Cursor and GitHub Copilot both put an AI coding assistant inside your daily workflow, but they are built differently. Cursor is an AI coding product with its own editor experience. GitHub Copilot is an assistant that plugs into several editors and into GitHub itself. That difference shapes almost every other comparison point.
Both products have also changed how they charge in 2026, and the changes matter more than the headline monthly price. This article sets out what to compare and what the official pages say today, so you can shortlist sensibly and then test with your own code.
How we researched this: we did not run hands-on tests for this article. It is based on the vendor’s own documentation and public sources, checked on 11 November 2026. Features and prices change, so confirm details on the vendor’s site before you buy.
Key takeaways
- Cursor’s new plans are sold as part of The X Subscription, announced on 12 October 2026, which bundles Grok, Cursor and X. Older Cursor plans continue for existing subscribers.
- GitHub moved Copilot to usage-based billing with GitHub AI Credits from 1 June 2026, while inline code completions stay included.
- Both products now meter heavier AI use, so compare how usage is counted and what happens when it runs out.
- Copilot documents support for Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Eclipse and Xcode; Cursor’s pages we read describe its own editor.
- Check data settings before you code with either one: both have a mode or setting that changes whether your data can be used for training.
Why compare these two
Developers often ask which one is better, as if there were a single answer. A more useful question is which one fits how you work. A freelancer who lives in one editor, a team that reviews code on GitHub, and a company with strict data rules will weigh the same facts differently.
Pricing is the second reason to compare carefully. Both vendors have moved away from simple flat allowances. If you compare only the monthly price you will miss the thing that determines your real bill: how usage is measured. Our guide on how to read an AI tool’s pricing page covers the general traps.
Quick overview table
| Item | Cursor | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI coding product with an editor and agents, sold with Grok and X in The X Subscription for new customers | An AI assistant used in IDEs, the CLI, github.com, mobile and more |
| Free tier | Free, with limited use of Agent, Chat and Tab completions on Cursor models | Copilot Free, with 2,000 inline completions per month |
| Entry paid price (new customers) | Plus at $8 per month ($80 per year) | Pro at $10 per month |
| Mid and high paid tiers | Premium $30, Super $100, Ultra $200 per month | Pro+ $39, Max $100 per month |
| Business | Teams at $30, $100 or $200 per seat; Enterprise custom | Business $19 and Enterprise $39 per granted seat per month |
| How usage is metered | Weekly pool for Cursor models; third-party models billed from prepaid credit at API list price (Premium and above) | GitHub AI Credits calculated from token use; inline completions do not use credits |
Prices are in US dollars as shown on each vendor’s pages and exclude tax. Checked on 11 November 2026. Confirm on the vendor page before you buy.
Criteria that matter
- Where you code. Which editor or IDE, and whether you also work in the terminal or on GitHub pull requests.
- How you will use AI. Mostly inline suggestions, or heavy agent work that edits many files?
- How usage is billed. Included pool, top-ups, overage rates, and what happens at the limit.
- Which models you can use. Vendor models only, or third-party models too, and at what cost.
- Data handling. Training settings, retention, and whether admins can enforce policy.
- Team controls. Budgets, pooling, review features and administration.
Where each tool runs
GitHub’s documentation lists where Copilot can be used: Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Eclipse and Xcode for inline suggestions, chat and agent-based edits; the Copilot CLI in the terminal; the GitHub website for questions about repositories, issues and pull requests; GitHub Mobile; GitHub Desktop; a Copilot app for parallel agent work; and an SDK for building custom applications. The same page notes there is nothing to install to use Copilot on github.com. A separate plans page says Copilot is not currently available for GitHub Enterprise Server.
Cursor’s documentation describes Cursor as an AI coding product that gives access to models from providers including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. The pages we read describe an Agent that works in the editor, Cloud Agents and Automations from the Premium plan, and a Customize section that names rules, MCP, plugins, skills, subagents and hooks. We did not find a plain list of supported editors on the pages we read, so if you depend on a particular IDE, check that directly before choosing.
What this means in practice
If your team is spread across several IDEs, or you want assistance directly in pull requests, Copilot’s documented breadth is the relevant fact. If you are happy to work in one AI-first editor and want agent features built around it, Cursor’s design is the relevant fact. Neither statement is a quality claim.
