Head to head · Editorial, not sponsored
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot (2026): Which should you pick?
Short answer
Pick Cursor if you want an agent-first editor built around handing off coding tasks, with cloud agents on higher tiers.
Pick GitHub Copilot if your code already lives on GitHub and you want a free tier or a $10/mo Pro plan with unlimited completions.
Based only on the facts below: Pricing from cursor.com, checked 2026-11-03. Pricing from github.com, checked 2026-11-03. No scores and no hands-on testing (methodology).
Pricing at a glance
Free tierCursor
Free tier; paid tiers listed at $8, $30, $100 and $200/month; Teams from $30/user/month; Enterprise custom.
Official pricing page · checked 2026-11-03
Free tierGitHub Copilot
Free; Pro $10/mo; Pro+ $39/mo; Max $100/mo. Each plan includes monthly GitHub AI Credits for chat and agents (Pro $15, Pro+ $70, Max $200 in credits); code completions stay unlimited on paid plans.
Official pricing page · checked 2026-11-03
Feature checklist
From each tool's pricing page and listed use cases. "Not listed" means it is not among the use cases we list for that tool, not that it cannot do it.
| Feature | Cursor | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier or open-source option | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not listed | Not listed |
| Free trial mentioned | Not listed | Not listed |
| Listed under | ||
| Coding | Yes | Yes |
| Agents | Yes | Yes |
| Testing | Not listed | Yes |
| Listed use cases | ||
| write code with an AI agent | Yes | Not listed |
| refactor a codebase | Yes | Not listed |
| AI code review | Yes | Not listed |
| run cloud coding agents | Yes | Not listed |
| autocomplete code | Not listed | Yes |
| AI pull request review | Not listed | Yes |
| assign issues to a coding agent | Not listed | Yes |
| chat about a repo | Not listed | Yes |
Best for and skip if
Cursor
Best for
- write code with an AI agent
- refactor a codebase
- AI code review
- run cloud coding agents
Skip if this matters to you
- Pricing page now bundles Cursor with Grok/X subscription tiers, which can be confusing
- Plus tier is limited to Grok models per pricing page
- Third-party model usage billed separately
From official docs and the pricing page, checked 2026-11-03.
GitHub Copilot
Best for
- autocomplete code
- AI pull request review
- assign issues to a coding agent
- chat about a repo
Skip if this matters to you
- Best value if your code already lives on GitHub
- Higher usage requires upper tiers
From official docs and the pricing page, checked 2026-11-03.
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot: FAQ
Should I use Cursor or GitHub Copilot?
Pick Cursor if you want an agent-first editor built around handing off coding tasks, with cloud agents on higher tiers. Pick GitHub Copilot if your code already lives on GitHub and you want a free tier or a $10/mo Pro plan with unlimited completions. Based on the official pricing pages and docs listed on this page, checked 2026-11-03.
Is Cursor free?
Yes, it lists a free way to start. Free tier; paid tiers listed at $8, $30, $100 and $200/month; Teams from $30/user/month; Enterprise custom. (official pricing page, checked 2026-11-03)
Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes, it lists a free way to start. Free; Pro $10/mo; Pro+ $39/mo; Max $100/mo. Each plan includes monthly GitHub AI Credits for chat and agents (Pro $15, Pro+ $70, Max $200 in credits); code completions stay unlimited on paid plans. (official pricing page, checked 2026-11-03)
How much do Cursor and GitHub Copilot cost?
Cursor: Free tier; paid tiers listed at $8, $30, $100 and $200/month; Teams from $30/user/month; Enterprise custom. GitHub Copilot: Free; Pro $10/mo; Pro+ $39/mo; Max $100/mo. Each plan includes monthly GitHub AI Credits for chat and agents (Pro $15, Pro+ $70, Max $200 in credits); code completions stay unlimited on paid plans. (official pricing pages, checked 2026-11-03).
What is the difference between Cursor and GitHub Copilot?
Cursor is listed for: write code with an AI agent; refactor a codebase; aI code review; run cloud coding agents. GitHub Copilot is listed for: autocomplete code; aI pull request review; assign issues to a coding agent; chat about a repo.
Is Cursor free for students?
Not for new sign-ups. Cursor stopped new sign-ups for its student discount on June 25, 2026; students who already redeemed it keep their current rate until their plan expires. Undergraduates can now claim credits and discounts at on-campus and online events, and master's students, PhD candidates, researchers and educators can request credits through a form.
Source: Cursor help: Student discount (checked 2026-10-29)
When does Cursor usage reset, and does unused usage roll over?
On current plans the included pool refreshes weekly, and unused included usage does not roll over. Prepaid credit does not reset with the weekly pool; each top-up lasts until used or until it expires (currently 365 days after purchase). Legacy Cursor plans split included usage into monthly pools. When you hit the limit you can keep working from prepaid credit, wait for the weekly reset or upgrade.
Source: Cursor help: Usage limits (checked 2026-10-29)
Is GitHub Copilot free for students?
Yes. Verified students get Copilot Student for free, with unlimited code completions and an allowance of AI credits (models through auto selection only). Verified teachers and maintainers of popular open source projects can get Copilot Pro for free.
Source: GitHub Docs: Copilot plans; GitHub Docs: Copilot billing for individuals; GitHub Docs: Free Copilot Pro for teachers and maintainers (checked 2026-10-29)
What are GitHub AI Credits in Copilot?
They are how Copilot bills features that use AI models, such as Copilot Chat, Copilot CLI and the cloud agent: 1 AI credit is $0.01. Pro ($10/mo) includes 1,500 credits a month, Pro+ ($39/mo) 7,000 and Max ($100/mo) 20,000. Code completions and next edit suggestions do not use credits and stay unlimited on paid plans. The free plan includes 2,000 code completions a month.
Source: GitHub Docs: Copilot billing for individuals (checked 2026-10-29)
Did you test Cursor and GitHub Copilot?
No. Verdicts are based on each vendor's public docs and pricing pages, not hands-on testing, unless a page says otherwise.