Cursor vs. GitHub Copilot: Which AI Coding Tool is Better?

AI coding assistants are the talk of the town, and for good reason. They speed up development, reduce errors, and free you from memorizing every syntax rule. Cursor and GitHub Copilot are two major players, both packed with AI-powered code suggestions, autocompletion, and debugging.

Cursor leans into AI-first development with its deep large language models (LLMs) integration, while Copilot flexes its GitHub-trained muscles. Both promise to boost developer productivity, but which fits your style better?

We’re breaking down Cursor vs. Copilot—features, differences, and why one might be your next AI pair programmer. And, if neither clicks, ClickUp’s AI capabilities might surprise you.

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Cursor vs. GitHub Copilot at a Glance

Let’s compare Cursor vs. Copilot head-to-head for a quick look at their best features (and also see how ClickUp fares in comparison): 

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What Is Cursor AI?

Cursor AI, developed by Anysphere Inc., is an advanced AI-powered development environment. It integrates directly with Visual Studio Code (VSC) to provide intelligent coding assistance.

Unlike traditional text editors and autocomplete, Cursor AI understands context, suggests entire functions, and helps with debugging. It runs on powerful AI models, such as:

• GPT-4 (for high-quality text generation)
• Claude (for generating well-structured, detailed responses), and
• Cursor-small (for quick edits)

Cursor AI aims to make coding feel less repetitive by speeding up debugging and reducing the need for constant documentation checks. It also enables code completion using natural language instructions, improving productivity.

Cursor AI features

Cursor brings AI-powered coding directly into one of the best coding editors, making development faster, more intelligent, and more efficient. 

Here’s what sets it apart:

Feature #1: Cursor Tab

An intelligent code editor should know what you need before you even type it. Cursor Tab isn’t just autocomplete—it refines, edits, and predicts changes to generate code snippets based on your workflow.

Unlike basic code suggestions, it provides full diffs (showing changes instead of just adding text). It tracks your keystrokes and cursor movements in real time, offering smart edits right where needed.

Gray text? That’s an extension. A diff popup? That’s an edit. Hit Tab to accept, Esc to dismiss, or fine-tune with Ctrl/⌘ →.

Feature #2: Cursor Agent

Cursor Agent is an AI-powered coding sidekick. With minimal input, it tackles complex coding tasks through Composer with built-in reasoning.

Here’s how it can help:

• Read and modify existing code
• Search the entire codebase for relevant functions or multiple files
• Call MCP servers for real-time assistance
• Run terminal commands directly within VS Code

Cursor Agent automatically picks a compatible shell from VS Code’s profiles when executing terminal commands. 

Need a specific one? Head to the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P) > Terminal: Select Default Profile and set your preference.

Check out these Cursor AI alternatives!

Feature #3: ⌘ K (Cmd K)

Editing and generating code with Cursor AI feels intuitive. Just press Cmd K (or Ctrl K on Windows/Linux) to summon the prompt bar. This step lets you quickly request new or modify existing code snippets.

If no code is selected, Cursor AI generates fresh code based on your prompt. If you highlight a section, it refines that specific part.

Think of the prompt bar as an AI chat for your code, allowing you to input follow-up instructions for better results. Whether you’re generating code from scratch or fine-tuning existing snippets, Cursor AI makes it fast, precise, and effortless.

Feature #4: Notepads 

Some ideas are too big for code comments or chat threads. That’s why Cursor AI includes Notepads. Think of them as your personal dev wiki, perfect for storing references, templates, and guidelines.

With Notepads, you can:

• Link notes to different parts of your dev environment
• Reference them with the @syntax in chats or code
• Attach files and store project-related data in one place
• Use templates for frequently used code patterns

Creating one is easy—click “+” in Notepads, name it, and add context or files. Use markdown for readability and clear headings for organization.

Cursor AI pricing

• Hobby: Free
• Pro: $20/month
• Business:  $40/month per user

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What Is GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is an AI tool for software teams that brings coding assistance straight into your editor. Developed by GitHub and OpenAI, it launched in 2021 to help software teams code faster by predicting and generating code snippets on the fly.

Powered by OpenAI Codex, it turns natural language comments into functional code and learns from your coding patterns. Whether you need a few lines or full functions, Copilot adapts to your workflow.

Best suited for Visual Studio Code and GitHub, it’s a natural addition for devs already using GitHub for collaboration and version control. By reducing repetitive tasks and suggesting code, Copilot streamlines the daily workflow of a software editor, keeping your focus where it belongs—on building great software.

