Did you know that AI-assisted coding tools are predicted to increase developer productivity by 55% by 2026? One of these products, Cursor AI, has already changed the landscape by merging the comfort of modern code editors and artificial intelligence.
Did you know that AI-assisted coding tools are predicted to increase developer productivity by 55% by 2026? One of these products, Cursor AI, has already changed the landscape by merging the comfort of modern code editors and artificial intelligence.
Cursor AI is designed to augment development workflows with deep AI integration. Cursor AI prioritizes privacy and offline usability while incorporating features like AI-generated code props, context-aware hints, and team workflows on classic editors such as VS Code.
But does Cursor AI live up to the hype? This review breaks down its features, pricing, pros/cons, and alternatives to help you decide.
Cursor AI is a desktop-first code editor with AI features, helping developers to write, debug, and refactor code more quickly. Unlike solely cloud-based IDEs, it functions locally while employing AI models for tasks like auto-completion, error detection, and also codebase-wide refactoring.
AI Chat Integration: A built-in chatbot that answers coding questions based on your project’s context.
Codebase Awareness: The AI understands your entire repository, offering relevant suggestions.
Privacy Controls: Optional anonymization of data sent to AI models.
Trusted by over 5 million developers, Cursor AI supports projects ranging from solo indie apps to enterprise-level systems.
Cursor AI gained rapid popularity following the integration of OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude models in 2023.
Its hybrid architecture allows offline coding while syncing with cloud-based AI when needed. The editor is built on Electron, ensuring compatibility with Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Developers: Accelerate coding tasks and reduce boilerplate work.
Teams: Streamline code reviews and cross-project collaboration.
Tech Leads: Enforce code standards via AI-powered linting.
Cursor’s coding completion feels more smart than usual autocomplete. If anyone working on a React project, it might guess my next move is to create a useEffect hook or add a custom hook for information fetching. It doesn't revolutionize the game, but it's a nice small time saving, a bit like the GitHub copilot but somewhat better. Overall, though, it’s a significant time saver, especially when you need to churn out boilerplate or repetitive snippets.
While writing code, Cursor will provide code completions developed by AI. Similar to regular code completion, we can use the Tab key to include these ideas into our code.
For example, let's imagine we start implementing a method named maximum(). Cursor will detect our goal and recommend an acceptable implementation. By pressing Tab, we may add the suggested code
The Composer Agent is the center of Cursor’s latest release. It expands on the AI’s capacity to understand not just snippets of code but whole projects. Composer adds AI right into the terminal. Need to find files updated in the last 24 hours?
Just input a simple command, and the AI transforms it into terminal syntax. With tools like Cursor’s Composer Agent and Apidog, programming is increasingly more about building workflows than writing individual lines of code.
Cursor's Agent Mode is an AI-powered feature of the Cursor AI code editor that enables for autonomous execution of difficult coding tasks, comprehending and altering code across multiple files, and performing terminal commands, going above simple code suggestions. Natural Language Commands
One of Cursor AI’s important features is its ability to transform simple English commands into usable code. Developers can specify the logic they want to implement, and Cursor AI generates the relevant code snippet.
Built as an extension of Visual Studio Code, Cursor easily fits into developers' current workflow, since it preserves all of VS Code's known features. For those now using VS Code, it ensures a seamless transfer by supporting extensions, themes, and keyboard shortcuts.
Using artificial intelligence, Cursor creates functions, autocomplete codes, and helps with refactoring. This especially helps developers working on big projects since it minimizes manual coding and debugging efforts, therefore reducing development time.
Cursor lets complete control over code customizing, unlike no-code or low-code systems. Without restrictions, developers can change AI-generated recommendations, include extensions, and improve their processes.
While Cursor provides coding more effective, developers still need technical understanding to use it effectively. Knowing AI-generated suggestions and modifying code appropriately may need some initial instruction.
Since AI models aren’t flawless, Cursor’s suggestions might occasionally generate inefficient or inaccurate code. Developers must manually examine and improve the AI-generated snippets to make sure accuracy and maintainability.
GitHub Copilot X: Deeper VS Code integration but lacks Cursor’s privacy controls.
Codeium: Free tier with unlimited queries but weaker context awareness.
Amazon CodeWhisperer: AWS-centric with strong security certifications.
JetBrains AI Assistant: Best for IntelliJ ecosystem loyalists.
For GPU-heavy tasks like game development or machine learning training, local IDEs like PyCharm or Visual Studio remain superior.
Cursor AI redefines modern coding by making AI a natural extension of the developer’s workflow. While it can’t fully replace cloud IDEs for deployment-heavy projects, its code generation and refactoring tools save hours weekly.
The 2025 updates position it as a top choice for privacy-conscious teams and developers tired of switching between ChatGPT and editor.
For those prioritizing AI code assistance without sacrificing local control, Cursor AI is a compelling pick.
Try the free plan to experiment with basic features, or explore Codeium for a budget-friendly alternative. As AI continues to reshape coding, tools like Cursor are leading the charge—one keystroke at a time.
