Cursor / Alternatives
Alternatives · Nov 2025 – Nov 2026
Best Cursor alternatives, according to developers who switched
First come the tools that developers on Hacker News explicitly said they prefer over Cursor. After that, the best-rated ai ide tools.
| # | Alternative | Type | Approval | Picked over Cursor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude Code | Terminal agent | 54% | 61 | Compare |
| 2 | OpenAI Codex | Terminal agent | 69% | 21 | Compare |
| 3 | Zed | Editor | 59% | 14 | Compare |
| 4 | GitHub Copilot | IDE extension | 42% | 3 | Compare |
| 5 | Antigravity | AI IDE | 45% | 3 | Compare |
| 6 | Windsurf | AI IDE | 58% | 2 | Compare |
| 7 | OpenCode | Terminal agent | 66% | 2 | Compare |
| 8 | Pi | Terminal agent | 84% | 2 | Compare |
| 9 | JetBrains Junie | IDE agent | 60% | 2 | Compare |
| 10 | Aider | Terminal agent | 60% | 1 | Compare |
Cursor itself has 55% approval from 766 opinions. See what developers say about it →