GitHub Copilot features

Now that we have a solid grasp of GitHub Copilot, let’s look at the features that make it stand out.

Feature #1: Smart code suggestions and generation

GitHub Copilot isn’t just autocomplete—it’s an AI coding assistant that predicts entire lines, functions, and even class structures. 

The tool adapts to an individual’s coding style and provides solutions that blend seamlessly with existing code. It supports multiple languages and frameworks, allowing developers to write efficient code with minimal effort.

Copilot keeps things moving for larger projects by reducing grunt work and letting you focus on the bigger picture, allowing you to write cleaner, more efficient code.

Feature #2: Copilot Chat

Copilot’s chat feature is like having an AI coding mentor on demand. Developers can ask about errors, request explanations, or get guidance on best practices. It doesn’t just provide quick fixes—it breaks down complex problems into clear, actionable solutions that improve efficiency and understanding.

Beyond debugging, it helps developers learn unfamiliar concepts and navigate intricate code structures. With access to a vast programming knowledge base, it offers insights that benefit both beginners and seasoned professionals. 

Feature #3: Summarized pull requests

Code reviews move faster with Copilot’s pull request summaries. These summaries give a high-level overview of modifications and their impact. They highlight key updates, making it easier to focus on critical improvements.

By summarizing modifications and flagging potential issues, Copilot streamlines the collaboration process. Teams can then make informed decisions without manually parsing every line. Projects stay on track with less time spent sifting through code.

Feature #4: Integrated knowledge bases

Copilot helps write documentation for code by creating an internal knowledge base. Developers use it to compile markdown documentation from multiple repositories, creating a centralized hub of information to keep projects organized.

When questions arise, Copilot draws on this knowledge base to provide relevant answers, ensuring consistency across the team. Retaining valuable insights and reducing repetitive inquiries helps developers stay focused on coding.

GitHub Copilot pricing

• Free
• Pro: $10/month
• Business: $19/month per user
• Enterprise: $39/month per user

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Cursor vs. Copilot: Features Compared

Copilot and Cursor both use AI-powered software development to assist developers, but they take different approaches. 

Copilot integrates deeply with GitHub and focuses on inline code suggestions. Cursor AI acts more like a project-aware assistant, adapting to broader contexts. 

The right choice depends on whether you need an AI that understands entire projects or one that specializes in real-time code suggestions.

Let’s compare how they handle key development tasks.

Feature #1: Tab completion

Good code flows. A great AI assistant keeps up, so you’re solving problems, not wrestling with syntax.

Cursor’s tab completion suggests multi-line edits, adapts to the entire project, and even auto-imports symbols in TypeScript and Python. It learns how you work and predicts where you’ll tweak next.

Copilot’s inline completion reads the room (or at least the code) and suggests the next logical step. Accept suggestions with a quick keystroke and use shortcuts to shuffle through options to see how repetitive coding gets much faster. But while it’s great for speed, it doesn’t analyze entire projects as deeply as Cursor.

Feature #2: Code generation

AI-generated code blocks speed things up, but which tool does it best?

Cursor’s Composer builds entire applications from a simple description, adapting to your project structure and coding style. It supports multiple languages within the same project and kicks off new sessions with a shortcut. Its project-wide intelligence makes code generation structured and seamless.

Copilot leans on inline suggestions, with larger blocks available through Copilot Chat. It integrates well with Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, and Neovim, even generating code via CLI from plain English prompts. However, its approach is more reactive, refining existing patterns rather than shaping full projects.

Feature #3: Chat assistance

Asking an AI about coding problems should feel like talking to a teammate, not breaking your head over documentation.

Cursor’s chat deeply understands the current project context. Developers can drag folders into the chat for additional references, making suggestions more relevant. It even supports images, adding a visual layer to debugging and troubleshooting. With a broader grasp of the codebase, Cursor feels like a true AI development assistant.

Copilot Chat, built into VS Code, answers questions on code, best practices, and debugging. While recent updates improved chat history, folder support, and context awareness, it still lags behind Cursor’s project-wide intelligence.

Want to get better answers from AI? The key is asking better questions. Learn how in our 3-minute guide! 🎥

Feature #4: Terminal commands

Working in the terminal often means hunting for commands and fixing syntax errors. AI can make this faster and easier.

Cursor translates plain instructions into commands, integrating deeply with your codebase for smarter suggestions. However, it overrides the terminal’s clear shortcut, which some may find disruptive.

