What are the key differences between JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA and Cursor?

Compare JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA and Cursor side by side on Lunoo to see detailed feature differences, AI scores, and expert analysis.

How are JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA and Cursor scored?

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA has an AI score of 9.3/10 and Cursor has an AI score of 9.6/10. Scores are based on category fit, feature coverage, pricing signals, public reception, and recency.

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA vs Cursor 2026 - Compared

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

Cursor

WINNER Cursor

Cursor edges ahead with a score of 9.6/10 compared to 9.3/10 for JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA. While both are highly rated in...

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

9.3 Brilliant

Code Editor Get JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA open_in_new

emoji_events WINNER

Cursor

9.6 Brilliant

Code Editor Get Cursor open_in_new

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA From $249/year for the professional edition Free plan available

payments

Cursor From $9.99/mo Free plan available

psychology AI Verdict

Cursor edges ahead with a score of 9.6/10 compared to 9.3/10 for JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA. While both are highly rated in their respective fields, Cursor demonstrates a slight advantage in our AI ranking criteria. A detailed AI-powered analysis is being prepared for this comparison.

emoji_events Winner: Cursor

verified Confidence: Low

Ready to decide? Get Cursor arrow_forward

description Overview

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA is a powerful, commercial IDE (Integrated Development Environment) particularly well-suited for Java, Kotlin, and related technologies. It offers advanced code completion, refactoring tools, and debugging capabilities that significantly boost developer productivity. IntelliJ IDEA's 'Ultimate' edition includes support for a wide range of frameworks and languages, including...

Cursor

Cursor is an AI-first code editor built on VS Code's foundation, designed from the ground up for an AI-native workflow. It excels with powerful agent-like features: you can ask it to implement entire features, debug by highlighting errors, or refactor large codebases using natural language. It deeply indexes your entire project, providing exceptional context awareness beyond the current file. Its...