In the world of AI coding assistants, there are some big names out there: ChatGPT, Codium, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and a few experimental agents. After using many of them, I’ve found that Cursor is a real standout. Here’s a rundown of why I think Cursor is the best of the bunch.

ChatGPT

We all know ChatGPT for its conversational abilities. It’s handy for generating code snippets, debugging, and explaining concepts. However, it requires manual copying and pasting, which can slow down your workflow. It’s great for specific tasks but not as efficient for larger projects. In my experience, around 26% of code suggestions from ChatGPT get accepted by developers 1.

Codium

Codium is quite impressive with over 300,000 monthly active users. It supports more than 40 IDEs and over 70 programming languages 2. The free version is great for individual users, but there’s also a team plan for $19/month 3. Codium’s multi-line auto-completion and AI-powered chat are very useful 4.

Cursor

Now, this is where things get interesting. Cursor is used by tens of thousands of engineers, including folks at Tesla, IBM, Harvard, and MIT 5. One of the things I love about Cursor is that it runs 3x faster with GPT-4 compared to using OpenAI’s API directly 6. It’s also fully compatible with all Visual Studio Code extensions, which makes the transition smooth 7. Cursor offers a free plan and a pro plan at $30/month for full access to its AI capabilities 8.

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is another big player, used by over 20,000 organizations 9. It’s known for boosting productivity—developers using Copilot complete tasks 55% faster 10. About 30% of its suggestions are accepted, leading to an 8.69% increase in pull requests per developer and a 15% increase in pull request merge rates 11. Plus, 75% of developers report feeling more fulfilled using Copilot 12.

Experimental Agents

Experimental agents like AIDR and OpenDevin aim to automate coding tasks but are currently at about 13% efficiency 13. They struggle with task orchestration and memory management, so they’re more of a novelty than a practical tool for now.

Why Cursor Stands Out

Here’s why Cursor stands out for me:

• Top-notch Autocomplete: Cursor’s autocomplete is more accurate and useful than GitHub Copilot’s.
• Up-to-date Tech: Cursor uses Cloud 3.5 Sonnet and GPT-4.0, ensuring you have access to the latest libraries and technologies 5 7.
• User-Friendly: It simplifies adding and managing files, speeding up the workflow significantly.
• All-in-One Solution: Cursor combines the best features of GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT, offering seamless code completion and easy file management.

My Experience with Cursor

Using Cursor to develop a life coach AI app has been a game-changer. Implementing new features is a breeze—Cursor handles routes, controllers, services, repositories, and database files quickly. It takes care of the syntax and boilerplate code, leaving me to focus on high-level architecture and problem-solving.

Future Potential

Agents have huge potential. Once they improve memory management and task orchestration, they could revolutionize coding. Imagine an AI that autonomously retrieves context, manages files, and writes code, handling complex tasks seamlessly. But for now, they aren’t ready 13.