Copilot’s terminal integration makes command-line work easier by generating commands from natural language and executing them instantly.

While fast and efficient, it lacks Cursor’s broader project awareness.

Feature #5: Performance

Both Cursor and Copilot deliver strong performance, but their efficiency depends on your workflow and project size.

Cursor’s standalone design and deep AI integration make it highly responsive, especially for complex, multi-layered codebases. It excels at refining entire code blocks and ensuring consistency. 

However, performance can vary based on hardware and project scope.

Copilot is an extension optimized for real-time, in-line suggestions and quick fixes. It’s great for handling common coding tasks, but may struggle with larger projects that require deeper context awareness. 

While Cursor prioritizes structure, Copilot focuses on speed, making each ideal for different scenarios.

Feature #6: Language support

Language support is key when choosing an AI coding tool, especially for developers working across multiple languages. Both Cursor and Copilot cover popular options but differ in how they handle niche languages.

Cursor supports Go, Python, JavaScript, Java, and C#, providing context-aware suggestions tailored to these languages. While its niche language support is limited, it adapts over time, improving accuracy based on usage.

Copilot, trained on GitHub’s vast codebase, covers common languages like Python, JavaScript, and Go, as well as niche options like Rust, Haskell, and Lua. This broad support makes it a strong choice for developers working across diverse technologies.

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Cursor vs. Copilot on Reddit

We checked Reddit to see how users compare Cursor AI and GitHub Copilot. On the r/cursor subreddit, many power users explained why they prefer Cursor AI over Copilot. 

Vibevector says: 

On r/ChatGPTCoding, user bree_dev says:

User rumm25 provides a balanced view:

Overall, Cursor is preferred for its deeper project context and advanced features. At the same time, GitHub Copilot remains a solid choice for developers who want quick, inline suggestions for smaller tasks.

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Meet ClickUp: the Best Alternative to Cursor vs. Copilot

Both Cursor AI and GitHub Copilot are valuable software development tools but none is an end-to-end solution that helps manage software projects as well. 

When you need to integrate intelligent coding with software project management, you can rely on  ClickUp.

Here’s how ClickUp can complement your coding workflow:

ClickUp’s One Up #1: Use advanced AI for contextual code generation, completion, and debugging

Try ClickUp Brain for free

ClickUp features a powerful AI neural network within ClickUp Brain, ClickUp’s native, context-aware AI, that goes beyond simple task automation. Developers can use it for code generation, debugging, and workflow or sprint planning.

While it doesn’t yet have full IDE-level integration, it offers unique advantages in a collaborative workspace context. It automates repetitive tasks, generates summaries, and creates templates or engineering documentation effortlessly.

📌 For example, when a developer adds a task titled “Write a Python function to calculate compound interest,” ClickUp Brain can generate that function directly within the task or linked Doc, keeping code closely tied to project specs and sprint planning. 

This contextual generation ensures that code snippets live exactly where they’re needed, making ClickUp an ideal hub for managing feature builds and agile workflows.

By analyzing past projects, ClickUp Brain suggests code improvements and bug fixes based on historical data. It also translates plain English descriptions into code, making collaboration easier for team members who aren’t fluent in programming.

Beyond generation, ClickUp Brain helps teams understand and communicate about code more effectively. Paste a code snippet into a Doc or comment, and it can explain what the code does, summarize recent changes, or even translate between programming languages, such as Python to JavaScript.

This is helpful for onboarding new developers or syncing with product managers who may not be fluent in code, reducing miscommunication and improving collaboration.

ClickUp Brain also automates the often tedious task of creating code documentation. It can auto-generate function-level documentation, API usage examples, or test case outlines from pasted code, helping keep engineering docs comprehensive, centralized, and easy to search. 

When paired with ClickUp Docs, this streamlines knowledge sharing and preserves critical information without manual overhead. This accessibility reduces miscommunication and streamlines development, helping teams work faster and more efficiently. 

In addition, ClickUp Brain can auto-fill task details like acceptance criteria, edge case lists, and suggested test cases from brief, natural language inputs. For instance, describing a feature like “User can upload CSV, validate, and save to database.” This lets developers avoid repetitive manual writing and ensures consistent, thorough task descriptions that keep sprints moving smoothly.

Finally, where GitHub Copilot excels inside your IDE, ClickUp Brain brings AI-powered intelligence directly into your broader dev workflows. It links tasks to relevant code snippets, summarizes technical discussions using AI, and automates recurring logic or queries, effectively bridging the gap between coding and project management.

