Comparisons / Cursor vs GitHub Copilot
AI coding tools · HN opinions Nov 2025 – Nov 2026
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot: what developers actually say
Based on 1,425 opinions on Hacker News from developers who discussed these two, most of them first-hand users.
Cursor comes out ahead on quality, UX and head-to-head picks. It has 55% approval against 42%, 53% against 38% over 90 days, and explicit preferences favor it 10 to 3. Code-quality sentiment is net +10 against net -55; UX is +42 against -2; cost is -2 against -20. Copilot is the better pick if you already live in VS Code and GitHub and want per-request billing, where one user found the $20 limit lasted longer.
When developers explicitly said they prefer one or switched: 10 picked Cursor, 3 picked GitHub Copilot.
Choose Cursor if
- Want stronger code-quality and UX scores
- Care most about fast inline completion
- Want one interface for several agent models
Choose GitHub Copilot if
- Already work in VS Code and GitHub
- Prefer per-request billing over token billing
- Want agent mode on an established codebase
Where each one wins and loses
PraiseComplaintsA = CursorB = GitHub Copilot
UX
Cost & pricing
Code quality
Reliability
Speed
Autonomy
Usage limits
Customization
Why developers switched
Picked Cursor
Says Cursor was far better than Copilot for two or three months, though Claude Code later became their preference.HN comment · Jun 16, 2026
Calls Copilot the weakest mainstream coding tool, behind Cursor on completions and behind rivals on agentic work, and says it is no longer cheap.HN comment · Apr 28, 2026
Says Copilot's autocomplete was slow and poor, while Cursor was fast and gave useful results; may still cancel Cursor over Musk.HN comment · Apr 22, 2026
Used Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode extensively; says Copilot was far behind, slow and poor, while the others were close.HN comment · Feb 2, 2026
Says Copilot performs noticeably worse than Cursor and Claude Code across models, including Codex 5.2.HN comment · Feb 2, 2026
Switched from Copilot to Cursor in late 2025 and says agent behavior improved sharply, crediting better context handling.HN comment · Jan 7, 2026
Picked GitHub Copilot
Finds Copilot's new model good at basics and uses it for Linear tasks, while Cursor needs prodding to check review comments.HN comment · May 19, 2026
Says Cursor's $20 limit ran out much faster than Copilot's and suspects Copilot's tools are better optimized.HN comment · Apr 7, 2026
A staff engineer prefers Copilot Pro over Cursor, Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode for agent work on an established TypeScript codebase.HN comment · Feb 28, 2026
Summaries are paraphrased. Each links to the original comment.