Comparison
Copilot vs Cursor
GitHub Copilot is an assistant across editors, GitHub, and a CLI. Cursor is a desktop editor on The X Subscription. This page compares those published shapes and does not pick a tested winner.
Answer
Copilot Pro is $10 a month with 1,500 AI credits and lives in the editor you already use, plus GitHub and the Copilot CLI. Cursor Plus is $8 a month and is Grok-only. Cursor Premium is $30 a month before third-party models, which are billed at API list price on top. Copilot Free includes 2,000 completions a month. Neither product has a hands-on result on this site.
Side by side
| GitHub Copilot | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary surface | Suggestions and chat in IDEs, on GitHub, in the Copilot app, and in Copilot CLI. | A desktop editor. The agent is the product, not a plugin in someone else's editor. |
| Free tier | $0, auto model selection, 2,000 completions a month, and an allowance of AI credits. | $0, limited agent requests and limited chat requests. |
| Entry paid price | Pro at $10 a month, 1,500 AI credits. | Plus at $8 a month, Grok models only. |
| Price before a wider model list | Pro already lists a selection of models. Pro+ at $39 adds premium models and 7,000 credits. | Premium at $30 adds third-party models at API list price, not included in the $30. |
| Heavy individual tier | Max at $100 a month, 20,000 credits. | Super at $100 or Ultra at $200. |
| Team entry | Business at $19 per seat, 1,900 credits pooled per user. | Teams seats at $30, $100, or $200 per user. |
| What else the bill includes | A GitHub Copilot plan. | The X Subscription, which also includes Grok and X. |
| Lab result | None. | None. |
Fit by use case
| Use case | Closer public fit | Why, from the docs |
|---|---|---|
| Suggestions inside an editor you already have | GitHub Copilot | Copilot's plans page is about assistance in IDEs and on GitHub. Cursor is a separate editor. |
| The agent and the editor as one app | Cursor | Cursor's product is the editor. You are not adding a plugin to a different IDE. |
| The cheapest paid plan that is not Grok-only | GitHub Copilot | Copilot Pro is $10 and lists a model selection. Cursor's $8 Plus plan is Grok-only. Cursor's wider model choice starts at Premium, $30, plus API charges. |
| A measured winner | neither | No shared task has been run. |
Credit names differ. Copilot counts AI credits. Cursor counts a weekly usage pool on The X Subscription, and third-party models are a separate API bill from Premium upward. Do not treat "1,500 credits" and "Plus usage" as the same unit.
Questions
Is Copilot inside Cursor?
They are different subscriptions. This page does not claim you can or cannot run one inside the other. It compares the plans each vendor sells.
Which one should a beginner buy first?
If you do not yet have an editor habit, neither is the closest public fit. The app builders are. If you already type code, Copilot's free plan is the one that does not ask you to switch editors.