Best AI Coding Assistants · head-to-head
GitHub Copilot vs Cursor
A sourced, side-by-side comparison for ai coding assistants. GitHub Copilot has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it.
At a glance
- Price: GitHub Copilot $0/mo vs Cursor $0/mo — GitHub Copilot is cheaper to start.
- Free tier: GitHub Copilot Yes; Cursor Yes.
- HIPAA: GitHub Copilot —; Cursor —.
Side by side
| GitHub Copilot | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $0/mo (Free) | $0/mo (Hobby) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA (BAA) | — | — |
| SOC 2 | Yes | Yes |
| GDPR | Yes | — |
| Best for | Individual developers on GitHub ecosystem | Individual engineers wanting best-in-class autocomplete |
Sources — GitHub Copilot: github.com (verified 2026-06-14). Cursor: cursor.com (verified 2026-06-14).
Key features
GitHub Copilot: Inline code completions with public-code duplication filter; Agent mode for autonomous multi-step task execution; Cloud agents for PR review and async work; Multi-model selection (Claude, GPT, Gemini family); Native GitHub.com integration — reviews, issues, PRs; Hardcoded-credential and SQL-injection vulnerability filtering; Custom instructions and custom agents (MCP); IP indemnification for unmodified suggestions on paid plans; Business/Enterprise data never used for model training
Cursor: Proprietary Tab autocomplete model trained for speed and accuracy; Multi-model selection: GPT-5.5, Claude Opus 4.8, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Grok 4.3, Cursor Composer 2.5; Full codebase semantic indexing for context-aware suggestions; Autonomous agent mode with configurable autonomy level; Privacy Mode: opt-in prevents training on user code (free and paid); SOC 2 Type II certified; SAML/OIDC SSO on Teams plan; SCIM provisioning on Enterprise; Audit logs and AI code tracking API on Enterprise; Cloud agents for async background work