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.

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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.
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Alternatives list

  1. Visual Studio Code icon
     1376 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.

    202 Visual Studio Code alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Snapcraft
     
  2. Sublime Text icon
     2044 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.

    192 Sublime Text alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
     
  3. VSCodium icon
     402 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 type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Electron
    • Snapcraft
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
     
  4. Zed Editor icon
     107 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.

    88 Zed Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
     
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    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.

    Zed Editor 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
  5. Kate icon
     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 type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
     
  6. Void icon
     34 likes

    The open source AI code editor. Write code with the best AI tools, use any model, and retain full control over your data.

    74 Void alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  7. Windsurf Editor icon
     34 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.

    64 Windsurf Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  8. 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...

    34 Google Antigravity alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  9. Gemini CLI icon
     25 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.

    41 Gemini CLI alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  10. opencode icon
     24 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.

    60 opencode alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  11. GitHub Copilot icon
     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
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code
    • Neovim
    • Microsoft Visual Studio
     
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