💡 Pro Tip: Need ChatGPT or Claude for pair programming? Access them within ClickUp. Switch LLMs with one click inside ClickUp and work with the one that best suits the task at hand!

ClickUp’s One Up #2: Maintain consistency in coding practices with richly formatted Docs

Consistency in coding practices is key, and ClickUp helps enforce it with robust document management tools.

ClickUp Docs enable real-time collaboration with inline comments, live editing, and @mentions, keeping teams aligned. Version control prevents errors and data loss, while its hierarchical folder structure ensures organized, easy-to-navigate documentation.

With customizable rich-text formatting, developers can enhance readability using headings, lists, and banners to highlight key sections. This structured approach streamlines documentation, making coding guidelines clear and accessible for the entire team.

For single-line code references, developers can use backticks ( code ) to format text as inline code, maintaining clarity within paragraphs. ClickUp Docs also supports Markdown shortcuts for bold, italic, strikethrough, bullet points, numbered lists, and more, allowing developers to quickly format text without leaving the keyboard.

Developers can utilize Slash Commands like /h for headings, /co for code blocks, and /figma to embed Figma designs directly into Docs, streamlining the documentation process. Every change in ClickUp Docs is tracked, providing a history of edits. This feature ensures that teams can maintain an accurate record of documentation changes, facilitating accountability and traceability.

By leveraging these features, ClickUp Docs not only support rich formatting but also cater specifically to the needs of developers, ensuring that coding practices are consistently documented and easily accessible.

ClickUp’s One Up #3: Agile project management for fast-moving development teams

In fast-paced development cycles, Agile project management is essential. ClickUp for Agile Teams helps you stay organized by managing tasks, tracking sprint progress, and streamlining code reviews—all in one place.

Its features include the Kanban View for prioritizing tasks and tracking progress, burndown charts for setting and monitoring sprint goals, direct links to GitHub or GitLab commits for quick access to code changes, and custom Gantt charts for visualizing project timelines.

Agile development starts with ClickUp Sprints, where teams can scope work, estimate effort, assign sprint points, and break down initiatives into actionable ClickUp Tasks.

You can also set sprint dates, mark task priorities, and ensure everyone knows what to do and when. Unfinished work is automatically rolled into the next sprint, and development stays in sync with GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket.

ClickUp for Software Teams serves as a central hub for the entire development lifecycle. Beyond letting teams write code faster, it enables seamless collaboration, progress tracking, and efficient project planning to keep teams on schedule.

It allows you to:

• Plan projects intuitively: Break down complex projects into manageable tasks using sprint planning and Agile workflows
• Collaborate without barriers: Share ideas, review code, and communicate with GitHub or GitLab integrations
• Track progress visually: Monitor project timelines, dependencies, and milestones with ClickUp Dashboards
• Centralize everything: Keep code, documentation, and updates in one place with ClickUp integrations like Bitbucket and Jenkins

Want to optimize your development process? Pick from a rich library of software development templates. 

For example, the ClickUp Software Development Template is perfect for design, product, engineering, and QA teams to manage product development. It walks you through the core components of managing your entire software development process in ClickUp.

Get free template

It provides a comprehensive framework to streamline workflows, from strategy, planning, and road mapping to user research, sprint management, and release tracking. 

It offers:

• A product roadmap
• A weekly task list to generate code with AI, fix errors, or assess team capacity
• A master backlog of incomplete tasks
• A master defects list to manage bugs, security incidents, and issues
• Template tasks for user research
• Prebuilt task lists for sprints and Kanban development
• Test scenarios and cases for quality assurance
• Tech support tasks for reporting bugs, reviewing known incidents, and listing workarounds

Shikha Chaturvedi, Business Analyst at Cedcoss Technologies Private Limited, elaborates on her experience with ClickUp:

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Deliver Faster, Cleaner Code Using ClickUp

Copilot and Cursor are both powerful AI coding assistants, but they cater to different needs. Copilot is great for GitHub users seeking quick, straightforward coding help, though it lacks deep customization. Cursor offers more personalization, from UI tweaks to AI behavior, but its advanced features come with a steep learning curve.

Do you need help with more than just coding? ClickUp is your all-in-one solution for testing, deployment, and team coordination. 

ClickUp Brain analyzes project docs, generates action items, and streamlines development. Visual tools like Gantt and burndown charts keep projects on track, while real-time collaboration and integrations simplify workflows. 

Bridge the gap between coding and project goals—sign up for a ClickUp account today and see the difference!

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