GitHub Copilot is the best Cursor alternative for most people. It costs half as much ($10 a month), works inside VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio and more, and has a free plan. The best choice depends on why you are leaving:
You want a stronger agent:Claude Code or OpenAI Codex.
You want to pay nothing: Google Antigravity, or GitHub Copilot Free.
You want a similar editor plus an autonomous agent: Devin, where Windsurf's pricing now points.
You want open source and your own keys: Cline.
Why people look for Cursor alternatives
Unpredictable bills
Cursor's plans give you pools of usage, not a fixed number of requests, and on-demand charges start when they run out. Surprise charges and refund disputes dominate its 1.6 Trustpilot score.
Cost for heavy agent use
Frontier models such as Claude Opus are charged at API prices from your pool, so daily agent users often need Pro+ ($60) or Ultra ($200). Flat plans elsewhere can bundle more agent time.
You use JetBrains, Visual Studio or Xcode
Cursor is its own editor based on VS Code. If your team works in other IDEs, a plugin-based tool such as Copilot avoids switching editors.
SpaceX ownership
Since August 2026 Cursor belongs to SpaceX and ships SpaceXAI's Grok models first. Some companies need to review that change before renewing.
Performance on big repositories
Reviewers on several sites report slowdowns and heavy memory use on large codebases, and frequent updates that need restarts.
Cursor alternatives at a glance
Tool
Best for
Price from
Free plan
Our score
Cursor for comparison
Developers who want an AI-first editor with every model
by GitHub (Microsoft) · from $10/month (Pro) · free plan
8.7/10
Copilot is the cheapest strong alternative and the easiest switch if you do not want a new editor. It runs in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Neovim, Eclipse, Xcode and Zed. Pro includes unlimited completions and next edit suggestions, chat, agent mode, a cloud agent that turns issues into pull requests, and 1,500 AI credits a month for model use. Business costs $19 per user against Cursor's $40, and adds IP indemnity and policy controls. The free plan gives 2,000 completions a month. See Cursor vs GitHub Copilot.
Versus Cursor:Half the price and in more IDEs; Cursor's editing flow and tab completion feel smoother.
Claude Code ranks #1 in our best AI for coding list, two places above Cursor. Instead of helping you edit, it takes a whole task, works through the repository, runs tests and opens a pull request. It runs in the terminal, in VS Code (including inside Cursor), JetBrains, a desktop app, the web and mobile. It is included in Claude Pro at $20 a month, and Max from $100 bundles far more agent time into a flat fee, which suits heavy users who are tired of Cursor's on-demand bills.
Versus Cursor:A stronger agent with a flat monthly fee, but no free tier and Claude models only.
by OpenAI · from $0 (ChatGPT Free); $20/month Plus · free plan
9.2/10
Codex is OpenAI's coding agent and comes with every ChatGPT plan, including Free and the $8 Go plan. It runs as an open-source CLI, an IDE extension for VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf, a desktop app and a cloud service at chatgpt.com/codex. On the independent Terminal-Bench 2.1 leaderboard, Codex CLI with GPT-6 Astra is first at 87.4%, ahead of Cursor CLI with Grok 4.5 at 79.3%. If you already pay for ChatGPT, it may replace Cursor's agent without a second subscription.
Versus Cursor:Top benchmark score and bundled with ChatGPT; no AI-first editor of its own.
Antigravity is the closest free match to Cursor's idea of an AI-first editor. Google's platform includes an IDE, a CLI and an SDK built around agents that plan and run tasks. The free Individual plan gives unlimited tab completions, unlimited command requests and basic weekly agent limits, with Gemini 3.8 Flash, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Claude Sonnet and Opus 4.6 and gpt-oss-120b. Higher limits come with Google AI Pro or Ultra, and companies can pay through Google Cloud. Its Gemini models trail the leaders on hard coding tasks.
Versus Cursor:Free, with Claude 4.6 models included; fewer model choices than Cursor.
