Cursor AI: The Code Editor That Knows Your Whole Codebase
Cursor is VS Code with AI built into every layer. It edits files, fixes bugs, and writes features — not just the current line. Here is whether it's worth it.
What Is Cursor?
Cursor is a code editor. It looks and works like VS Code because it's built on VS Code. Most VS Code extensions work in Cursor. Your settings transfer.
The difference: AI is built into every layer. Not as a plugin. As a core feature.
Made by a small startup (Anysphere). Available at cursor.com. Full access in Canada.
What Makes It Different from GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot works on the current file. It sees what you're typing and suggests the next line or block. Useful. Limited.
Cursor indexes your entire codebase. When you ask it to fix a bug, it can look across multiple files to understand the context. When you ask it to add a feature, it knows what functions already exist and how they're connected.
That codebase awareness is the key difference. On a large project, Cursor's suggestions are significantly more relevant than Copilot's.
The Three Main Features
- Tab autocomplete — Similar to Copilot, but more context-aware. Often completes entire functions, not just the next line. Press Tab to accept.
- Ctrl+K / Cmd+K — Select code, press the shortcut, type a natural language instruction ("refactor this to use async/await", "add error handling", "make this function pure"). Cursor edits the selected code.
- Chat (Ctrl+L) — A sidebar chat where you can ask questions about your codebase, get explanations, request changes across multiple files. It can read file references (@filename) and apply changes directly.
Pricing in CAD
- 2,000 autocomplete completions/month
- 50 premium model requests/month
- Slower model for completions after limit
- Unlimited autocomplete completions
- 500 fast premium requests/month
- Unlimited slow requests
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4o, o3
- Everything in Pro
- Team management dashboard
- No training on your code (policy guarantee)
Cursor vs GitHub Copilot — Which to Choose
Choose Cursor if: you work on medium-to-large codebases, you want to make changes across multiple files at once, you want to chat with your codebase in natural language, or you spend most of your time in VS Code.
Choose Copilot if: you use JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm), you want something lighter-weight, your company has a Copilot license already, or you're just starting to use AI in coding.
Price is similar. Cursor Pro ($20 USD) vs Copilot Pro ($10 USD). The capability gap is real but so is the price gap.
Privacy: Does Cursor Send Your Code to AI Servers?
Yes. When you use AI features, your code (and sometimes surrounding context) is sent to AI model APIs — Claude, GPT-4o, or Cursor's own models, depending on the feature.
Cursor's privacy policy states they don't train models on your code by default. The Business plan includes a contractual guarantee on this.
For sensitive codebases (financial institutions, health data, government work), check your organization's data handling policies before using any cloud-based AI coding tool.
Bottom Line
Cursor is the best AI code editor for projects that span multiple files. The free tier is enough to evaluate it — use it for one real project before deciding whether to pay.
If you already use VS Code and write more than 200 lines of code per week, try Cursor. Most developers who try it don't go back.