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Cursor vs GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot works inside the editor you already use and costs less; Cursor asks you to switch to its own AI-first editor. For most teams on GitHub, Copilot is the easy yes; Cursor suits people who want the agent at the center of the editor.
At a glance
| Fact | Cursor | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Anysphere (part of SpaceX) | GitHub |
| What it is | An AI-first code editor with a built-in coding agent. | GitHub's AI pair programmer and coding agent. |
| Price | Free plan, paid from $8/month | Free plan, paid from $10/user/month |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows, Linux, Web, CLI, Slack, iOS | macOS, Windows, Web, CLI |
| Open source | No | No |
| Models | Composer | Haiku 4.5, GPT-5 mini, Claude by Anthropic, OpenAI Codex |
| Last verified | October 14, 2026 | October 14, 2026 |
| Official site | cursor.com | github.com/features/copilot |
Where they differ
- Editors: Copilot plugs into VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Neovim and Xcode; Cursor is a separate editor.
- Price: both have free plans; Copilot Pro is $10/user/month and Cursor's paid plans start at $8/month.
- Agents: Copilot has agent mode, a cloud agent and code review; Cursor has autonomous agents, cloud agents and Bugbot reviews.
Which to pick
Choose Cursor if you are happy to switch editors for an agent-first workspace.
Choose GitHub Copilot if you want to keep your editor, or your team already lives on GitHub.
Keep looking
- Cursor listing
- GitHub Copilot listing
- Cursor alternatives
- GitHub Copilot alternatives
- Claude Code vs Cursor
- Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot
- Cline vs Cursor
- Codex vs Cursor
Facts from each maker's official pages, last verified October 14, 2026. How we verify.