AI pair programming has split into two camps: standalone AI-native editors like Cursor, and AI layered onto the editor you already use, like GitHub Copilot or JetBrains AI Assistant. We already published a full standalone review of GitHub Copilot’s plans; this piece instead compares all three head-to-head so you can decide which fits your workflow, your IDE, and your budget in 2026.
At a Glance
| Tool | Starting paid price | Free tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Pro, $20/month | Yes — Hobby plan, limited agent/chat usage | Developers who want an AI-first editor built around agentic, multi-file workflows |
| GitHub Copilot | Pro, $10/month | Yes — 2,000 inline suggestions/month, limited chat & agent use | Teams already standardized on GitHub who want AI woven into existing IDEs and GitHub.com |
| JetBrains AI Assistant | AI Pro, $20/month (JetBrains’ help docs also show a $10 price point for this tier — see note below) | Yes — AI Free, a small monthly credit allowance | Developers already living inside JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, Rider, etc.) |
Cursor
Cursor (by Anysphere) is a standalone code editor forked from VS Code and rebuilt around AI from the ground up, rather than an extension bolted onto an existing IDE. Its core features are a codebase-aware Chat, inline Cmd+K edits, Tab-based multi-line autocomplete, and an Agent mode that can plan and execute multi-file changes, run commands, and iterate against test results with far less hand-holding than a basic autocomplete tool. Cursor also offers Cloud/background agents that work asynchronously and a Bugbot feature for automated pull-request review. It supports multiple underlying models (Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google model families among them) that you can switch between per task.
On pricing: Cursor’s published plan structure is Hobby (free, limited usage), Pro ($20/month), Pro+ ($60/month), and Ultra ($200/month) for individuals, with Teams plans starting around $40/user/month and custom Enterprise pricing. We’ll be straightforward about sourcing here: Cursor’s own pricing page did not render reliably through our research tooling during this session, so these figures are cross-checked against Cursor’s Wikipedia entry (which cites Cursor’s own site for the $20 Pro price) and independent, recently updated pricing trackers rather than a single live fetch. AI tool pricing changes often — confirm current numbers at cursor.com before buying.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot integrates into most major IDEs (VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, Xcode, and more) plus a CLI, GitHub.com, and mobile. Per GitHub’s official plans page, the current lineup is Free, Pro ($10/month), Pro+ ($39/month), and Max ($100/month), each priced around a pool of “GitHub AI Credits” that cover chat and agent usage beyond unlimited inline suggestions (Free is capped at 2,000 inline suggestions/month). Business and Enterprise tiers add SAML SSO, usage metrics, IP indemnity, and org-wide user management, but GitHub’s plans page doesn’t publish their price or credit allotment — it routes that to a sales conversation. All paid tiers share the same model list and now support delegating work to third-party coding agents (Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s Codex, in preview) from Pro+ and Max.
For a deeper breakdown of exactly which tier to pick as an individual developer, see our GitHub Copilot Review: Plans, AI Credits, and Which Tier a Developer Actually Needs in 2026.
JetBrains AI Assistant
JetBrains AI Assistant runs inside JetBrains’ own IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, Rider, and the rest of the family) and is priced on a credit system rather than flat feature tiers. Per JetBrains’ official AI Assistant licensing documentation, the tiers are AI Trial (free, time-limited), AI Free (3 credits per 30 days, unavailable in Android Studio and the Community editions), AI Pro, AI Ultimate, and AI Enterprise (organizations only). One AI credit equals $1 USD, and roughly: 10 AI Chat code-generation requests, 40 editor code-generation requests, 25 code explanations, or 280 documentation requests per credit — though “expensive” models and agentic use burn through credits faster.
A transparency note: JetBrains’ own licensing page currently shows two different price/credit pairings for the same tiers — one set lists AI Pro at $10 for 10 credits and AI Ultimate at $30 for 35 credits, while another set on the same page lists AI Pro at $20 for 20 credits and AI Ultimate at $60 for 70 credits — without clarifying which is current. We’re flagging that discrepancy explicitly rather than picking one number and presenting it as settled; check JetBrains’ store page directly for the figure that applies to your account before purchasing.
How the Coding Experience Differs
All three tools can generate a working function from a comment, but the depth of “agentic” behavior differs. A simple prompt like “write a function that calculates a discounted price and rejects invalid input” produces similar completions across all three — the differentiator shows up on multi-file, multi-step tasks, where Cursor’s Agent and GitHub Copilot’s agent mode will edit several files and run tests autonomously, while JetBrains AI Assistant leans more on in-editor chat and targeted code generation inside the file you’re already in.
