GitHub recently set a new standard in the coding arena with its multi-model lineup of Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI’s o1-mini and o1-preview. It brought unmatched versatility and developer choice across VS Code, Xcode, and beyond, positioning itself as the ultimate toolkit for today’s code-generation needs.
“The next phase of AI code-generation will not only be defined by multi-model functionality but by multi-model choice,” said GitHub chief Thomas Dohmke, signalling a clear lead that may leave Cursor and other contenders racing to keep pace—or risk becoming footnotes in Copilot’s evolution.
Cursor Who?
In a recent podcast with Lex Fridman, Cursor’s co-founders criticised Microsoft-backed GitHub Copilot for falling behind startups in terms of innovation. They pointed out that the tech giant lacked the research and experimentation necessary to really push the envelope.
The sentiment ran strong that Copilot has not had any ‘alpha features’ for a very long time. Meanwhile, even Y Combinator funded several open-source AI code editors, such as Continue, Pearl, Void, Type, and Melty, among others.
But now the tables seem to have turned. The days may be numbered for Cursor and other AI coding assistants as GitHub Copilot advances toward becoming the go-to cross-platform solution for developers.
Aman Sanger, the co-founder of Anysphere (the creator of Cursor), said, “I think the Cursor a year from now will need to make the Cursor of today look obsolete.” This indicates that if Cursor is to stay relevant, it needs to pull up its socks.
“You can wax poetic about moats and brand that and this is our advantage, but I think in the end, just if you stop innovating on the product, you will lose,” said Micheal T, a co-founder of Anysphere. It’ll be interesting to see how Cursor responds and how the competition evolves.
Cursor’s founding engineer Shaoru Huang recently announced new improvements on X to boost user experience and functionality with updates like the removal of “double charging” and “BYO API key” policies, offering fairer pricing, alongside support for open-source agentic frameworks like Ollama and Cline.
Underscoring the need for competitive pricing, a developer had noted, “If u guys genuinely wanna win in the code assistant game you’re gonna have to remove the double charging of users + BYO API key just to get charged on API costs.”
Cursor is also adding “smart context” for enhanced code suggestions. “Glad to see you working on that,” another developer commented. Features like line numbering and right-click menu options in Chat/Composer are also in the works for more precise prompting, solidifying its competitive edge in the code-assistant landscape.
‘Copilot is Still Copilot’
These were Thomas Dohmke’s exact words during his keynote at GitHub Universe, where he confidently affirmed GitHub’s role as a de facto open developer platform and how developers are expecting agencies to build with models that work best for them.
“Copilot is still the most adopted AI developer tool on the planet,” Dohmke added.
Almost three years ago, GitHub Copilot was launched to the world. At the time, it felt like a leap into the unknown. Cut to now, the world has witnessed a sea change in software development.
Today, Copilot has been activated by more than one million developers and adopted by over 20,000 organisations. It has generated over three billion accepted lines of code, and is the world’s most widely adopted AI developer tool. Whereas, with over 30,000 customers and $71 million in funding, Cursor AI is well-positioned to transform how software is written.
Who Needs a Sidekick?
While Copilot excels with extensive GitHub integration, rapid code suggestions, and automated debugging, Cursor focuses on efficient code completion and streamlined IDE compatibility. Both these tools cater to productivity but suit different developer needs and environments. But which tool truly elevates one’s coding experience: GitHub Copilot or Cursor?
When comparing GitHub Copilot and Cursor, several key differences and features stand out.
Copilot functions as an extension integrated into various IDEs, providing context-aware code suggestions and completions based on the developer’s current project and GitHub’s vast repository.
In contrast, Cursor, a standalone AI code editor, can generate entire code blocks and adapt to the developer’s coding style over time. It builds a knowledge graph of the project, enhancing its contextual understanding and leading to more accurate suggestions in complex scenarios.
While GitHub Copilot is effective for smaller or isolated tasks, it may require more manual adjustments when handling complex codebases. It’s good at generating quick fixes but may not always provide the most contextually relevant solutions.
Meanwhile, users have reported that Cursor can be faster and more accurate in its suggestions compared to Copilot, particularly when working on larger projects.
However, it may require more specific instructions to avoid misunderstandings. On the other hand, many find Copilot easier to integrate into their existing workflows due to its familiar interface within common IDEs like Visual Studio Code.
What About Amazon Q Developer?
Meanwhile, Amazon Q Developer and GitHub Copilot are AI coding assistants that increase developer productivity but with different focuses. Copilot, created by GitHub and OpenAI, provides real-time code suggestions, context-aware recommendations, and unit test generation, making it versatile across various programming languages.
In contrast, Amazon Q Developer focuses on cloud-based applications within the AWS ecosystem, featuring a conversational interface for natural language queries and capabilities for code optimisation and AWS integration.
According to Amazon, Amazon Q Developer is “powered by Amazon Bedrock” and trained on “high-quality AWS content. While Copilot is ideal for general-purpose coding, Amazon Q is tailored for those working within AWS, providing unique functionalities for managing cloud resources.
Ultimately, the choice between them depends on the developer’s specific project needs and working environment.
The AI Tool Every Developer Swears By!
Despite all this, GitHub Copilot reigns supreme among AI coding assistants for its versatility, ease of use, and broad language support, making it suitable for various projects. Whereas, Amazon Q (CodeWhisperer) focuses on AWS, offering service-specific optimisation for cloud-based apps and is ideal for AWS environments, Copilot’s general-purpose features make it more versatile.
“Copilot was launched into the world, and today it remains the most widely adopted AI developer tool on the planet,” said Dohmke.
For most development tasks, Copilot remains the superior choice.
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