If you're on annual Copilot Pro+, your Sonnet 4.6 multiplier just went from 1x to 9x. Opus 4.6 went from 3x to 27x. All of it bills starting June 1, 2026, when GitHub's usage-based billing replaces the flat-fee model. Base prices stay the same and code completions stay free, but everything agentic now meters by the token.
By the end of this post you'll have a confident pick from six AI coding tools that make sense at the new prices.
Cursor is the AI-native IDE most developers leaving Copilot land on first, a VS Code fork with first-party agent mode (Composer 2), cloud-run background agents, and Tab autocomplete the community has called best-in-class since 2024.
Cursor is a VS Code fork. Tab autocomplete runs on the Supermaven model Cursor acquired in 2024 (Supermaven itself is sunsetting; the tech now powers Cursor's predictive editing). Composer 2 handles multi-file agent runs, and Cloud Agents spawn parallel runs in remote sandboxes so you don't tie up your laptop.
Key features:
- Tab autocomplete
- Agent mode for multi-file changes
- Cloud Agents for parallel runs in remote sandboxes
- Codebase indexing with @-mentions for context
- All major models supported (Claude, GPT-5.5, Gemini, Grok)
- 51.7% SWE-Bench solve rate versus Copilot's 56.0%
Best for:
- Developers wanting a familiar VS Code feel plus deeper agent mode
Pricing:
- Hobby (Free): limited Tab completions and limited Agent requests
- Pro $20/month: usage-based credit pool drawn against your model spend (the older fast-vs-slow request tiering retired in June 2025)
- Pro+ $60/month
- Ultra $200/month
Bottom line. The default community pick. For a one-for-one Copilot replacement that goes further on agentic work, start here. For the head-to-head against Claude Code, read our Claude Code vs Cursor comparison.
Builder.io is the only entry on this list built for whole teams. It's a collaborative workspace where designers, product managers, and engineers work alongside parallel AI agents, and where engineers approve every change before it ships. Where the rest of this list is a single-developer coding assistant, Builder is a multiplayer layer on top of whichever one you pick.
Solo coding has never been faster. The handoff from designer to engineer to QA has never moved more slowly in comparison. Cursor and Claude Code make individual developers faster but they don't let a designer push a real component change or a PM update copy without filing a ticket. Builder.io collapses that handoff. Designers, PMs, and engineers contribute inside the same workspace; agents run in parallel; engineers gate the merge.
Key features:
- Multiplayer workspace: designers, PMs, engineers, and agents in one branch
- Massively parallel agents: spawn dozens of agent runs in cloud containers without contending for your laptop
- Design-to-code workflow: Turns Figma into production React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Qwik, Solid, HTML, React Native, Kotlin, or Flutter
- Engineer-gated merge: every agent change ships only after a developer approves it'
Best for:
- Teams whose bottleneck is team-wide shipping and not individual developer speed
Pricing:
- Free: 5 users, 15 daily / 60 monthly Agent Credits
- Pro: pay-as-you-go ($25 per 500 Agent Credits)
- Team: $40/user/month
- Enterprise: custom seats and Agent Credits
Bottom line. Pick Builder.io when you want a team-wide workspace where designers, PMs, and engineers work alongside parallel AI agents, and where engineers approve every change before it ships.
Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool. It runs in your terminal, in VS Code or JetBrains, in the desktop app, or on the web, bundled with Claude.ai Pro or billed per token.
Claude Code started as a terminal-first agent and has grown into a multi-surface tool. It still runs as a CLI command (the spiritual home for terminal-native engineers), and ships first-party VS Code and JetBrains extensions, a desktop app, and a web client. The differentiator is shape: Claude Code stays out of your editor. It runs as an agent that reads files, runs commands, and opens PRs, then steps aside.
Key features:
- Terminal-first agentic CLI with VS Code, JetBrains, Desktop, and Web surfaces
- MCP support, sub-agents, routines, scheduled tasks
- GitHub Actions integration for CI-driven runs
- Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.7 (the models powering most agent benchmarks today)
- Direct access to Anthropic models without provider markup
Best for:
- Engineers who treat AI as a junior collaborator on multi-step tasks
- Anyone already paying for Claude.ai Pro or Max (Claude Code is included)
Pricing:
- Bundled with Claude.ai Pro ($20/month) or Max (from $100/month, with a higher tier above)
- Pay-per-token: Sonnet 4.6 input $3/MTok, output $15/MTok; Opus 4.7 input $5/MTok, output $25/MTok
Bottom line. The most powerful single-developer agent on this list. Pair it with Builder.io when the work crosses from "coding alone" to "shipping as a team."
Codex is OpenAI's desktop command center for agentic coding. The desktop app runs on macOS and Windows, and is built for supervising multiple long-running coding agents across local folders, isolated worktrees, and cloud environments.
Codex is OpenAI's coding agent, but the desktop app is the part worth separating from the CLI and IDE extension. The Codex app gives you a dedicated workspace for project threads, diff review, Git operations, automations, and skills. It is closer to an agent operations console than a code editor: you choose a project, start a Local, Worktree, or Cloud thread, review changes in the app, comment on diffs, and commit, push, or open a PR without switching tools.
