# Cursor vs Visual Studio

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Visual Studio

| Attribute | Cursor | Visual Studio |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 42.5 (71% (medium)) | 58 (54% (medium)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Cursor is an AI coding agent that combines IDE capabilities with autonomous agents to help developers build software. It streamlines development workflows across desktop, CLI, and cloud platforms. | Comprehensive integrated development environment for .NET and C++ development with AI-powered assistance, integrated debugging, testing, and CI/CD integration. Available as Visual Studio IDE for Windows and macOS, plus Visual Studio Code for cross-platform web development. |
| features.capabilities | `{"type":"full_ide","builtin_ai":"native","deployment":"both","os_support":"Windows","remote_dev":true,"open_source":"closed","extensibility":"marketplace","pricing_model":"subscription","language_scope":"polyglot","git_integration":true,"code_intelligence":"ide_grade"}` | `{"type":"full_ide","builtin_ai":"native","deployment":"desktop","os_support":"Windows, macOS, Linux","base_platform":"original","extensibility":"marketplace","language_scope":"polyglot","git_integration":true,"code_intelligence":"ide_grade","integrated_debugger":true}` |
| integrations.count | 2 | 2 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"GitHub"}]` | `[{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Azure"}]` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true,"windows":true}` | `{"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Hobby","summary":"Free","features":["Limited Agent requests","Access to Composer","No credit card required"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$20/mo","features":["Extended limits on Agent","Generous limits for Grok & Composer","Access to frontier models","MCPs, skills, and hooks","Cloud agents","Bugbot on usage-based billing"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Pro+","features":["3x Pro limits on Agent","Generous limits for Grok & Composer","Access to frontier models","MCPs, skills, and hooks","Cloud agents","Bugbot on usage-based billing"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Ultra","features":["20x Pro limits on Agent","Generous limits for Grok & Composer","Access to frontier models","MCPs, skills, and hooks","Cloud agents","Bugbot on usage-based billing","Priority access to new features"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Standard","summary":"$40/user/mo","features":["Centralized team billing and administration","Team marketplace for internal rules, skills, and plugins","Agentic code reviews with Bugbot","Cloud agents and automations with shared team context","Usage analytics to understand team behavior","Team-wide privacy mode","SAML/OIDC SSO"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":40,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Premium","features":["5x Standard limits on Agent","Centralized team billing and administration","Team marketplace for internal rules, skills, and plugins","Agentic code reviews with Bugbot","Cloud agents and automations with shared team context","Usage analytics to understand team behavior","Team-wide privacy mode","SAML/OIDC SSO"],"commitment":"monthly","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["Pooled usage","Invoice/PO billing","SCIM seat management","Repository, model, and MCP access controls","Auto-run, browser, and network controls","Audit logs and service accounts","AI code tracking API","Priority support and account management"],"contactSales":true}],"summary":"Hobby free, Pro $20/mo, Teams $40/user/mo, Enterprise custom","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.cursor.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-01T15:16:05.790Z","startingPrice":{"amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Community","summary":"Free","features":["Full IDE capabilities for .NET and C++ development"],"description":"Best comprehensive IDE for .NET and C++ developers on Windows","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Professional standard","summary":"$99.99/user/mo (paid annually), renews at $66.59/user/mo","features":["Visual Studio Professional","Azure DevOps (Basic plan)","$50 Azure credit per month","Basic dev/test software","Training and support"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":99.99,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise standard","summary":"$499.92/user/mo (paid annually), renews at $214.09/user/mo","features":["Visual Studio Enterprise","Azure DevOps (Basic + Test plan)","$150 Azure credit per month","Premium dev/test software","Extended training and support","Power BI Pro"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":499.92,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Professional monthly","summary":"$45/user/mo","features":["Visual Studio Professional","Azure DevOps (Basic plan)"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":45,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise monthly","summary":"$250/user/mo","features":["Visual Studio Enterprise","Azure DevOps (Basic + Test plan)"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":250,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free Community edition; subscriptions from $45/user/mo to $499.92/user/mo","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://visualstudio.microsoft.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T20:23:24.983Z","startingPrice":{"amount":45,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | mid | mid |
| pricing.transparent | no | yes |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (IDEs & Code Editors)

| Capability | Cursor | Visual Studio |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Type | Full IDE | Full IDE |
| Language scope | Polyglot | Polyglot |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Both | Desktop |
| **Platform support** |  |  |
| OS support | Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Base platform | - | Original |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Extensibility | Extension marketplace | Extension marketplace |
| **DX** |  |  |
| LSP / DAP support | - | - |
| Remote / dev-containers | ✓ | - |
| Integrated debugger / profiler | - | ✓ |
| Code intelligence depth | IDE-grade | IDE-grade |
| Built-in git integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| **AI** |  |  |
| Built-in AI | Native | Native |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Openness | Closed | - |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Pricing model | Per-seat subscription | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:31:29.158Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*