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  2. Cursor vs Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot for coding with AI

Cursor vs Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot for coding with AI

These are the tools that sit beside your code and write, explain and fix it with you. Cursor is a whole code editor built around AI, Claude Code works from your terminal or editor, and GitHub Copilot adds AI to the editor you already use. Heads up: new Cursor plans are now sold through The X Subscription, so older guides will quote different prices.

Priced from vendor pages
Prices checked
21 Oct 2026
Exchange rate
1 USD = £0.7489
Sources
5
How we check

The answer

Cursor Plus is the cheapest paid plan at £5.99 a month, but it only includes Grok models. GitHub Copilot Pro is next at £7.49, and Claude Code comes with Claude Pro at £14.98 (£12.73 a month billed yearly). For Claude or GPT models inside Cursor you need Premium (£22.47) and then pay for those models at API prices. Copilot and Cursor have free plans; Claude Code needs a paid one. Each counts usage differently, so this ranks price, not how much coding you get.

What does an AI coding assistant cost each month?

Cursor

Free (limited), Plus $8/mo (Grok models only), Premium $30, Super $100, Ultra $200

  • A full editor designed around AI, with agents that change many files at once. Plus is a cheap way in if Grok models suit you.

New plans come through The X Subscription (older Cursor plans keep working for existing subscribers). Plus only includes Grok models; Claude and GPT need Premium or above and are billed at API list price from the first request. Allowances refresh weekly.

Free plan Free (limited use)Cheapest paid plan, billed monthly £5.99Cheapest paid plan, billed yearly (per month) £4.99Next step up, billed monthly £22.47 + model usage

Claude Code

Included with Claude Pro $20/mo ($17 billed yearly) or Max from $100/mo

  • Works across your whole project from the terminal or your editor, reading files, making changes and running commands that you can review. The same subscription covers the Claude chat app.

There's no free plan for Claude Code. Usage limits reset every five hours with weekly limits on top, so very heavy days can hit the cap; Max raises the limits.

Free plan Not includedCheapest paid plan, billed monthly £14.98Cheapest paid plan, billed yearly (per month) £12.73Next step up, billed monthly £74.89

GitHub Copilot

Free (2,000 code suggestions a month, limited chat and agent usage), Pro $10/mo, Pro+ $39/mo, Max $100/mo

  • Works inside the editor you already use, ties in neatly with GitHub, and Pro gives unlimited code completions.

Chat and agent work draws on monthly AI credits that come with each plan (1 credit = $0.01), so heavy agent use can run out before the month does. Monthly AI credits: Pro $15, Pro+ $70, Max $200. The free plan has limited chat and agent usage (GitHub doesn't publish a number) plus 2,000 code suggestions a month (GitHub Copilot plans, checked 23 Oct 2026).

Free plan FreeCheapest paid plan, billed monthly £7.49Cheapest paid plan, billed yearly (per month) Not shownNext step up, billed monthly £29.21
Free planFree (limited use)
Free planNot included
Free planFree
Cheapest paid plan, billed monthly£5.99
Cheapest paid plan, billed monthly£14.98
Cheapest paid plan, billed monthly£7.49
Cheapest paid plan, billed yearly (per month)£4.99
Cheapest paid plan, billed yearly (per month)£12.73
Cheapest paid plan, billed yearly (per month)Not shown
Next step up, billed monthly£22.47 + model usage
Next step up, billed monthly£74.89
Next step up, billed monthly£29.21

Monthly cost in pounds, from each vendor's pricing page. Lowest figures compared price only; usage allowances differ.

How we worked it out

  • Cursor Plus $8 × 0.7489 = £5.99 (5.9912); yearly $80 ÷ 12 × 0.7489 = £4.99 (4.9927) a month (annual prices from Cursor help, https://cursor.com/help/account-and-billing/pricing, checked 23 Oct 2026). Premium $30 × 0.7489 = £22.47 (22.467), before any Claude or GPT usage at API list price.
  • Cursor's pricing page calls Plus “our introductory plan” and says prices are subject to change, so check the page before you count on $8 (https://cursor.com/pricing, checked 23 Oct 2026).
  • Claude Pro $20 × 0.7489 = £14.98 (14.978); billed yearly $17 × 0.7489 = £12.73 (12.7313) a month. Max from $100 × 0.7489 = £74.89.
  • GitHub Copilot Pro $10 × 0.7489 = £7.49 (7.489); Pro+ $39 × 0.7489 = £29.21 (29.2071). Copilot's plans page doesn't show yearly prices.
  • Each tool measures usage differently (Cursor's weekly pool, Claude's five-hour and weekly limits, Copilot's monthly credits), so these figures compare price, not how much coding you get.
  • Excludes VAT and any pay-as-you-go model usage.

Sources