Independent AI buying guide

No paid rankings

Last checked 26 Oct 2026

Which AIshould I buy?

Head to head

Cursor vs GitHub Copilot

Cursor or GitHub Copilot? Compared on independent test scores, prices and free plans. Every price links to its source, and we re-check everything every week.

The short answer

Calculated from independent tests

Too close to call

Cursor = GitHub Copilot

Cursor and GitHub Copilot score the same for coding.

Cheaper

GitHub Copilot

The cheapest paid plans: Cursor Pro at $20/mo, and GitHub Copilot Pro at $10/mo. GitHub Copilot is the cheaper way in.

Better free plan

—

Only GitHub Copilot has a free plan with test scores.

Right as of 26 Oct 2026. New models and price changes come out often, and we re-check every week. Check back before you buy or renew.

Topic by topic

Each tool's best subscription per topic, scored out of 100. Higher wins; a tie is a tie.

TopicCursorGitHub Copilot
CodingTie99Pro · Claude Opus 5.599Pro · Claude Opus 5.5

The free plans

Only GitHub Copilot has a free plan with test scores.

TopicCursor freeGitHub Copilot free
CodingNo scores90Claude Opus 5.5

Plans and prices

Every plan we track, with the official source and the date we checked it.

Cursor

GitHub Copilot

Our take

Opinion, not test scores: how each one feels to use.

Cursor

For people who code a lot and want the AI to do real chunks of the work, not just autocomplete.

Reviewed 7 Oct 2026

GitHub Copilot

The cheapest serious coding assistant, and it works in the editor you already use.

Reviewed 7 Oct 2026

Questions people ask

Is Cursor better than GitHub Copilot?
Cursor and GitHub Copilot score the same for coding.
Which is cheaper, Cursor or GitHub Copilot?
The cheapest paid plans: Cursor Pro at $20/mo, and GitHub Copilot Pro at $10/mo. GitHub Copilot is the cheaper way in.
Which free version is better?
Only GitHub Copilot has a free plan with test scores.

Scores come from independent benchmarks, the same ones behind our rankings. Read how we rank for the formula.