Cursor vs JetBrains Junie: what developers actually say
Based on 819 opinions on Hacker News from developers who discussed these two, most of them first-hand users.
Junie wins the small head-to-head sample, 2 picks to 1, and overall approval, 60 versus 55. Cursor has far more evidence, 766 opinions from 600 authors versus 53 from 34, higher 90-day approval, 53 versus 33, and more positive UX and speed mentions, but reliability is its clear weak spot at 14 positive and 58 negative. Junie's cost and code-quality mentions lean positive at 5 to 2 and 8 to 1, while Cursor's cost is split at 58 and 60 and its usage limits are 17 positive and 20 negative. Cursor is the broader pick for a fast AI IDE with many models; Junie fits JetBrains users who want a token-inclusive subscription, with a small sample and weaker recent approval as caveats.
When developers explicitly said they prefer one or switched: 1 picked Cursor, 2 picked JetBrains Junie.
Choose Cursor if
- Want fast autocomplete and many model choices
- Value a large evidence base with 583 firsthand reports
- Can accept reliability and usage-limit complaints
Choose JetBrains Junie if
- Use JetBrains IDEs and want the agent built in
- Want a subscription with included tokens and top-ups
- Want fewer reliability complaints and predictable behavior on routine tasks
Where each one wins and loses
Why developers switched
Picked Cursor
Picked JetBrains Junie
Summaries are paraphrased. Each links to the original comment.