Raju Ginni

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github copilot + vscode vs cursor ai pricing to performance

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When comparing Copilot (specifically GitHub Copilot) and Cursor AI in terms of price to performance, several factors come into play:

Perosnal touch:

I have been using cursor Ai from 2-3 months. in free version 50 requests you need to upgrade. which gemini AI model its asks details. while chatgpt goes straight with less accuracy comapare to gemini. i chatgpt ai mode use clone apps quicly and gemini for correcting them. claude ai i have night mares.  VS code matured editor when compared to Cursor Ai editor. both inegrated LLM models. the cost concern in Cursor AI. with cursor ai and GPT we build /clone apps wiht one click.

I am really fedup preaching to AI Models    

GitHub Copilot vs. Cursor AI: A Comparative Analysis

Feature GitHub Copilot Cursor AI
Core Functionality AI-powered code completion, suggestion, and chat within existing IDEs. Focuses on enhancing existing workflows. AI-native IDE (forked from VS Code) with deep AI integration for advanced code understanding, multi-file editing, and agentic workflows.
Integration Seamlessly integrates as an extension into popular IDEs (VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, Vim, etc.). Standalone IDE. While familiar (VS Code base), it’s a separate application. Deep integration allows for more granular AI control.
Code Context Excellent for inline suggestions and single-file context. Has significantly improved multi-file context awareness with recent updates, but still often focuses on the active file and surrounding code. Excels at understanding and referencing the entire codebase for suggestions, refactoring, and multi-file changes. “Max Mode” allows for very large context windows (up to 1M tokens).
AI Chat/Agent Copilot Chat: Integrated chat for questions, explanations, and code generation. Copilot Agent: (Public Preview) For multi-step tasks, creating PRs, and some autonomous code changes. May require more user guidance for complex tasks. Built-in AI Chat: Deeply integrated for asking questions, making changes directly to the codebase, and performing project-wide tasks. Composer/Agent Mode: Highly regarded for its efficiency in handling complex, multi-step agentic tasks across the project.
Pricing Model Subscription-based with predictable monthly/annual costs. Unlimited completions for paid plans. Premium requests (for advanced models/features) have allowances with clear overage charges. Primarily request-based. “Fast requests” have a monthly quota, with “slow requests” (less powerful models) or usage-based pricing for “Max Mode” kicking in once fast requests are exhausted. Can lead to variable costs for heavy “Max Mode” users.
Free Tier Copilot Free: Limited completions (2,000/month) and premium requests (50/month). Available for individuals not part of an organization with Copilot. Free for verified students/teachers/open-source maintainers. Hobby Plan: Limited to 50 slow requests and 200 AI completions per month. Good for evaluation.
Individual Pricing (Paid) Copilot Pro: $10 USD/month or $100 USD/year (unlimited completions, 300 premium requests/month).<br>Copilot Pro+: $39 USD/month or $390 USD/year (includes Copilot coding agent, 1500 premium requests/month). Pro Plan: $20 USD/month or $192 USD/year (500 fast requests, unlimited slow requests, unlimited AI completions, Max Mode).
Team/Org Pricing Copilot Business: $19 USD/user/month (centralized management, 300 premium requests/user/month).<br>Copilot Enterprise: $39 USD/user/month (Copilot coding agent, enterprise features, 1000 premium requests/user/month). Business Plan: $40 USD/user/month (all Pro features plus team management, centralized billing, org-wide privacy).<br>Ultra Plan (New): $200 USD/month (20x more usage than Pro, aimed at power users needing high predictability).
Overages Additional premium requests at $0.04 USD/request. Max Mode requests billed at model provider’s API price + 20% margin. Can quickly consume quotas.
Key Strengths – Predictable, often lower cost.<br>- Seamless integration into existing IDEs.<br>- Excellent inline code completion.<br>- Good for general productivity enhancement. – Deep codebase understanding.<br>- Powerful multi-file and agentic capabilities.<br>- AI-native IDE for a more unified experience.<br>- Strong for complex refactoring and large-scale changes.
Ideal For Developers who want to augment their existing workflow with powerful AI assistance without changing their primary IDE, or for teams prioritizing cost predictability and broad IDE support. Power users, experienced developers, or teams working on highly complex projects that benefit from deep AI integration and advanced agentic features, and are willing to pay a premium for that capability.

Summary of Value Proposition / Cost-Benefit Ratio:

  • GitHub Copilot: Offers a strong value proposition for its predictable and generally lower pricing. Its ability to integrate directly into popular IDEs means developers can leverage AI without significant workflow disruption. For the vast majority of daily coding tasks, Copilot provides excellent cost-effectiveness and a high return on investment in terms of increased productivity from its code completions and chat features.

  • Cursor AI: Provides a higher productivity value for intricate tasks, especially those requiring deep codebase understanding and multi-file modifications. Its integrated agent capabilities offer a more powerful and often more autonomous AI experience. However, this enhanced performance comes with a potentially higher and less predictable cost-benefit ratio, particularly for heavy users of its “Max Mode,” where expenses can escalate based on token usage. Its value for money shines brightest when its advanced features are fully utilized for complex development challenges.

