Best AI Coding Assistants (2026): Top Picks Compared
Quick Take
We tested 5 AI coding assistants on code quality, IDE support, privacy, and pricing. GitHub Copilot is the safe choice; Cursor is the power-user pick.
Our Top Picks at a Glance
| # | Tool | Best For | Starting Price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GitHub Copilot | Overall | $0/mo | 8.5/10 |
| 2 | Cursor | Power users | $0/mo | 8.5/10 |
| 3 | Codeium | Free tier | $Custom/mo | 8.2/10 |
| 4 | Tabnine | Privacy | $Custom/mo | 8.4/10 |
| 5 | Amazon CodeWhisperer | AWS shops | $0/mo | 7.7/10 |
1. GitHub Copilot | Overall
AI pair programmer integrated into VS Code, JetBrains, and Neovim. Context-aware code completion, chat, and code review.
Our take: Free tier, broadest IDE support, and Microsoft's model pipeline behind it.
GitHub Copilot Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | — |
| Pro | $10 | — |
| Business | $19 | — |
| Enterprise | $39 | — |
2. Cursor | Power users
AI-native code editor built on VS Code. Multi-file editing, codebase-aware chat, and natural language code generation.
Our take: Multi-file edits and codebase-aware chat. Replaced VS Code for many devs.
Cursor Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $0 | — |
| Pro | $20 | — |
| Business | $40 | — |
3. Codeium | Free tier
Free AI code completion tool with IDE integrations. Supports 70+ languages. Chat, search, and autocomplete with generous free tier.
Our take: Unlimited completions, 70+ languages, $0. Hard to argue with that.
Codeium Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | Custom | — |
| Individual | $0 | — |
| Teams | $15 | — |
4. Tabnine | Privacy
AI code assistant with privacy focus. Runs locally or cloud. Supports 30+ languages. Team-trained models for enterprise codebases.
Our take: Runs on-prem. The only serious option for air-gapped or regulated codebases.
Tabnine Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | Custom | — |
| Basic | $0 | — |
| Dev | $12 | — |
5. Amazon CodeWhisperer | AWS shops
AWS AI coding assistant with security scanning. Free for individual use. Optimized for AWS services and infrastructure code.
Our take: Free for individuals. Security scanning built in. Best if you live in AWS.
Amazon CodeWhisperer Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | $0 | — |
| Professional | $19 | — |
How We Ranked These Tools
Evaluation based on completion accuracy, IDE support breadth, privacy features, pricing tiers, and developer community feedback.
Read our full scoring methodology for details.