AI IDE Comparison (Feb 2026): Copilot vs Cursor vs JetBrains AI vs Kiro vs Antigravity

Last Updated: February 11, 2026 - An up-to-date AI IDE comparison to help you choose the best AI coding assistant for your workflow. This guide compares Amazon Kiro, GitHub Copilot, JetBrains AI Assistant, Cursor, and Google Antigravity, and also covers where OpenAI Codex fits into modern coding workflows.

🌟 Quick Takeaways

What Matters in 2026: Models, Limits, and Agent Workflows

By 2026, most popular AI IDEs look similar on the surface: chat, inline completion, refactors, and “agent mode.” What actually separates them is model access (which LLMs you can select), usage limits (credits vs premium requests vs frontier-model caps), and how well the tool works across your whole codebase.

✨ Practical wins you’ll notice:

  • Faster boilerplate and repetitive edits
  • Multi-file refactors with consistent changes
  • Repo-aware Q&A and search
  • Test generation and regression fixes
  • Agent workflows for “do X, then Y, then Z” tasks

AI Coding Assistants: At a Glance

Feature Amazon Kiro GitHub Copilot JetBrains AI Cursor
Best For Spec-driven planning Best overall value JetBrains users AI-first editor
Key Feature Spec-Driven Workflow Agent mode + IDE reach Multi-model + IDE depth Background agents
Free Tier 50 credits/month (+ bonus credits for new sign-ups) 2,000 completions + 50 chat/agent requests AI Free: 3 credits/30 days Hobby: limited frontier models
Starting Price $20/month $10/month $10/month $20/month

Amazon Kiro: Spec-Driven Development with Credits

Amazon Kiro is a spec-driven AI coding tool built around two key modes: “Vibe” for fast iteration and “Spec” for structured planning. It also uses steering files to keep larger projects consistent. Unlike flat-rate “unlimited” tools, Kiro is built around a transparent credit system, so more capable models will consume credits faster.

What Makes Kiro Different

🎯 Spec-Driven Workflow

Switch between “Vibe” (quick iterations) and “Spec” (structured planning) depending on how you build.

📋 Steering Files

Project steering helps keep architecture and conventions consistent across larger codebases.

🤖 Model Selector

Choose Claude models (Haiku/Sonnet; Opus on paid tiers) or open-weight options (DeepSeek/MiniMax/Qwen), or use Auto routing when you don’t want to think about model selection.

💳 Credit-Based Limits

Predictable usage: free monthly credits, paid plans, and optional overage pricing per credit.

Pricing Options

🎁 Sign-Up Bonus: New users can receive 500 bonus credits usable within 30 days. (Availability depends on sign-in method; see Kiro pricing for details.)

💼 Ideal For: Developers who like structured planning and want predictable credit-based usage.

Models: What You Can Use (Credits Apply on Every Plan)

Model option Free tier + bonus credits Paid tiers (Pro/Pro+/Power) Notes
Auto ✅ ✅ Routes your prompt to the best available model.
DeepSeek 3.2 ✅ ✅ Open-weight option; credit multiplier: 0.25× Auto.
MiniMax M2.1 ✅ ✅ Open-weight option; credit multiplier: 0.15× Auto.
Qwen3 Coder Next ✅ ✅ Open-weight option; credit multiplier: 0.05× Auto.
Claude Sonnet 4 ✅ ✅ Strong default for most coding tasks (example: Sonnet 4 costs 1.3× Auto on Kiro’s pricing page).
Claude Sonnet 4.5 ✅ ✅ Frontier Sonnet option for harder tasks; consumes credits faster than Auto.
Claude Haiku 4.5 ✅ ✅ Fast and cost-efficient — best way to stretch Free and bonus credits.
Claude Opus 4.5 ❌ ✅ Paid tiers only; highest quality option; expect the highest credit usage.
Claude Opus 4.6 ❌ ✅ Paid tiers only; newest Opus option; expect the highest credit usage.

GitHub Copilot: Best Overall Value (Free + Pro + Pro+)

GitHub Copilot remains the “default” choice for many developers because it works across the widest set of editors and supports both completion and agent-style workflows. Copilot’s key concept is premium requests: paid tiers include a monthly budget for frontier models and advanced agent features.

Why Developers Choose Copilot

⚡ Fast Inline Completion

Low-latency suggestions that stay out of your way.

🔄 Works Everywhere

Runs in VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, Neovim, and more.

🤖 Agent Workflows

Chat + agent mode for multi-step coding tasks and reviews.

👥 Business Ready

Clear org-level controls, billing, and compliance options.

Plans & Limits

🎯 Premium Requests: Chat, agent mode, code review, coding agent, and Copilot CLI use premium requests (usage varies by model/feature).

💼 Ideal For: Developers who want broad IDE support and a predictable value-per-dollar plan, and teams that need mature admin features.

Models: What You Get on Free vs Pro

JetBrains AI: Deep IDE Integration + Bring Your Own Model

JetBrains AI is the best option if you already live in IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, Rider, or other JetBrains IDEs. It combines cloud LLMs with support for custom/local models, and folds the AI Assistant + Junie agent into a single AI subscription model.

Unique JetBrains Advantages

🔒 Custom/Local Models

Use third-party providers or self-hosted models for privacy and (in many cases) offline workflows.

🎨 Native Integration

Deep integration across the JetBrains IDE ecosystem for refactors, navigation, and context.

🔄 Broad LLM Catalog

Access a range of cloud models from multiple providers, and switch based on task and cost.

