PowerfulAI.tools Editorial Team
Updated 20 Oct 2026
Cursor and GitHub Copilot both have a free plan and both have paid plans starting at $10 per month or less, but they work differently. GitHub Copilot adds AI help to the editor you already use, while Cursor describes itself as a coding agent for building software. If you want to keep your current setup, Copilot is the simpler start; if you want an agent-focused tool, Cursor is worth a trial.
Below we compare plans, prices, free tiers and key features, using what each company's official site shows today (20 October 2026). All prices are in US dollars.
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot at a glance
| Cursor | GitHub Copilot |
|---|
| What it is | "A coding agent for building ambitious software" (Cursor's own description) | An AI coding assistant that works in your IDE, on GitHub, in the command line and in a desktop app |
| Free plan | $0, with limited agent and chat requests | $0, with 2,000 code completions per month plus a limited AI Credits allowance for chat and agents |
| Cheapest paid plan | Plus, $8 per month | Pro, $10 per month |
| Mid-tier individual plans | Premium, $30 per month | Pro+, $39 per month |
| Top individual plans | Super $100, Ultra $200 per month | Max, $100 per month |
| Team plans | Teams from $30 per user per month; Enterprise custom (plans are part of a combined subscription) | Business $19 and Enterprise $39 per granted seat per month |
| How usage is measured | A weekly usage pool | Monthly AI Credits (1 credit = $0.01) |
What each tool is
Cursor
Cursor's documentation calls it "a coding agent for building ambitious software". It helps you understand a codebase, plan and build features, fix bugs and review changes. Its documentation lists the Agent, cloud agents, a command-line interface, code review (including Bugbot), rules and skills, MCP server support, and integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket, JetBrains, Xcode, Slack, Jira and Linear.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub describes Copilot as an AI coding assistant. It gives code suggestions as you type, answers questions in chat, helps in the terminal, writes pull request descriptions, and can take on tasks through a cloud agent that creates pull requests for you to review. GitHub lists support for Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, Vim and others. Chat is available in Visual Studio Code, JetBrains and Visual Studio.
Free plans compared
Both free plans let you try the tool before paying, and both are limited.
- Cursor Free: $0, with "Agent and Chat with limited usage". Third-party models are not available on the free plan. Cursor's pages do not say what the free plan includes beyond that, so check the pricing page for current limits.
- Copilot Free: $0, with 2,000 code completions per month and a limited monthly allowance of GitHub AI Credits for chat and agent features.
GitHub also lists Copilot Student, which is free for verified students, and says verified teachers and maintainers of popular open source projects may be eligible for free access to Copilot Pro. We did not find a matching free programme on Cursor's pricing pages.
Paid plans and prices
Cursor
Cursor's documentation says its plans are sold as part of The X Subscription, "one subscription for Grok, Cursor, and X", so the prices below are for that combined subscription. The official Cursor pricing page lists these plans:
- Plus: $8 per month. Uses a shared weekly usage pool. Cursor's documentation says Plus does not include third-party models, cloud agents, automations or Bugbot.
- Premium: $30 per month. 4x the usage of Plus, plus cloud agents and automations, code review with Bugbot, and third-party models at API list price.
- Super: $100 per month. 15x the usage of Plus, plus priority model access at peak times.
- Ultra: $200 per month. 50x the usage of Plus, plus earliest access to new products and models.
- Teams: from $30 per user per month, with seats at $30, $100 or $200 that match the Premium, Super and Ultra usage; Plus is not available for teams. Enterprise: custom pricing.
Cursor's documentation also shows annual prices of $80 per year (Plus), $300 per year (Premium), $1,000 per year (Super) and $2,000 per year (Ultra). Prices exclude tax. Third-party model usage is not included in the monthly price. On Premium and above you can use those models at API list price, paid from prepaid credit. Plans change, so check the official pricing page for current prices.
Cursor's documentation says its older Pro and Pro+ plans continue for existing customers.
GitHub Copilot
The official GitHub Copilot plans page and GitHub's documentation list:
- Pro: $10 per month, with 1,500 AI Credits (1,000 base plus 500 flex). Adds the cloud agent, code review on pull requests, and app modernisation for Java and .NET.
- Pro+: $39 per month, with 7,000 AI Credits (3,900 base plus 3,100 flex). Adds delegation to third-party coding agents such as Claude by Anthropic and OpenAI Codex, which GitHub marks as Preview.
- Max: $100 per month, with 20,000 AI Credits (10,000 base plus 10,000 flex).
- Business: $19 per granted seat per month (1,900 credits per user). Enterprise: $39 per granted seat per month (3,900 credits per user).
GitHub says code completions and next edit suggestions do not use AI Credits and are unlimited on paid plans. Prices are shown in USD per month.
Key features compared
| Feature | Cursor | GitHub Copilot |
|---|
| Agent that works on tasks | The Agent; cloud agents from the Premium plan up (not on Plus) | Agent mode; cloud agent from the Pro plan up |
| Code review | Code review with Bugbot, from the Premium plan up (not on Plus) | Code review of pull requests, from Pro up. The Free plan lists only "Review selection" in VS Code |
| Command line | Cursor CLI | Copilot CLI, included on all plans |
| Where you use it | The Cursor editor, terminal, Slack and GitHub | Your existing IDE, GitHub.com, GitHub Mobile, the command line and a desktop app |
| MCP support | MCP servers are listed in the documentation | MCP servers, including on the free plan |
| Models | Included usage covers Cursor's own models; third-party models are billed separately | GitHub says you can choose from leading LLMs; third-party agents include Claude by Anthropic and OpenAI Codex |
Who each one suits
- Choose Copilot if you want AI help inside the editor you already use, you work in GitHub every day, or you want a free plan that works in many IDEs.
- Choose Cursor if you want a tool built around a coding agent, and you are comfortable changing your workflow.
- Watch the usage rules in both. Cursor uses a weekly pool and bills third-party models separately. Copilot uses monthly AI Credits.
The simplest approach is to try both free plans on a small real task and see which suits how you work.
How we chose
We compared the two tools using their official websites and documentation, checked on 20 October 2026. We only included plan names, prices and features that we could confirm there, and we left out anything we could not verify. Both companies change plans and limits often, so confirm current details on the official pricing pages before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cursor better than GitHub Copilot?
Neither is better for everyone. Cursor describes itself as a coding agent, while Copilot adds AI to editors you already use. The better choice depends on your workflow and how much you want an agent to handle.
Which is cheaper, Cursor or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor's cheapest paid plan, Plus, is $8 per month and Copilot Pro is $10 per month. They are not like for like: Plus does not include third-party models, cloud agents or Bugbot, while Copilot Pro includes the cloud agent and code review. Cursor's plans are also part of a combined subscription with Grok and X. Both have a free plan.
Does GitHub Copilot have a free plan?
Yes. Copilot Free costs $0 and includes 2,000 code completions per month plus a limited allowance of AI Credits for chat and agent features.
Does Cursor have a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan is $0 and offers Agent and Chat with limited usage. Third-party models are not available on it.
Do these tools use my code for training?
GitHub says individual subscribers can opt out of having their data used for AI model training. We did not confirm Cursor's equivalent setting, so read its privacy documentation before using it on work code.
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