Introduction

On April 20, GitHub suddenly announced the suspension of new user registrations for Copilot Pro and Pro+. This means new users can no longer register for Copilot Pro ($10/month). Having used both tools for six months, I will conduct a deep comparison across six dimensions to see if Cursor is worth the $20 in the context of Copilot’s closure.

1. Understanding the Products: They Are Not the Same

Simple Understanding:

• Cursor: An autonomous vehicle where AI helps plan routes and control the steering wheel.
• Copilot: A co-driver where AI sits beside you providing suggestions, but you are always in control.

2. Six Dimensions Deep Comparison

Dimension 1: Code Completion - Cursor Wins

I tested the code completion capabilities of both tools using the same Java method.

Test Scenario

Writing a Spring Boot UserController, observing the completion effects after inputting the method signature:

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/users")
public class UserController {
    
    @Autowired
    private UserService userService;
    
    // Input here to see AI completion

Cursor Completion Effect

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/users")
public class UserController {
    
    @Autowired
    private UserService userService;
    
    // Cursor completed all methods at once and referenced styles from other Controllers
    @GetMapping
    public Result<PageResult<UserVO>> list(@RequestParam(defaultValue = "1") Integer page,
                                            @RequestParam(defaultValue = "10") Integer size) {
        return Result.success(userService.list(page, size));
    }
    
    @GetMapping("/{id}")
    public Result<UserVO> getById(@PathVariable Long id) {
        return Result.success(userService.getById(id));
    }
    
    @PostMapping
    public Result<Void> create(@RequestBody @Valid UserDTO userDTO) {
        userService.create(userDTO);
        return Result.success();
    }
}

Cursor Features:

• ✅ Completes multiple lines of code in one Tab press, not line by line.
• ✅ References the entire project’s code style (e.g., unified return format).
• ✅ Automatically completes import statements.

Copilot Completion Effect

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/users")
public class UserController {
    
    @Autowired
    private UserService userService;
    
    // Copilot completes line by line, suggestions are fairly conventional
    @GetMapping
    public List<User> getAllUsers() {
        return userService.findAll();
    }
    
    @GetMapping("/{id}")
    public User getUserById(@PathVariable Long id) {
        return userService.findById(id);
    }
}

Copilot Features:

• ✅ Fast single-line completion with low latency.
• ✅ Accurate in common patterns (CRUD, usual patterns).
• ⚠️ Does not reference existing project code style.
• ⚠️ Returns type List instead of Result, inconsistent with project style.

Code Completion Scoring

Dimension 2: Agent Mode - Cursor Wins

This is the most noteworthy feature of 2026. The Agent mode allows AI to autonomously complete modifications across multiple files.

Cursor Agent Mode

Actual Experience: I tasked Cursor with refactoring a user module (migrating from MyBatis to MyBatis-Plus), and it was able to:

1. Automatically modify Entity classes (add annotations).
2. Modify Mapper interfaces (inherit BaseMapper).
3. Modify Service layer (inherit ServiceImpl).
4. Modify Controller layer (adjust return types).
5. Run compile commands and automatically fix errors.

The entire process took about 3-5 minutes, whereas manual operation would take at least 1-2 hours.

Copilot Agent Mode

Actual Experience: For the same MyBatis migration task, Copilot could also complete it, but:

• Required more manual confirmations.
• Occasionally missed a file.
• Error fixing was not as automatic as Cursor.

Agent Mode Scoring

Dimension 3: Context Awareness - Cursor Wins

The biggest difference in AI programming tools lies in “context”—how much the AI can understand your code.

Cursor Context Capability

Actual Effect: I wrote a rule in .cursorrules:

This project uses Spring Boot 3 + MyBatis-Plus
Unified return format: Result<T>
Pagination format: PageResult<T>
Do not use MyBatis XML mapping

Afterwards, all code generated by Cursor adhered to this specification without needing to repeat instructions.

Copilot Context Capability

Actual Effect: Copilot understands the currently open file well but does not grasp the overall project context as well as Cursor. For example, it does not know that other Controllers in the project use the Result format unless you manually search with @workspace.

Context Awareness Scoring

Dimension 4: AI Model Flexibility - Cursor Wins

Actual Experience:

• Cursor: Can switch models at any time; Auto mode consumes almost no credits, while manually selecting high-end models consumes credit pool.
• Copilot: Pro users have 300 premium requests/month, Pro+ users have 1500 requests/month.

Scoring: Cursor 9, Copilot 8

Dimension 5: IDE Support and Ecosystem - Copilot Wins

This is Copilot’s biggest advantage.

Actual Scenarios:

IDE Support Scoring

Dimension 6: Pricing and Accessibility - Situation Changed

This is the dimension with the most changes in 2026.

⚠️ Copilot Suspends New User Registrations (April 20)

On April 20, GitHub suddenly announced the suspension of new user registrations for Copilot Pro, Pro+, and Student plans. The official reason is that “Agent workflows have led to a surge in computing demands, and we need to prioritize service quality for existing users.”

This means new users can currently only use Copilot Free and cannot upgrade to Pro.

Cursor Pricing (Latest as of April 2026)

Hidden Costs: Auto mode incurs minimal costs, but manually selecting high-end models like Claude Opus can lead to actual monthly fees of $40-80 for heavy Agent users.

Copilot Pricing (Latest as of April 2026)

Pricing Scoring