Head-to-head · AI coding assistants · facts checked 14 Sept 2026
Cursor vs JetBrains
Cursor scores 8.4 to JetBrains's 7.1 among the AI coding assistants we rate, and is the better pick for 2 of the 4 kinds of buyer below.
From
$10/mo (AI Pro)
Free plan
Yes — free tier with limited AI credits and unlimited local code completion
The verdict
Cursor wins, 8.4 to 7.1
JetBrains AI Pro costs $10 a month, half of Cursor Pro's $20. Cursor understands your whole codebase and reviews pull requests through Bugbot, neither of which JetBrains offers. JetBrains does not train on your code by default; Cursor trains unless you turn on Privacy Mode. Both let you bring your own API key and run models locally.
Pick Cursor if you want whole codebase understanding and pull request review.
Pick JetBrains if you want the cheaper plan and no training by default.
Best for
Who each one suits, decided on the criteria that matter to that buyer and the checked facts where the two differ.
Developers on large codebases
Cursor
Cursor 10.0 · JetBrains 5.5 on agents and your codebase
- Understands your whole codebase: Cursor yes, JetBrains no
- Reviews pull requests: Cursor yes, JetBrains no
Developers paying their own way
JetBrains
Cursor 8.9 · JetBrains 10.0 on pricing
- Monthly price, cheapest paid plan: $10 against $20
Teams that pick their own models
JetBrains
Cursor 8.0 · JetBrains 9.5 on model freedom
- Runs models on your own machine: JetBrains yes, Cursor no
- But Cursor leads on aI model families you can choose: Claude, gpt, gemini, grok, own against Claude, gpt, gemini, grok
Companies strict about code privacy
Cursor
Cursor 7.3 · JetBrains 5.1 on privacy and security and where it works
- Option to keep no copy of your code: Cursor yes, JetBrains no
- Editors and terminals it works in: Cli, jetbrains, xcode, own editor against Cli, jetbrains
- SOC 2: Cursor yes, JetBrains does not say
- But JetBrains leads on does not train AI on your code: Yes against unless you opt out
Section 01
How they score
Both are scored the same way, against the other AI coding assistants we rate, from facts on each vendor's own pages. Cursor leads on 3 of 5 criteria.
Agents and your codebase25% of the score
Cursor10.0
JetBrains5.5
Pricing20% of the score
Cursor8.9
JetBrains10.0
Model freedom20% of the score
Cursor8.0
JetBrains9.5
Privacy and security20% of the score
Cursor7.5
JetBrains6.0
Where it works15% of the score
Cursor7.0
JetBrains4.0
Section 02
Where they differ
Every point where the two vendors' published facts disagree, with a link to where each fact was read. "Not published" means the vendor does not say either way.
AI model families you can choose
Cursor
Published by only one of them
SOC 2
JetBrains
Not published
Where they match (7)
Section 03
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
Cursor
Hobby
Free
Limited Agent requests and Tab completions, no credit card required
Pro (Individual)
$20/mo · $192/yr
Extended Agent limits, frontier model access, MCPs/skills/hooks, cloud agents, Bugbot on usage-based billing
Pro+ (Individual)
$60/mo · $576/yr
3x Agent limits, frontier model access, MCPs/skills/hooks, cloud agents, Bugbot on usage-based billing
Ultra (Individual)
$200/mo · $1,920/mo
20x Agent limits, frontier model access, MCPs/skills/hooks, cloud agents, Bugbot on usage-based billing, priority access to new features
Teams (Standard)
$40/mo/user · $384/yr/user
Everything in Pro plus centralized billing, team marketplace, Bugbot code reviews, shared cloud agents, usage analytics, SAML/OIDC SSO
Teams (Premium)
$120/mo/user · $1,152/yr/user
Everything in Pro plus centralized billing, 5x Agent limits, team marketplace, Bugbot code reviews, shared cloud agents, usage analytics, SAML/OIDC SSO
Enterprise
Custom
Everything in Teams plus pooled usage, SCIM, audit logs, access controls, invoice billing, AI code tracking API, priority support
JetBrains
All Product Packs
$29.90/mo · $299/yr
Best offer, Includes 10 IDEs, Air, 3 extensions, 2 profilers, and JetBrains AI Pro, First year: US $299.00, Second year: US $239.00, Third year onwards: US $179.00
Intel IDEA Ultimate
$19.90/mo · $199/yr
Professional IDE for Java and Kotlin development, JetBrains AI Free included, First year: US $199.00, Second year: US $159.00, Third year onwards: US $119.00
dotUltimate
$21.90/mo · $219/yr
Developer toolkit for .NET and game development, JetBrains AI Pro included, First year: US $219.00, Second year: US $175.00, Third year onwards: US $131.00
Section 04
Pros and cons
From each tool's full review, written from the same checked facts.