Price

GitHub Copilot

  • Copilot Pro (Individual): $10 USD per month or $100 USD per year. This plan offers unlimited completions and access to premium models in Copilot Chat, along with a monthly allowance of premium requests (300 per month).
  • Copilot Pro+ (Individual): $39 USD per month or $390 USD per year. This plan includes Copilot coding agent, a larger allowance of premium requests (1500 per month), and full access to all available models in Copilot Chat.
  • Copilot Business (Teams/Organizations): $19 USD per user per month. Includes centralized management and policy control, with 300 premium requests per user per month.
  • Copilot Enterprise (Enterprises): $39 USD per user per month. Includes all Business features, plus Copilot coding agent and additional enterprise-grade capabilities, with 1000 premium requests per user per month.
  • Overage Charges: Additional premium requests beyond the plan’s allowance are billed at $0.04 USD per request.

Cursor AI

  • Hobby Plan (Free): Limited to 50 slow requests and 200 AI completions per month. Good for testing the waters.
  • Pro Plan: $20 USD per month (or $16/month if billed yearly). You get 500 “fast” requests per month with unlimited AI completions and unlimited “slow” requests once your fast requests are used up. Includes “Max Mode” (more powerful models) and premium models.
  • Business Plan: $40 USD per user per month. Similar to the Pro plan but with team features like centralized billing, admin dashboards, and org-wide privacy.
  • Request-based system: Cursor AI operates on a request-based system. Each standard request costs around $0.04. Max Mode operates on a token-based system, where Cursor bills the model provider’s API price plus a 20% margin, which can lead to variable and potentially higher costs if not managed carefully.

Price Conclusion: GitHub Copilot generally offers a more predictable and often lower monthly cost, especially for individual users with its unlimited completions at $10/month. Cursor’s request-based system, particularly with “Max Mode” and potential overage charges, can lead to higher, less predictable bills for heavy users.

what are Requests and completions in cursor ai and co pilot

In both Cursor and GitHub Copilot, “completions” refer to the AI’s ability to suggest or automatically fill in code as a user types, while “requests” can refer to the user’s instructions or prompts given to the AI to generate specific code or perform actions. Cursor AI focuses on providing accurate, context-aware suggestions based on the entire codebase, while GitHub Copilot uses a broader approach, offering suggestions based on a vast dataset of code. 

Performance

GitHub Copilot

  • Code Completion & Suggestions: Excellent for inline suggestions and completing boilerplate code. It learns from your coding style and provides relevant suggestions.
  • Context Awareness: Copilot has significantly improved its context awareness, often providing nearly identical quality code suggestions to Cursor. It understands the project’s context for code generation, refactoring, and debugging.
  • Integration: Seamlessly integrates as an extension into various popular IDEs like VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, and Vim.
  • Agent Mode: Offers an agent mode for multi-step tasks, though some reports indicate it might require more nudging and can struggle with complex, context-heavy tasks compared to Cursor.
  • Reliability: Generally reliable for code generation and chat, though some users report occasional “hallucinations” or minor technical glitches.

Cursor AI

  • Deep AI Integration: Built as a standalone IDE (forked from VS Code) with AI deeply integrated, rather than just an extension. This allows for more granular control and deeper understanding of the development environment.
  • Codebase Understanding: Excels at analyzing and referencing your entire project to answer questions or make intelligent code edits across multiple files. Users report it handles larger codebases more smoothly and maintains context better across multiple files during longer coding sessions.
  • Agent Mode (Composer/Agent): Cursor’s “Composer” feature can make changes across your entire project and generate files for an entire app at once. Its agent mode has been noted for being “fast, confident,” and more efficient in completing complex, context-heavy tasks with fewer manual interventions in some benchmarks.
  • Natural Language Interaction: Strong in allowing developers to modify code and perform tasks using plain English instructions, with a built-in AI chat that understands the full scope of your project.
  • Performance with Large Files: Some users report that Cursor AI can lag when dealing with larger files, whereas VS Code (with Copilot) might remain smoother.
  • Accuracy: While powerful, it’s not infallible and can misinterpret prompts or provide flawed logic, especially with edge cases.

Performance Conclusion: Cursor AI often offers a more deeply integrated and powerful AI experience, particularly for complex projects, multi-file changes, and agentic tasks. Its ability to understand and maintain context across large codebases is a notable strength. However, Copilot has caught up significantly in many areas and offers excellent inline suggestions and overall productivity enhancements, especially for its price point.

Price to Performance Summary

  • GitHub Copilot: Offers excellent price-to-performance for most developers. Its predictable, lower monthly cost combined with increasingly sophisticated AI capabilities (especially in context awareness and completions) makes it a very strong contender, particularly if you’re already using VS Code or other supported IDEs. The unlimited usage model for completions provides great value.
  • Cursor AI: Provides superior performance for advanced, complex, and multi-file tasks, offering a deeper AI integration and arguably more robust agent capabilities. However, this comes at a higher and potentially less predictable cost due to its request-based pricing and “Max Mode” token usage. It might be the preferred choice for developers or teams working on highly complex projects where the enhanced AI capabilities justify the higher potential expense.

Overall Recommendation:

  • If cost-effectiveness and predictable billing are primary concerns, and you need robust AI assistance for daily coding tasks, GitHub Copilot is likely the better choice.
  • If you’re a power user, working on large, complex codebases, or frequently engaging in multi-file refactoring and agentic tasks, and are willing to pay a premium for more advanced AI capabilities and a deeply integrated AI-native editor, Cursor AI might offer a better performance advantage that justifies its price.

Ultimately, the “best” choice depends on your specific needs, workflow, and budget. Many developers find Copilot’s capabilities sufficient for their daily work, while others value Cursor’s deeper integration and advanced features for more challenging scenarios.