Plans and pricing models
Cursor
On 12 October 2026, Cursor announced The X Subscription, a single plan that bundles Grok, Grok Bot, Cursor and X Premium, according to Cursor’s forum post. Cursor’s legacy-plans page says new customers start on The X Subscription, while earlier plans keep working at their current price and features unless you change or cancel. Switching is optional and permanent.
| Plan (new customers) | Monthly | Annual | Included usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Not applicable | Limited |
| Plus | $8 | $80 | Base |
| Premium | $30 | $300 | 4x Plus |
| Super | $100 | $1,000 | 15x Plus |
| Ultra | $200 | $2,000 | 50x Plus |
| Teams | $30, $100 or $200 per seat | Not listed | Matches the seat tier |
Cursor’s page also lists legacy plans for existing subscribers: Hobby (free), Pro at $20, Pro+ at $60, Ultra at $200, and Teams Standard and Premium seats at $40 and $120 per user. A staff reply in Cursor’s forum thread says the previous Ultra plan is no longer available for new signups. The thread also shows users asking about annual billing and plan transitions without confirmed answers, so existing subscribers should check their own account.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub’s plans documentation lists Copilot Free, Student (free for verified students), Pro at $10 per month, Pro+ at $39, Max at $100, Business at $19 per granted seat per month and Enterprise at $39 per granted seat per month. It also lists a Copilot access option at no cost with a GitHub Enterprise Cloud licence or $10 per user per month as a standalone. The page states that Copilot Free is only for individuals without access through an organisation, and that verified teachers and maintainers of popular open source projects may be eligible for free Copilot Pro.
| Plan | Price | Included GitHub AI Credits per the docs |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | $10 per month | 1,000 base plus 500 flex, 1,500 per month |
| Pro+ | $39 per month | 3,900 base plus 3,100 flex, 7,000 per month |
| Max | $100 per month | 10,000 base plus 10,000 flex, 20,000 per month |
| Business | $19 per seat per month | 1,900 per user per month, pooled |
| Enterprise | $39 per seat per month | 3,900 per user per month, pooled |
Note that GitHub’s own pages describe included credits in different ways: GitHub’s earlier blog post said each plan includes credits equal to its price, while the current docs and the plans page show larger allowances for individual plans (the plans page lists $15 for Pro, $70 for Pro+ and $200 for Max). We follow the current docs and the plans page, and we suggest you read the live page.
Model access and usage metering
This is the most important section for budgeting.
Cursor
Per Cursor’s documentation, every paid plan includes one weekly pool for Cursor models (it names Grok 4.7, Grok 4.6, Grok 4.5 and Composer 2.5), shared across Cursor and Grok. Third-party models such as Claude, GPT, Gemini and Muse are not part of that pool. On Premium and above they are billed at API list price from prepaid credit; Plus and Free do not include them. You can set auto top-ups and a monthly additional usage limit, and the page says requests are never downgraded in quality or speed. Teams and Enterprise add a Cursor Token Rate of $0.25 per million tokens on eligible third-party requests.
Cursor lists example list prices per million tokens on the page, and these vary widely between models. Because model names and prices change often, we do not reproduce them here.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub’s blog post, dated before the change, says Copilot usage would draw from GitHub AI Credits from 1 June 2026, calculated from input, output and cached tokens at each model’s listed API rates. It says code completions and Next Edit suggestions stay included and do not use credits, and that users who exhaust their allowance can no longer drop to a cheaper model. Admins can set budgets at enterprise, cost centre and user levels. Business usage can be pooled across an organisation, and overage beyond the pool is billed at $0.01 per AI credit according to the docs. Copilot code review also consumes GitHub Actions minutes.
Annual Pro and Pro+ subscribers kept premium-request pricing until their plan expires, then move to Copilot Free with an option to upgrade, according to the same post.
The practical difference
Both now meter heavy agent usage by tokens, so the cost of an hour of agent work depends on which model you choose. The questions to ask are the same for each: what is included, what does extra usage cost, who can set a spending cap, and what happens when the cap is reached.
Review, agents and team features
GitHub documents Copilot code review as a feature that reviews pull request code in any language and suggests fixes. It offers Lite, Balanced (the default) and Max (in public preview) effort levels. The docs say it is not guaranteed to spot all problems and that human review is still recommended, that some files such as package.json, log files and SVG files are skipped, and that by default it reviews a pull request once when assigned. Usage consumes AI credits.
The GitHub plans page lists code review and Copilot in the cloud (assigning work and creating pull requests) from Pro upward, and third-party coding agents from Pro+ upward, though the same page contradicts itself about Pro and third-party agents. IP indemnity, SAML single sign-on and usage metrics are listed as not included on individual plans.
For Cursor, the pages we read list Cloud Agents and Automations from Premium and mention Bugbot as excluded from Plus. We could not read details on Bugbot, so we cannot compare it with Copilot code review. If review automation matters to you, make it a test item.
Whichever tool you use, generated code needs checking. Read our guide on how to check AI output for mistakes and treat AI changes like any other contribution: review, run tests and read the diff.
