Cursor is built on VS Code's own code, so the real difference is the AI and who sells it. Since 12 October new Cursor customers get The X Subscription: $8 for Grok models only, and Claude, GPT or Gemini at API list price on top of a $30 plan. VS Code is free, and its built-in Copilot starts free and covers those models at $10.
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Pick Cursor if you write a lot of the code yourself and Tab is what you would miss, or you are happy to run the agent on Grok, which is the model Cursor's new plans actually include.
Pick VS Code if you want Claude, GPT and Gemini in one $10 plan, rely on an extension that only Microsoft's Marketplace carries, or want your own key or a local model with no account at all.
Pick neither if you spend the day in IntelliJ, PyCharm or another JetBrains IDE, because both are the same VS Code shell, and Copilot, Claude Code and, on a paid plan, Cursor's agent already plug into JetBrains.
prices checked 2026-10-13 · by dan scutaru
| Cursor | VS Code | |
|---|---|---|
| price | free tier · from $8/mo | free tier · from $10/mo |
| free tier | Free plan: limited agent requests and limited Chat requests, in a pool shared with Grok. Third-party models (Claude, GPT, Gemini) not included. No published limits. | The editor itself is free with no limits. Its built-in AI is GitHub Copilot Free: 2,000 inline suggestions a month plus an unpublished allowance of AI credits for chat and agents, automatic model selection only. Your own API key or a local model works in chat and agents with no plan and no GitHub account. |
| runs on | mac, windows, linux, web, ios | mac, windows, linux, web |
| Cheapest plan with Claude or GPT | Premium, $30/mo, with those models billed at API list price from the first request. Plus at $8 runs Grok only | Copilot Pro, $10/mo, out of its 1,500 monthly AI credits. Or your own API key with no plan |
| Autocomplete as you type | Tab: multi-line edits, jumps to your next edit, even in another file. Always on Cursor's own models | Copilot inline suggestions and next edit suggestions. 2,000 a month on Free, unlimited from Pro |
| Extensions | Open VSX, through Cursor's own proxy. Some Microsoft-only extensions replaced by Cursor's own builds | Microsoft's Visual Studio Marketplace, including Microsoft's C/C++ and Pylance |
| Your own key or a local model | Own keys reach chat models only, and every request still goes through Cursor's servers | Own keys and local models (Ollama) in chat and agents, no GitHub account needed, offline too. Inline suggestions still need Copilot |
| Who you pay | New customers pay X Subscription Corp., one bill with Grok and X Premium. SpaceX owns Cursor | Nobody for the editor. GitHub, owned by Microsoft, for Copilot |
VS Code with Copilot is now the cheaper way to the same models. Copilot Free gives 2,000 completions a month and a small chat and agent allowance with no published number. Copilot Pro at $10 makes completions unlimited and pays for Claude, GPT and Gemini out of monthly AI credits.
Cursor's new plans start at $8 for Grok models only. Premium at $30 adds Claude, GPT and Gemini at API list price from the first request, so a Claude-heavy month is $30 plus the tokens. Grok usage is included and refreshes weekly. Already on Cursor Pro at $20? Nothing changes unless you switch, and switching is permanent.
Most of them come with you. Cursor imports your VS Code extensions, settings, themes and keybindings in one click, but it installs from Open VSX through its own proxy, not from Microsoft's Marketplace. Its help page says not every Marketplace extension is listed, and that the same extension ID can point to a different publisher there.
Microsoft's own extensions are the real gap. Since April 2025 the C/C++ extension refuses to run outside Microsoft's editors, and Pylance has long been restricted the same way. Cursor ships its own builds to replace some of them. If you depend on one of Microsoft's language or remote tools, test it in Cursor first.
VS Code's chat and agents take your own API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google or Azure, or a local model through the official Ollama extension, with no Copilot plan and no GitHub sign-in. A local model works fully offline. For agents, it has to support tool calling.
Two limits. VS Code's own inline suggestions cannot use a local model and still need Copilot. And Cursor's own-key option is not the same thing: its help page says every request, your key or not, goes through Cursor's servers, and Tab stays on Cursor's models.
Most moves back to VS Code this year follow one pattern: the agent work went to Claude Code or Codex, which install in either editor, and Cursor was left as just an editor. One commenter called it, minus the AI, "just a worse VSCode", citing missing extensions. Others cite memory use, Microsoft extensions that break in forks, or simply that VS Code has caught up.
The people who stay name Tab. One daily user called it "the best AI-based editor autocomplete I have used". Another, running both on the same model, says Cursor's agent finished tasks where Copilot looped.
For autocomplete, most people who have tried both say yes, because of Tab. As an editor, no: it is VS Code's code, often on an older version, with fewer extensions. And Copilot Pro now covers Claude and GPT for $10, so Cursor no longer buys you more models.
Yes. Cursor's docs say it is based on the VS Code codebase and regularly rebased onto newer VS Code versions, often staying a little behind. That is why your settings, keybindings and most extensions carry over.
Yes, for private and commercial use. Its source is MIT licensed as Code - OSS, and Microsoft's own build sends telemetry you can turn off. The AI inside it, GitHub Copilot, has its own free plan.
Yes. Copilot Free gives 2,000 completions a month plus a small chat and agent allowance with no published number, on automatic model choice only. Signing in to Copilot in VS Code without a plan puts you on it. The full answer →
Yes, with limited agent and chat requests and no published numbers. Claude, GPT and Gemini are not on the free plan or the $8 Plus plan. They start at $30 with Premium, billed on top. The full answer →