A Coaley Peak® siteAI Coding Assistants Compared
“AI coding assistant” covers two different jobs. One is finishing your code as you type, inside your editor. The other is thinking a problem through in a chat window. Most developers end up using one of each. Here is how the popular options compare, so you can pick a sensible starting pair rather than paying for the lot.
The contenders
GitHub Copilot
Inline autocomplete that lives in the editor you already use.
Indicative price
From around £8/month (free for verified students & OSS maintainers)
Best for
Fast, in-line suggestions across VS Code, JetBrains, and Neovim with minimal setup.
Watch out: Suggestions are only as good as the surrounding context; it won’t replace understanding the code yourself.
Cursor
An AI-first editor (a VS Code fork) built around the model.
Indicative price
Free tier; Pro around £16/month
Best for
Codebase-aware edits, multi-file changes, and chatting about your project without leaving the editor.
Watch out: It’s a separate editor to adopt, and heavier requests can use up the paid quota quickly.
Claude / ChatGPT
A general chat assistant for design, debugging, and explanation.
Indicative price
Free tier; paid around £18 to £20/month
Best for
Talking through approaches, explaining errors, and generating larger chunks you then paste in.
Watch out: No editor integration by default. You copy code back and forth unless you add a plug-in.
How they compare
| Feature | GitHub Copilot | Cursor | Claude / ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inline autocomplete | Yes | Yes | No |
| Whole-codebase awareness | Partial | Strong | Paste-in only |
| Explains & debugs in chat | Basic | Strong | Excellent |
| Works in your existing editor | Yes | It is the editor | No |
| Free option to try | Students / OSS | Yes | Yes |
Pricing and capabilities change frequently; figures are indicative and in GBP. Always check the provider for the latest.
So which should you choose?
For most people the sweet spot is one autocomplete tool plus one chat assistant. Copilot (or Cursor) for in-editor speed, and Claude or ChatGPT for thinking through the harder problems. If you want it all in one window and don’t mind switching editors, Cursor covers both jobs. Whatever you choose, treat the output as a draft you review, not code you ship unread.
Learn the tools properly
Reviews tell you what to pick; our free tutorials show you how to use it well.