Cursor
Pros
- Cursor is a full IDE fork of VS Code, preserving familiar muscle memory, extensions, and keybindings while deeply integrating AI as the primary interface.
- Supports multiple frontier AI models including GPT-4.5, Claude Opus, Google Gemini, and Grok, letting developers choose the right model for each task.
- Codebase indexing builds a semantic map of the entire project so AI responses are informed by the whole repo, not just the currently open file.
- Tab completions are context-aware and capable of multi-line, multi-thought suggestions rather than single-line autocomplete.
- Version 2.0 introduced parallel agents and background agents, expanding what can be automated within a single development session.
- Adopted at scale by enterprises like NVIDIA across 40,000 engineers, indicating enterprise-grade reliability and team-level viability.
- The integrated experience feels more cohesive than plugin-based alternatives because AI is rebuilt into the editor core, not bolted on.
Cons
- Cursor requires replacing your existing editor entirely rather than functioning as a plugin, which is a significant commitment for developers invested in their current setup.
- This review is based on secondary research including vendor documentation and pricing pages rather than direct hands-on testing, which limits the depth of certain findings.
- Locking into a full IDE fork creates dependency risk if Cursor's development pace slows or pricing changes substantially.
- Developers who prefer a lightweight or highly customized editor environment may find the VS Code base restrictive even with extensions available.
- The breadth of model options, while a strength, may create decision fatigue for teams that want a simple, opinionated default workflow.
- As a relatively young company founded in 2022, long-term enterprise support guarantees and roadmap stability are less proven than established IDE vendors.
JetBrains
Pros
- Deep IDE integration means no context-switching — the AI layer sits directly inside IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, and other JetBrains tools developers already use daily.
- Multi-model backend pulls from GPT-4, Claude, and Google Gemini/Codey, so teams aren't locked into a single vendor's approach to code generation.
- Codebase-aware autocomplete leverages decades of JetBrains static analysis investment, though broader project context has to be attached manually rather than indexed automatically.
- The AI Agent Communication Protocol (ACP) allows 25+ third-party agents to plug into JetBrains workflows, offering unusual openness for an IDE-native AI tool.
- Cross-editor support is beginning to emerge, including compatibility with the Zed editor, expanding reach beyond JetBrains' own ecosystem.
- Arrives to an established user base of tens of millions of professional developers, meaning adoption friction is minimal for existing JetBrains customers.
- Enterprise teams benefit from model flexibility and agent extensibility in ways that few competing IDE-native AI tools currently offer.
Cons
- The AI Assistant is an add-on to an existing ecosystem, making it a poor fit for developers who don't already use JetBrains IDEs.
- The tool hasn't been independently tested hands-on by this reviewer, so findings rely entirely on vendor documentation and public pricing.
- Solo developers may find the multi-model flexibility and ACP protocol overkill compared to simpler, more focused AI coding tools.
- Being positioned as an ecosystem deepener rather than a standalone product means the value proposition collapses if you leave the JetBrains suite.
- The generic marketing language around features like 'AI-powered code completion' undersells what the tool actually does, making it harder to evaluate before trying.
- Dependency on multiple third-party model providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) introduces potential inconsistency and vendor risk over time.
Section 05
Cursor vs JetBrains: common questions
Which is better, Cursor or JetBrains?
Cursor scores 8.4 and JetBrains 7.1 out of 10 among the AI coding assistants we rate. Cursor is ahead on agents and your codebase, privacy and security and where it works. JetBrains is ahead on pricing and model freedom.
Is Cursor or JetBrains cheaper?
Cursor's cheapest paid plan is $20/mo (Pro) and JetBrains's is $10/mo (AI Pro). Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
Do Cursor and JetBrains have a free plan?
Yes, both do.
What can Cursor do that JetBrains cannot?
On the facts both vendors publish: understands your whole codebase, reviews pull requests and option to keep no copy of your code.
What can JetBrains do that Cursor cannot?
On the facts both vendors publish: runs models on your own machine.
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