#5 · Best for delegating tickets, plus the Windsurf editor
Devin
by Cognition · from $20/month (Pro) · free plan
7.9/10
Windsurf, long Cursor's closest rival editor, now sends its pricing page to Devin's, and Devin's plans combine an autonomous cloud engineer with editor features: even the free plan includes unlimited tab completions and inline edits with a light agent quota. Pro at $20 matches Cursor Pro and adds frontier models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and SpaceX AI, plus Cognition's SWE-2. Team costs $80 a month plus $40 per developer seat. Independent benchmark data is thin, so trial it first.
Versus Cursor:Same entry price with a more autonomous cloud agent; less proven on independent tests.
#6 · Best for open source with your own API keys and no caps
Cline
by Cline · from Free (you pay your model provider) · free plan
8.2/10
Cline is an open-source coding agent for VS Code and the command line. There is no subscription and no usage pool: you add your own API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google or another provider and pay only for the tokens you use. For developers frustrated by Cursor's pools and on-demand charges, that makes costs transparent, and you can pick any model the providers offer. It has an MCP marketplace for tools. It lacks Cursor's polished tab completion, and Enterprise features such as SSO cost extra.
Versus Cursor:Free and fully transparent pricing; less polished editing than Cursor.
Decide what you liked about Cursor and what pushed you away.
If you want...
Choose
Starting price
The same AI-in-the-editor style for less
GitHub Copilot
$10/month
A stronger agent that finishes whole tasks
Claude Code or OpenAI Codex
$20/month (Codex also free)
A free AI-first IDE
Google Antigravity
$0
A similar editor plus an autonomous agent
Devin (with Windsurf)
$20/month
Transparent pay-per-token costs
Cline
Free plus API costs
If the SpaceX ownership is your concern, note that every option here is independent of SpaceX. If cost is the concern, compare flat plans (Copilot, Claude Max, ChatGPT Pro) with your last three Cursor invoices. See our full best AI for coding ranking.
Switching tips from our editors
Turn off on-demand usage and cancel before your renewal date, so you are not billed in arrears for a final cycle.
Export your VS Code settings and extensions list. Cursor is built on VS Code, so they move straight back to VS Code for Copilot, Cline or Codex.
Copy your Cursor rules into the new tool's instructions file. Claude Code, for example, reads CLAUDE.md and can also read a plain AGENTS.md, so one shared file can serve several tools.
Reconnect MCP servers in the new tool. MCP is an open standard supported by Copilot, Claude Code and Cline, so most connections carry over with a config change.
Run your replacement on the same real task you last did in Cursor and compare the diffs before cancelling.
Autocomplete that predicts your next edit, often several lines at once. You press Tab to accept it.
Usage pool
A monthly allowance of AI use included with your plan. Different models drain it at different speeds, based on their price per token.
On-demand usage
Pay-as-you-go billing that keeps the AI running after your included usage runs out. Cursor bills it after the fact.
Cloud agent
An AI agent that works on a task on a remote computer in the background, then hands back the result, often as a pull request.
Privacy Mode
A Cursor setting that stops Cursor and its model providers from training on your code.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Cursor?
GitHub Copilot for most people: it costs $10 a month, works in almost every IDE and has a free plan. Pick Claude Code if you want a stronger agent, or Google Antigravity if you want a free AI editor.
Is there a free alternative to Cursor?
Yes. Google Antigravity is free with unlimited tab completions and weekly agent limits. GitHub Copilot Free gives 2,000 completions a month, Codex works on ChatGPT Free, Devin has a free plan, and Cline is free open-source software (you pay your model provider).
Is Windsurf still a Cursor alternative?
Windsurf's pricing page now redirects to Devin's plans, which come from Cognition. Those plans include editor features such as unlimited tab completions and inline edits alongside the Devin agent.
Is Claude Code better than Cursor?
For handing off whole tasks, yes: Claude Code ranks #1 in our coding ranking and Cursor #3. For hands-on editing with many models, Cursor is better. You can also run Claude Code inside Cursor. See Claude Code vs Cursor.
Which Cursor alternative works in JetBrains?
GitHub Copilot and Claude Code both have JetBrains plugins. Cline offers a JetBrains extension on its Enterprise plan.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from public information. Vendor figures are labelled as vendor claims.