AI is now part of the everyday developer workflow. But which AI IDE should you pick? In this post, we compare three leading options: Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code with GitHub Copilot—what they do well, where they differ, and who each is best for.

TL;DR

• Cursor: Deeply integrated AI workflows with agentic coding, strong PR/Slack ecosystem touchpoints, and fast, in‑editor autocomplete that feels purpose‑built for AI‑first development (cursor.com).
• Windsurf: Flow‑oriented experience with persistent AI context (Memories), project‑wide Rules, MCP tool connections, and handy UX like drag‑and‑drop to build from images—great for teams standardizing how AI works with their stack (windsurf.com).
• VS Code + GitHub Copilot: The popular editor plus Copilot’s completions, Chat, Coding Agent, CLI, and code review helpers—best if you want AI superpowers without leaving the VS Code ecosystem (github.com/features/copilot).

How we evaluated

We focused on:

• Editing experience: latency, suggestion quality, and interruption cost
• Agent capabilities: autonomy, reliability, and reviewability
• Ecosystem & integrations: PRs, chat, terminals, tools, and team workflows
• Team guidance: enforceable conventions, context sharing, and guardrails

Cursor

Cursor is "built to make you extraordinarily productive" with AI embedded across your development flow. Highlights from the official site include:

• Agent: A human‑AI programming partner that can turn ideas into code and help across tasks—from generating features to fixing issues—directly in your repo (cursor.com).
• Magically accurate autocomplete (Tab): A custom model designed for speed and precision, predicting your next move and reducing mental overhead (cursor.com).
• Ecosystem reach: Shows up in GitHub for PR reviews and in Slack to help where collaboration happens—not just inside the editor (cursor.com).
• Enterprise & scale: Messaging emphasizes adoption at large companies and deep codebase understanding/indexing for big repos (cursor.com).

Where Cursor shines

• You want an AI‑first editor where the agent and autocomplete feel tightly integrated and fast.
• You like the idea of AI assisting beyond the editor (PRs, Slack) to keep velocity high.
• Your org values a product explicitly focused on AI coding end‑to‑end.

Considerations

• Mind the learning curve for agent workflows and how much autonomy you want to grant.
• Evaluate how the PR/Slack integration fits your team’s existing review practices.

Citation: cursor.com

Windsurf

Windsurf focuses on keeping developers and teams "in flow" with features aimed at context, consistency, and extensibility:

• Memories: The AI remembers important codebase and workflow details so assistance stays context‑aware over time (windsurf.com).
• Rules: Define guidelines (e.g., framework conventions) so generated code adheres to your project’s standards (windsurf.com).
• MCP support: Connect AI to curated or custom tools/services to extend what it can do for your project (windsurf.com).
• Drag & drop images → UI: Build from images to accelerate design‑to‑code workflows (windsurf.com).
• Terminal help: Inline assistance when you forget commands, keeping you in the editor and moving quickly (windsurf.com).

Where Windsurf shines

• Teams standardizing on conventions, wanting AI that follows house rules and remembers context.
• Projects that benefit from toolchain integrations via MCP and design‑to‑code accelerators.

Considerations

• Plan how you’ll manage and evolve Rules across multiple repos.
• Validate MCP/tooling setup for your stack early to realize full value.

Citation: windsurf.com

VS Code + GitHub Copilot

VS Code is ubiquitous, and GitHub Copilot brings AI into that familiar editor. From GitHub’s Copilot page:

• Code completion: High‑quality autocomplete suggestions in VS Code and other supported IDEs (github.com/features/copilot).
• Copilot Chat: Ask questions and get context‑aware help without leaving the editor (github.com/features/copilot).
• Copilot Coding Agent: An autonomous agent that can make code changes, open PRs, and iterate—like an AI pair programmer (github.com/features/copilot).
• Copilot CLI: Use Copilot from your terminal to answer questions or make code changes (github.com/features/copilot).
• Code review helpers: PR summaries and review suggestions to speed up high‑quality reviews (github.com/features/copilot).

Where VS Code + Copilot shines

• You want AI inside the editor you already use, with minimal switching costs.
• Your team lives in GitHub and benefits from Copilot’s PR and review features.

Considerations

• Copilot is an add‑on to VS Code; teams seeking opinionated, AI‑first workflows might prefer an integrated IDE.
• Extension loadouts vary—ensure your existing VS Code setup plays nicely with Copilot’s features.

Citation: github.com/features/copilot

Quick comparison

Small print: check official pages for latest plan names, pricing, and model availability: cursor.com, windsurf.com, github.com/features/copilot.

Recommendations

• Solo builders/startups: Pick Cursor if you want the most cohesive AI‑first coding feel and a fast agent + autocomplete loop.
• Engineering teams with standards: Choose Windsurf to enforce conventions with Rules and tap MCP/tooling for your stack.
• VS Code power users: Stay with VS Code + Copilot to add AI depth without changing your editor or workflows.

Final thoughts

All three tools are excellent and improving fast. Your best choice depends on how opinionated you want your IDE to be about AI workflows and how tightly you need it to plug into your team’s processes. If you can, trial two of them on the same feature and measure: acceptance rate of suggestions, time‑to‑PR, and review churn. The right AI IDE is the one that boosts your shipment rate while keeping code quality—and focus—high.