux, Web | Web, macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Integrations (vendor's figure) | Not stated | Not stated |
| Open source | No | No |
| Made by | Anysphere, Inc. | GitHub (Microsoft) |
Choose Cursor if…
- The job is building or changing a small app by describing the change.
- The job is fixing bugs across several files.
Choose GitHub Copilot if…
- Price matters: its cheapest paid plan is $10/mo against $20/mo.
- The job is getting code suggestions while writing scripts or apps.
- The job is asking questions about an unfamiliar codebase.
Still weighing it up?
If neither is quite right, Cursor and GitHub Copilot are also compared with their other rivals: GitHub Copilot vs OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot vs Claude Code and Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex.
What Cursor does
- AI agent that writes and edits code in the editor
- Cloud agents started from a browser, phone, Slack, GitHub or Linear
- Command-line agent for any terminal
- Grok models with higher limits on paid plans
- MCP servers, skills and hooks
- Grok Bot access on paid plans
Watch out for
- The Hobby plan has limited Agent requests
- Bugbot is billed on usage on top of the plan price
- Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales
What GitHub Copilot does
- Code completions and next edit suggestions
- Chat in the IDE, on GitHub.com and in GitHub Mobile
- Agent mode that edits files in the workspace
- Cloud agent and code review on paid plans
- Copilot CLI for the terminal
- Works in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Eclipse, Xcode and Neovim
Watch out for
- The Free plan is capped at 2,000 completions per month
- Paid plans include a monthly AI credit allowance (1,500 on Pro); extra usage costs $0.01 per credit
- Cloud agent and code review are not in the Free plan
Questions
Is Cursor or GitHub Copilot cheaper?
On published entry prices, GitHub Copilot is cheaper: $20/mo (Pro) for Cursor against $10/mo (Pro) for GitHub Copilot. What each plan includes differs, so compare the limits too.
Do Cursor and GitHub Copilot have free plans?
Both do. Cursor: Hobby plan: limited Agent requests, access to Composer, no credit card required. GitHub Copilot: 2,000 code completions per month and a limited monthly allowance of AI credits for chat and agent features; models by auto selection; agent mode and Copilot CLI included; no cloud agent or code review; no credit card required.