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 public page it was captured from — the vendor's own wherever the vendor publishes the number, otherwise the named public source — with the date we captured it.
GitHub Copilot has the lower entry price — GitHub Copilot starts at $0/mo, Cursor at $0/mo. Free tier: GitHub Copilot Yes, Cursor Yes. HIPAA: GitHub Copilot —, Cursor —.
As of 2026-09-02 · figures link to their source below
Side by side
GitHub Copilot
$0/mo entryCursor
$0/mo entrySources — GitHub Copilot: github.com (verified 2026-09-02) · Cursor: cursor.com (verified 2026-09-02)
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