Cursor vs Amazon CodeWhisperer (2026)
A head-to-head comparison to help you pick the right tool
Cursor
Cursor is an AI-first code editor built on VS Code that lets you chat with your codebase and write code with AI assistance.
Get Pricing →Amazon CodeWhisperer
Amazon CodeWhisperer is AWS's AI coding assistant, optimized for AWS development and free for individual developers.
Get Pricing →Pros
- ✓Codebase-aware AI chat
- ✓Built on VS Code so familiar
- ✓Composer for multi-file edits
- ✓Fast and responsive
Cons
- ✗Separate app from VS Code
- ✗Pro plan required for best models
- ✗Still maturing as a product
Pros
- ✓Free for individuals
- ✓Excellent for AWS development
- ✓Security scanning built in
- ✓Reference tracking for open source
Cons
- ✗Less capable outside AWS ecosystem
- ✗Fewer IDE integrations than Copilot
- ✗Less community content
Our Take
Choose Cursor if developers who want a fully ai-native coding environment. Choose Amazon CodeWhisperer if aws developers building cloud applications.