Key features:
- Native desktop app for macOS and Windows
- Parallel project threads for running multiple Codex tasks side by side
- Local, Worktree, and Cloud modes for choosing where the agent works
- Built-in Git diff review, inline comments, staging, commit, push, and PR creation
- Integrated terminal scoped to each thread or worktree
- Automations for scheduled recurring tasks
- Skills support shared across app workflows
- Windows-native sandboxing; Computer Use for macOS GUI tasks
Best for:
- Developers who want to supervise multiple agent runs from a dedicated desktop app
- Teams already using ChatGPT plans and wanting OpenAI's first-party coding agent without living in an editor fork
Pricing:
- Free $0/month and Go $8/month: Codex included for a limited time
- Plus $20/month: focused Codex usage with access to the latest models and higher limits than Free/Go
- Pro from $100/month: 5x or 20x higher Codex usage than Plus
- Business: pay as you go, with larger virtual machines, admin controls, and credits-based extension
- Enterprise / Edu: custom access with priority processing, audit logs, analytics, data controls, and enterprise security
Bottom line. Pick Codex if you want a desktop app for orchestrating many coding agents, not another editor. It is strongest when your workflow is "start parallel agent threads, review diffs, and ship from one command center."
Windsurf is Cognition's AI-native IDE, a Cursor-shape product with a more generous free tier. Teams pick Windsurf over Cursor mostly for budget; agent mode and model selection are broadly comparable.
Windsurf is a VS Code-style fork with Cascade (Windsurf's in-editor agent), Tab autocomplete, Supercomplete intent prediction, and SWE-1.5, Windsurf's proprietary model that ships alongside the major closed-source ones. (Codeium rebranded to Windsurf in April 2025; Cognition acquired the company in July 2025.)
Key features:
- Cascade in-editor agent, Tab autocomplete, Supercomplete intent prediction
- SWE-1.5 (Windsurf's proprietary model)
- All major premium models supported (Claude, GPT-5.5, Gemini)
- Generous free tier refreshing daily and weekly
Best for:
- Developers wanting a VS Code-style editor with a more generous free tier
- Mixed-model shops (Windsurf supports all premium models)
Pricing:
- Free: refreshing quota daily and weekly (no expiration)
- Pro $20/month
- Max $200/month
- Teams $40/user/month
Bottom line. Pick Windsurf if Cursor's $20 Pro plan feels expensive and you want a similar shape.
Zed is the fastest AI editor on this list, a Rust-native, GPU-accelerated editor from the ex-Atom and Tree-sitter team that runs agentic edits via an open Agent Client Protocol (ACP) and ships Edit Prediction powered by Zeta2, an open-weights model. Zed hit 1.0 on April 29, 2026 after five years of cross-platform development. Philosophy: "out-of-your-face" AI that hides until you ask for it.
Zed is built in Rust by Nathan Sobo, Antonio Scandurra, and Max Brunsfeld, the team behind Atom, Electron, and Tree-sitter. No Electron under the hood; GPU shaders drive sub-millisecond input latency at 120 FPS. ACP makes Gemini CLI a first-class native agent and lets Zed host Claude Agent, Codex, and Cursor through official adapters. Edit Prediction runs on Zeta2, an open-weights next-edit model. Zed is actively developing DeltaDB, a pre-GA CRDT sync engine that tracks every change at character granularity.
Key features:
- Edit Prediction (Zeta2): open-weights next-edit model, hidden by default, surfaces only when a modifier is held.
- Agent Client Protocol (ACP): open standard for hosting any agent. Gemini CLI runs natively; Claude Agent, Codex, and Cursor run through official adapters; community ACP agents install from a registry without plugins.
- Parallel Agents and Agent Metrics dashboard: run multiple AI threads across projects, track adoption and turn times for engineering ROI.
- Native development tooling: Git, DAP debugger, LSP, multibuffer editing, remote development, Jupyter REPL, Dev Containers, vim/Helix bindings.
- Disable-AI one-click: turn off all AI features for regulated environments or pure-editor workflows.
Best for:
- Developers who want the lowest-latency editor on the list (native Rust, no Electron)
- Teams that prefer "out-of-your-face" AI hidden until asked, the opposite of Cursor's always-on overlay
- Open-source-leaning developers who want an open-weights edit-prediction model (Zeta2) and an open agent protocol
Pricing:
- Free / Personal $0 forever: 2,000 accepted edit predictions/month, plus unlimited use with your own API keys or external agents
- Pro $10/month: unlimited edit predictions, $5 monthly token credits, usage-based billing at API list price + 10%, with a configurable spending cap. Two-week trial includes $20 token credits.
- Student: Free Pro for university enrollees for 12 months ($10/month token credits, unlimited predictions)
- Zed for Business: centralized billing, role-based access controls, team management; SSO, usage analytics, and data-privacy guarantees on the Enterprise tier
Bottom line. Pick Zed if input latency, native performance, and open AI architecture matter more than the absolute-best autocomplete (Cursor still leads there). Zed is the editor for developers who want AI on tap, only when asked.
If your team's bottleneck is collaboration, pick Builder.io. For the closest one-for-one Copilot replacement, pick Cursor. For the most powerful single-developer agent on hard problems, pick Claude Code. For a desktop command center that supervises parallel coding agents, pick Codex. For the strongest free tier from a Cursor-shape product, pick Windsurf. For the fastest editor with native Rust performance and open AI architecture, pick Zed. The right tool maps to the shape of your work.