I tried every free Cursor alternative and one of them took me by surprise
www.makeuseof.com/tried-free-cursor-alternative-one-took-surprise/
- GitHub Copilot still sets the baseline
Polished, reliable—and not as free as you’d hope
github.com/features/copilot - Windsurf tries to do it all
Ambitious features, but not everything lands
windsurf.com/ - Cline feels surprisingly capable
Lightweight, flexible, and better than expected
cline.bot/ - Void is still finding its footing
Interesting approach, but rough around the edges
voideditor.com/ - Zed is the wildcard here
A fast editor with AI potential baked in
zed.dev/ - Free alternatives do exist, and one stands out
You don’t have to pay to get a solid AI coding workflow