Cursor
Cursor is an AI-first code editor built as a fork of VS Code, designed from the ground up to make AI a first-class part of the coding workflow rather than a bolt-on. Its Tab completion goes well beyond single-line suggestions, predicting and inserting multi-line edits that match the developer's intent across the current context. Composer mode lets developers describe a large change in natural language and have Cursor coordinate edits across multiple files simultaneously, making it well-suited for feature development and large refactors. Cursor supports any major LLM — including GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini — and has grown faster than any other AI IDE.
Pros - Tab completion is meaningfully ahead of Copilot for predicting multi-line intent
- Composer makes large refactors and feature additions feel like a conversation
- Model flexibility lets teams swap LLMs without changing their workflow
Cons - Forked from VS Code, so extensions occasionally break or lag behind upstream
- Composer can produce overconfident edits that need careful review on large diffs
- Free tier has a strict monthly limit on fast model requests
Best for: Individual developers who want the most capable AI-assisted editing experience in a familiar VS Code environment, Teams doing large-scale refactors or feature builds that span many files at once, Engineers who want to switch between frontier models without leaving their editor
Key features: Tab completion that predicts and writes multi-line code blocks, Composer mode for coordinated edits across multiple files simultaneously, Codebase-aware chat with full project context, Bring-your-own-model support for GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, and local models, Privacy mode that prevents code from being stored on Cursor servers
JetBrains AI Assistant
JetBrains AI Assistant is the official AI integration for the full suite of JetBrains IDEs, including IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand, and Rider. It provides in-editor chat, inline completions, and context-aware suggestions that are informed by JetBrains' own deep language analysis engine — giving it a level of project awareness that external plugins cannot replicate. Practical workflow features like AI-generated commit messages and automatic unit test generation integrate directly into existing JetBrains UI patterns, requiring no change to how developers already work. A single subscription activates AI Assistant across all JetBrains products, making it a natural fit for polyglot teams standardised on the JetBrains ecosystem.
Pros - Deeply integrated with JetBrains' own code analysis engine, so suggestions are aware of project structure, types, and dependencies in a way external tools aren't
- Single subscription covers all JetBrains IDEs, so polyglot teams don't need separate tools per language
- Commit message generation and test generation fit naturally into existing JetBrains workflows without new tooling
Cons - Only useful if you already use JetBrains IDEs — has no value for VS Code or other editor users
- AI capabilities lag behind Cursor and Copilot for agentic and multi-file editing tasks
- Requires an active JetBrains subscription on top of the AI Assistant add-on, increasing total cost
Best for: Java, Kotlin, Python, and Go developers who live in JetBrains IDEs and want AI assistance without switching editors, Teams with a standardised JetBrains toolchain who want one AI subscription that works across all their IDEs, Developers who value deeply IDE-native AI features like smart commit messages and test generation over raw completion power
Key features: In-editor AI chat with full project awareness across IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand, and all other JetBrains IDEs, Inline code completions that draw on JetBrains' deep language-specific code understanding, AI-generated commit messages that summarise staged changes automatically, Test generation that creates unit tests for selected methods using the project's existing test framework, AI-powered code review and explanation for understanding unfamiliar code blocks