🤖 Junie Agent

An autonomous coding agent for complex multi-step tasks.

Pricing Structure

🎁 Tip: JetBrains AI credits are a budget (1 AI credit = $1). Save cloud credits for “hard” reasoning tasks and use completion + local/custom models for day-to-day edits.

💼 Ideal For: JetBrains IDE power users, teams that want strong IDE-native workflows, and developers who want flexibility to use custom/local models.

Cursor IDE: AI-First Editor with Frontier-Model Tiers

Cursor is an AI-first code editor that leans hard into agent workflows (including background agents) and paid tiers that expand access to frontier models. It’s a great fit if you want an IDE that “feels like AI is the main feature.”

Why Developers Pick Cursor

🤖 Background Agents

Let agents work while you keep coding, with higher tiers expanding limits and access.

🧠 Frontier Model Access

Higher tiers expand access to OpenAI / Claude / Gemini models.

🐞 Bug Bot (Preview)

Automated bug finding and fix suggestions (availability depends on tier).

⚡ Editor Performance

A fast editor experience designed around chat + inline edits.

Pricing Tiers

💼 Ideal For: Developers who want an AI-first editor, strong agent workflows, and the option to pay for substantially higher frontier-model usage.

Google Antigravity IDE: Agent-First IDE (Public Preview)

Google Antigravity is an agent-first IDE in public preview. It’s built around Gemini 3 Pro and also supports optional access to additional models like Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-OSS. It’s free to try with rate limits, and higher limits are available for Google AI Pro/Ultra subscribers.

Why It’s Interesting

🧩 Agent-First Workflow

Designed around agents that can take on longer tasks across files and tools.

🧠 Gemini 3 Pro

Deep integration with Google’s latest coding-focused Gemini tier.

🔁 Multi-Model Options

Optional access to models like Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-OSS (availability may vary).

📈 Simple Preview Pricing

Free public preview with rate limits; higher limits for paid Google AI tiers.

OpenAI Codex: Agent, Not an IDE

OpenAI Codex is a software engineering agent (powered by codex-1) that can plug into your workflow through different products. In practice, “Codex” usually refers to the agent experience, not just a single chat model.

Sources & Official Links

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What AI models do the top AI IDEs support in 2026?

Modern AI IDEs commonly offer OpenAI GPT models, Anthropic Claude (Haiku/Sonnet/Opus), Google Gemini, and (in some tools) open-weight coding models like DeepSeek, MiniMax, or Qwen. Exact model access depends on your plan and usage limits.

What are the transformative benefits of AI IDEs?

AI IDEs speed up everyday development with inline completion, natural-language editing, multi-file refactors, repo-aware Q&A/search, and agent-style workflows for tasks like scaffolding features, writing tests, and fixing bugs.

What is Amazon Kiro?

Amazon Kiro is a spec-driven AI coding tool that pairs an IDE experience with structured workflows (Vibe/Spec), steering files, and a credit-based model to help you plan, generate, and maintain larger projects.

How does Kiro model access work on Free vs Pro?

Kiro is credit-based: Free, monthly credits, and sign-up bonus credits all work the same. You can choose Auto, specific Claude models (Haiku/Sonnet; Opus on paid tiers), or open-weight options like DeepSeek 3.2 (0.25×), MiniMax M2.1 (0.15×), and Qwen3 Coder Next (0.05×) — each with different credit multipliers.

What are the pricing options for Amazon Kiro?

Kiro offers Free (50 credits/month), Pro ($20/month for 1,000 credits), Pro+ ($40/month for 2,000 credits), and Power ($200/month for 10,000 credits). New sign-ups can receive 500 bonus credits usable within 30 days, and overage is $0.04 per credit.

What are the pricing tiers for GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot offers Free (usage caps), Pro ($10/month with 300 premium requests/month), Pro+ ($39/month with 1,500 premium requests/month and Claude + Codex agents in preview), plus Business ($19/user/month) and Enterprise ($39/user/month).

Where can I use OpenAI Codex?

Codex is a software engineering agent in ChatGPT. It’s also available as an agent in GitHub Copilot Pro+ (Preview on GitHub and VS Code) and inside JetBrains IDEs via AI chat (using JetBrains AI, a ChatGPT account, or an OpenAI API key).

What is the pricing structure for JetBrains AI?

JetBrains AI offers AI Free (3 AI credits/30 days), AI Pro ($10/month for 10 AI credits), and AI Ultimate ($30/month for 35 AI credits). Pro and Ultimate can also add top-up credits; AI Free cannot.

What are Cursor IDE pricing tiers?

Cursor offers a free Hobby tier plus paid tiers like Pro ($20/month), Pro+ ($60/month), and Ultra ($200/month), plus Teams ($40/user/month) and Enterprise (custom). Higher tiers increase frontier-model usage and add advanced features like background agents.

What is Google Antigravity IDE?

Google Antigravity is an agent-first IDE in public preview, built around Gemini 3 Pro, with optional access to additional models like Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-OSS. It’s free to try with rate limits, and higher limits are available to Google AI Pro/Ultra subscribers.

Who is each tool best for?

Choose Copilot for broad IDE support and strong value (and Pro+ for Codex/Claude agents), Cursor for an AI-first editor with frontier tiers, JetBrains AI for deep JetBrains integration + flexible model options + Codex in AI chat, Kiro for spec-driven planning with credit-based usage, and Antigravity if you want Google’s agent-first IDE in preview.