// Typical completion all three tools can produce from a single comment prompt
function getDiscountedPrice(price, discountPercent) {
if (price <= 0 || discountPercent < 0 || discountPercent > 100) {
throw new Error("Invalid input");
}
return price - (price * discountPercent) / 100;
}Whichever assistant you use, treat its output as a draft, not a finished patch — our AI-Generated Code Security in 2026 guide covers the review checklist every team should run against AI-generated code before it merges.
Pricing Comparison
| Tier level | Cursor | GitHub Copilot | JetBrains AI Assistant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Hobby — limited agent/chat | Free — 2,000 inline suggestions/month | AI Free — 3 credits/30 days |
| Entry paid | Pro, ~$20/month | Pro, $10/month | AI Pro, ~$10–$20/month (see note above) |
| Mid paid | Pro+, ~$60/month | Pro+, $39/month | AI Ultimate, ~$30–$60/month (see note above) |
| Top individual | Ultra, ~$200/month | Max, $100/month | Not published beyond Ultimate |
| Team/Enterprise | Teams from ~$40/user/month; Enterprise custom | Business/Enterprise — priced via sales | AI Enterprise — organizations only, via sales |
Pros and Cons
- Cursor pros: deepest agentic, multi-file workflow; fast Tab completion; flexible model choice.
- Cursor cons: another editor to adopt instead of your current one; usage-based costs beyond the included pool can add up.
- GitHub Copilot pros: works inside the IDE you already use; tightest GitHub.com/PR integration; cheapest entry paid tier of the three.
- GitHub Copilot cons: Business/Enterprise pricing isn’t public; credit-based usage requires some mental math.
- JetBrains AI Assistant pros: native to JetBrains IDEs; bundled free with some JetBrains subscriptions (per its licensing page); granular credit-based billing.
- JetBrains AI Assistant cons: locked to the JetBrains IDE family; JetBrains’ own pricing documentation currently contains conflicting price/credit figures.
Who Should Pick Which
Pick Cursor if you’re willing to switch editors for the most autonomous, agentic coding experience available today. Pick GitHub Copilot if your team is already on GitHub and you want AI assistance inside your current IDE without changing tools, at the lowest individual entry price of the three. Pick JetBrains AI Assistant if your team already lives in IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, Rider, or another JetBrains IDE and you’d rather not add a second AI subscription from a different vendor.
Bottom Line
There’s no single winner — the right choice follows your existing toolchain more than any one feature. GitHub Copilot is the safest, cheapest default if you’re GitHub-centric. JetBrains AI Assistant is the obvious choice if you’re already paying for JetBrains IDEs. Cursor is worth the editor switch if agentic, multi-file autonomy is the thing you actually need. Whichever you choose, verify current pricing directly with the vendor — all three companies update tiers and credit allowances more often than most review articles get updated.
FAQ
Can I use GitHub Copilot inside a JetBrains IDE?
Yes — GitHub’s plans page confirms IDE/editor support across major editors including JetBrains IDEs, so Copilot and JetBrains AI Assistant can technically coexist in the same editor.
Is Cursor based on VS Code?
Yes, Cursor is built as a fork of Visual Studio Code, which is why most VS Code extensions and keybindings carry over.
Does JetBrains AI Assistant work in the free Community editions?
Per JetBrains’ licensing documentation, AI Free is not available in Android Studio or in PyCharm/IntelliJ IDEA Community editions or trial licenses — you need a paid or All Products Pack-eligible JetBrains product.
Which tool is cheapest to start with?
GitHub Copilot Pro has the lowest published entry price of the three at $10/month, versus roughly $20/month for Cursor Pro and JetBrains AI Pro (subject to the pricing discrepancy noted above).
Do any of these tools have a free tier?
Yes — all three do: Cursor’s Hobby plan, GitHub Copilot’s Free plan (2,000 inline suggestions/month), and JetBrains’ AI Free tier (3 credits/30 days).
Sources
- Wikipedia: Cursor (code editor), citing Cursor’s official site
- GitHub: Copilot plans and pricing (official)
- JetBrains: AI Assistant 2026.2 — Licensing and subscriptions (official help docs)
- Software Online Review: GitHub Copilot Review (related post)
- Software Online Review: AI-Generated Code Security in 2026 (related post)
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