For the past year, Cursor has been my go-to Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It felt like the future. An IDE built from the ground up for AI, it understood my entire codebase in a way that felt almost magical. It was fast, intuitive, and genuinely accelerated my workflow. But in the world of technology, and particularly in the super-heated AI space, loyalty is a luxury that must constantly be re-earned. And lately, I’ve found my head being turned by the rapid evolution of GitHub Copilot within VS Code. The switch wasn’t triggered by a single catastrophic failure or a sudden dislike for Cursor. It was a gradual realisation that Microsoft’s offering has become too good to ignore.
It Started with the Price, but It’s About More Than That
Let’s be direct, as it’s a factor we must all consider. Cursor’s Pro plan sits at around €20 per month. GitHub Copilot Pro is half that, at €10. For a solo developer or a small agency, that €120 difference per year per developer starts to add up. As market analysis points out, for a 100-developer team, this scales to an annual difference of over €25,000. That’s not a rounding error; it’s a strategic decision.
Initially, I was happy to pay the premium for Cursor because it felt like a superior, more integrated product. But the gap has narrowed to the point of being almost imperceptible for my daily work. The “Cursor backlash” seen in the developer community over performance and pricing isn’t just noise; it’s a real signal of a market shift.
Discovering the Power of an “Good Enough” Incumbent
What surprised me most about returning to VS Code was how sophisticated Copilot has become. The new chat modes function like specialised agents. You can direct the AI with specific instructions and workflows, which feels incredibly powerful. The “Automatic Instructions” action is another seemingly small feature that has had a big impact on my productivity.
While I still use models like Claude 4 Sonnet, I’ve started experimenting more with GPT-4.1, which can be used without any limits on Copilot Pro. To get more out of it, I’m using a custom configuration called “Beast Mode”. It’s an interesting chat mode that provides a more opinionated workflow for the AI agent, aiming to make GPT-4.1’s responses a bit more structured and thorough, similar to what I appreciate about Claude’s output. The ability to customise and tweak these agents is a huge advantage.
Another feature I’ve come to appreciate is the Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration. I admit I was hesitant, as it sounded complex, but after watching a couple of tutorials, I found it surprisingly straightforward to get different models and context sources working together within the editor. This level of extensibility is a testament to Microsoft’s platform strategy.
Is It a Perfect Transition?
Of course not. There are things I miss about Cursor. Its graphical user interface for managing AI features is certainly more intuitive. VS Code has a steeper learning curve in this regard; you have to be more comfortable with configuration files and settings. Cursor’s AI-native architecture still feels a little more seamless when it comes to whole-project awareness.
However, the data suggests that even on performance, VS Code is more than holding its own. In one comprehensive study of real-world GitHub issues, Copilot actually achieved a higher success rate than Cursor (56.5% vs 51.7%). For my own work, I simply don’t see a compelling reason to keep paying double the price.
A Pragmatic Business Decision
There’s a part of me that feels a bit guilty. I want to support the smaller, innovative companies that push the industry forward. Cursor undoubtedly lit a fire under Microsoft and showed what was possible. But on the other hand, my responsibility is to my business and my clients. If I can get a tool that delivers 95% of the functionality for 50% of the cost, the choice becomes a pragmatic one.
AI is here to accelerate development, to help us build better solutions faster. Both tools achieve that. But in 2025, VS Code with Copilot does it with the backing of a tech giant, a lower price point, and a pace of innovation that has successfully closed the gap. For now, my money is on the pragmatist’s choice.