Free Cursor AlternativesTop AI Coding Assistants & Code Editors like Cursor

The best free alternative to Cursor is Visual Studio Code. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Cursor and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Cursor are Sublime Text, VSCodium, Zed Editor and Kate.

filter to find the best alternatives

Cursor alternatives are mainly AI Coding Assistants, but if you're looking for Code Editors or IDEs you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Free and Open Source. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Cursor.
More about Cursor
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Cursor alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Visual Studio Code icon

    Visual Studio Code

     1374 likes

    Free and extensible code editor with built-in Git support, smart IntelliSense, integrated debugger, 30,000+ extensions, works offline, supports markdown and syntax highlighting for numerous languages.

    203 Visual Studio Code alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Snapcraft
    Visual Studio Code screenshot 1
     

    • Visual Studio Code is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Cursor.

    • Visual Studio Code is the most popular free alternative to Cursor.

    • Visual Studio Code is Free and ProprietaryCursor is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Visual Studio Code is CustomizableCursor is not according to our users
  2. Sublime Text icon

    Sublime Text

     2042 likes

    Powerful editor blending code, markup, and prose editing with enhanced features like multi-tab selection, side-by-side definition viewing, and multiple selection tools for swift code navigation.

    193 Sublime Text alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Sublime Text screenshot 1
     
  4. VSCodium icon

    VSCodium

     401 likes

    This repository contains a build file to generate FLOSS release binaries of Microsoft's Visual Studio Code - Open Source ("Code - OSS") project, the open source core of the proprietary Visual Studio Code.

    196 VSCodium alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Electron
    • Snapcraft
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    VSCodium screenshot 1
     

    • VSCodium is the most popular Open Source alternative to Cursor.

    • VSCodium is Free and Open SourceCursor is Freemium and Proprietary
    • VSCodium is Customizable, Privacy focused and LightweightCursor is not according to our users
  5. Zed Editor icon

    Zed Editor

     106 likes

    Blazing fast code editor offering real-time multi-user collaboration, language-aware syntax highlighting, integrated terminal, multi-buffers for tab-free editing, built-in Vim mode, searchable outline, AI coding assistance, advanced keyboard commands, and cross-platform support.

    87 Zed Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Zed Editor screenshot 1
     
    |
    3
    8
    Comments about Zed Editor as an Alternative to Cursor
    Iaian7
    Positive
    0

    Zed is much closer to Cursor now than previous comments might have you believe; you're able to add API keys for a large range of providers, and the AI panel includes agent mode that will edit files as needed. The syntax for adding context (a folder, file, etcetera) is even the same as Cursor.

    gresch
    Negative
    1

    Zed is not an alternative to Cursor as the latter is an "AI"/ML coding support offering, not just a text editor.

    Aitztv
    Positive
    0

    today, 19-11-24, Zed for Windows is still not avaleible.

    Cursor Icon
    Zed Editor icon

    • Most users think Zed Editor is a great Cursor alternative.

    • Zed Editor is Freemium and Open SourceCursor is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Zed Editor is LightweightCursor is not according to our users
  6. Kate icon

    Kate

     312 likes

    The Kate project develops two main products: KatePart, the advanced editor component which is used in numerous KDE applications requiring a text editing component, and Kate, a MDI text editor application.

    144 Kate alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Kate screenshot 1
     
  9. Windsurf Editor icon

    Windsurf Editor

     33 likes

    Windsurf Editor is an IDE merging AI and developers for lockstep collaboration with Cascade capabilities, boosting speed and contextual coding through copilot and agent-like systems across Mac, Windows, and Linux.

    63 Windsurf Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Windsurf Editor screenshot 1
     
  10. Google Antigravity icon

    Google Antigravity

     31 likes

    Google Antigravity is an agentic IDE and coding environment designed to support real world software projects through autonomous development workflows. It provides an agent first workspace where developers set direction while AI agents carry out tasks such as coding, debugging...

    32 Google Antigravity alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Google Antigravity screenshot 1
     
  11. Gemini CLI icon

    Gemini CLI

     24 likes

    Open-source terminal AI connects to development tools, understands and edits code, generates, explains, and refactors using natural language, automates complex workflows, executes shell commands, grounds interactions with search, and supports extensibility via protocols and prompts.

    40 Gemini CLI alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Gemini CLI screenshot 1
     
  12. opencode icon

    opencode

     21 likes

    Terminal-based AI coding assistant featuring a themed native UI, automatic LSP integration, multi-agent sessions, 75+ supported LLMs, local and cloud model options, shareable debugging links, open source licensing, and session sharing for collaborative coding workflows.

    59 opencode alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    opencode screenshot 1
     
  14. GitHub Copilot icon

    GitHub Copilot

     34 likes

    GitHub Copilot leverages the power of OpenAI Codex to provide real-time suggestions for code and complete functions, all within your editor. With its training on vast amounts of code, GitHub Copilot translates natural language prompts into coding suggestions across multiple...

    91 GitHub Copilot alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code
    • Neovim
    • Microsoft Visual Studio
    GitHub Copilot screenshot 1
     
12 of 82 Cursor alternatives