Copilot vs Cursor (2026): pricing, limits and models compared

Copilot compared with Cursor
	Copilot	Cursor
What it is	An assistant and agent inside your existing IDE, plus a CLI, the Copilot app and a cloud agent on GitHub.	Its own AI code editor, with cloud agents, code review (Bugbot), hosting and an iOS app.
Where it runs	VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse, Xcode, Neovim, CLI, GitHub.com and GitHub Mobile.	The Cursor desktop editor, web, iOS (beta), CLI and SDK.
Cheapest paid plan	Pro, $10/month: 1,500 AI credits, model choice, cloud agent and code review.	Plus, $8/month: Grok models only.
Plan ladder	Free · Pro $10 · Pro+ $39 · Max $100 · Business $19/seat · Enterprise $39/seat	Free · Plus $8 · Premium $30 · Super $100 · Ultra $200 · Teams $30, $100 or $200/seat
How usage is counted	GitHub AI Credits (1 credit = $0.01): 1,500 on Pro, 7,000 on Pro+, 20,000 on Max. Completions don't use credits.	A weekly pool for Cursor's own models (Premium 4× Plus, Super 15×, Ultra 50×).
Third-party models	Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok and others in the plan, billed in credits at provider list price.	Claude, GPT and Gemini on Premium and up, billed from the first request at API list price on top of the plan.
When you hit the limit	Set a budget at $0.01 per credit, upgrade (pay the difference), or wait for the 1st of the month.	Prepaid credit top-ups with optional auto top-up and a monthly cap.
Training on your code	On by default for Free, Pro and Pro+ since April 24, 2026, with an opt-out. Not used on Business or Enterprise.	Only with Privacy Mode off; with it on, zero data retention with model providers.
Recent changes to know	Moved to usage-based billing on June 1, 2026; Copilot Fusion (automatic model routing) went GA on October 28.	Acquired by SpaceX on August 14, 2026; an October security incident served a tampered extension from its marketplace.

Copilot

Cursor

What it is

An assistant and agent inside your existing IDE, plus a CLI, the Copilot app and a cloud agent on GitHub.

Its own AI code editor, with cloud agents, code review (Bugbot), hosting and an iOS app.

Where it runs

VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse, Xcode, Neovim, CLI, GitHub.com and GitHub Mobile.

The Cursor desktop editor, web, iOS (beta), CLI and SDK.

Cheapest paid plan

Pro, $10/month: 1,500 AI credits, model choice, cloud agent and code review.

Plus, $8/month: Grok models only.

Plan ladder

Free · Pro $10 · Pro+ $39 · Max $100 · Business $19/seat · Enterprise $39/seat

Free · Plus $8 · Premium $30 · Super $100 · Ultra $200 · Teams $30, $100 or $200/seat

How usage is counted

GitHub AI Credits (1 credit = $0.01): 1,500 on Pro, 7,000 on Pro+, 20,000 on Max. Completions don't use credits.

A weekly pool for Cursor's own models (Premium 4× Plus, Super 15×, Ultra 50×).

Third-party models

Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok and others in the plan, billed in credits at provider list price.

Claude, GPT and Gemini on Premium and up, billed from the first request at API list price on top of the plan.

When you hit the limit

Set a budget at $0.01 per credit, upgrade (pay the difference), or wait for the 1st of the month.

Prepaid credit top-ups with optional auto top-up and a monthly cap.

Training on your code

On by default for Free, Pro and Pro+ since April 24, 2026, with an opt-out. Not used on Business or Enterprise.

Only with Privacy Mode off; with it on, zero data retention with model providers.

Recent changes to know

Moved to usage-based billing on June 1, 2026; Copilot Fusion (automatic model routing) went GA on October 28.

Acquired by SpaceX on August 14, 2026; an October security incident served a tampered extension from its marketplace.

Verdict

Pick Copilot if you want to stay in the IDE you already use. It runs in nearly every major editor, and at $10 its Pro plan includes model choice across Claude, GPT and Gemini, billed from a monthly credit allowance. Business and Enterprise seats add pooled credits and admin controls, and GitHub Enterprise customers buying through sales can now get Copilot included.

Pick Cursor if you want an editor built around agents, with cloud agents, Bugbot reviews and app hosting in one place, and you’re comfortable with Grok and Cursor’s own models as the default. If you mainly use Claude or GPT, remember Cursor charges those at API list price on top of the plan, which can make it more expensive than Copilot for the same work.

Also weigh the ownership and security news: SpaceX now owns Cursor, and its October incident is worth reading if you install extensions from its marketplace.

Frequently asked questions

Is Copilot or Cursor cheaper?

Cursor Plus is cheaper at $8 a month but runs Grok models only. Copilot Pro at $10 includes model choice across Claude, GPT and Gemini from a monthly credit allowance, while Cursor charges API list price for those models on Premium ($30) and up.

Which works in more editors?

Copilot. It runs in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse, Xcode and Neovim. Cursor is its own editor, with a CLI and an iOS app.

Which trains on my code?

Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+ use interaction data for training by default unless you opt out. Cursor trains only when Privacy Mode is off.

Copilot × Cursor

Verdict

Frequently asked questions

Sources