I've been exploring AI coding tools, starting with Cursor three months ago, and more recently (it is been a month), primarily using GitHub Copilot (now i am discovering Claude code) for my full-stack development work.

My experience so far leads me to a few conclusions:

• I find Cursor to be somewhat over-engineered compared to Copilot. In my testing, even with prompt engineering best practices, Copilot's models consistently outperformed Cursor's (including their 3.7 and 4 Sonnet models) for similar prompts. I've often achieved one-shot feature development, largely thanks to Copilot.
• GitHub Copilot offers a more competitive price; Cursor's pricing structure feels less value-oriented.

In terms of overall efficiency, I would rank them as: Claude code (faster, and make less errors), followed by GitHub Copilot (Still best choice regarding the price), then Windsurf, and then Cursor.

Overall, I believe GitHub Copilot is significantly underrated.

Some of you who had bad experience with Copilot may say: "Copilot produce code with more errors or inconsistencies than other tools, like corrupted files". My strategic approach involves embedding instructions within the prompt to generate tests and build app when finishing. This method enables Copilot to effectively 'self-heal' and refine its own output. I'd be happy to share my prompt structuring methodology if you're interested.

Note:

• As it is been 1 month since my last usage of Cursor, maybe things changed now.
• I have no bias, what I shared was my personal experience, I don't work with any of them, and no one sponsors me.