Privacy and data
| Question | Cursor | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | With Privacy Mode enabled, Cursor says customer data will not be used for training by Cursor; with it disabled, Cursor may store and use codebase data, prompts and code snippets to improve features and train its models | From 24 April 2026, interaction data from Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+ users can be used to train and improve models unless the user opts out; Business and Enterprise users are not affected |
| Where to change it | Privacy Mode setting | Privacy section of Copilot settings at github.com/settings/copilot |
| Provider retention | Cursor says it has zero data retention agreements with its providers when Privacy Mode is on; providers may run abuse classifiers that can store flagged data | Data may be shared with GitHub affiliates including Microsoft, but not third-party AI model providers, per GitHub’s post |
| Private code | Cached files are encrypted and never permanently stored, according to Cursor | Private repositories at rest are excluded, but code processed during active use is covered unless you opt out |
If you work on client or proprietary code, read the full policy for the exact plan you would use, and set your account options before you open a repository. Our guides on protecting company data and evaluating vendors on privacy give a checklist.
Who each suits
Cursor may suit you if
- You are choosing an AI-first coding environment rather than adding AI to an existing editor.
- You want agent features such as Cloud Agents and Automations, available from the Premium plan.
- You are comfortable with a weekly usage pool and prepaid credit for third-party models.
- You are also interested in the Grok and X benefits bundled into the subscription.
GitHub Copilot may suit you if
- You use several IDEs or want assistance in the terminal, on github.com and in pull requests.
- Your team already uses GitHub and wants budgets, pooling and admin controls at organisation level.
- You want a free tier or a low-priced individual tier to start.
Look elsewhere if
You need a fixed monthly cost with no usage-based element. Both products now meter heavier usage, so a tool with flat pricing, or a self-hosted option, may fit better. Also look elsewhere if you must keep code entirely off third-party model providers, and confirm the terms with the vendor in writing.
How to run your own test
We have not tested either product, so use a small trial of your own, following how to test an AI tool before you pay for it.
- Choose a real repository that is safe to share, or a copy with secrets removed.
- Pick five tasks: a bug fix, a small feature, a refactor, a test-writing task and a pull request review.
- Run the same tasks in both tools using comparable models where possible.
- Record usage: note how many credits or how much of the pool each task consumed.
- Record corrections: count how many edits you made to the output.
- Check data settings before the trial starts, and keep them the same.
- Project a month: multiply your trial usage by realistic weekly volume to estimate the bill.
Our guide on comparing AI tools side by side fairly explains how to keep the comparison honest.
Decision checklist
- Which editors and surfaces must be supported?
- Do I know how usage is counted and what happens when I reach the limit?
- Have I set a spending cap or budget?
- Have I confirmed my plan’s training and data settings?
- Do I need admin controls, pooling or audit features?
- Have I read the live price page on the day I buy?
- Have I run the same five tasks in both tools?
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Cursor or GitHub Copilot?
The entry prices differ ($8 for Cursor Plus and $10 for Copilot Pro), but total cost depends on usage. Both meter heavier use, so estimate your own usage before comparing.
Do I need to switch if I already pay for Cursor?
Cursor’s legacy plans page says existing plans keep working as they are, and switching is optional and permanent. Check your account billing settings for details.
Does Copilot still include code completions?
GitHub’s post says code completions and Next Edit suggestions stay included and do not use credits. Copilot Free is limited to 2,000 inline completions per month.
Can I use third-party models in either tool?
Cursor lists third-party models such as Claude, GPT and Gemini, billed at API list price from prepaid credit on Premium and above. GitHub lists premium models by plan, though model access by plan was unclear on the page we read.
Will my code be used for training?
It depends on the product, the plan and the setting. See the privacy table above and check your own settings.
Can I use both?
Nothing we read says you cannot. Be aware that you would pay for each and that two assistants may suggest conflicting changes in the same file.
Conclusion
Cursor and GitHub Copilot overlap on the core job, but they differ on where they run, how they bill and which models you can reach. The most useful comparison is practical: run the same tasks, measure usage, and read the data settings before you commit.
For a general process, see how to choose an AI tool, and keep how to read an AI tool’s pricing page nearby when you check the live prices.
Sources
- Pricing and plans, Cursor Help, accessed 11 November 2026
- Models and pricing, Cursor Docs, accessed 11 November 2026
- Legacy Cursor plans, Cursor Docs, accessed 11 November 2026
- Introducing The X Subscription, Cursor Forum, 12 October 2026, accessed 11 November 2026
- Data use and privacy overview, Cursor, accessed 11 November 2026
- Plans for GitHub Copilot, GitHub Docs, accessed 11 November 2026
- Copilot plans and pricing, GitHub, accessed 11 November 2026
- GitHub Copilot is moving to usage-based billing, The GitHub Blog, accessed 11 November 2026
- Where to use GitHub Copilot, GitHub Docs, accessed 11 November 2026
- GitHub Copilot code review, GitHub Docs, accessed 11 November 2026
- Updates to GitHub Copilot interaction data usage policy, The GitHub Blog, accessed 11 November 2026
