Strengths: Deep IDE integration (VS Code, JetBrains), excellent autocomplete, GitHub-native workflows. Best for: developers already in the GitHub ecosystem.
Weaknesses: Lacks the agentic capabilities of newer tools. Can't autonomously refactor across files or run terminal commands.
Strengths: Full agent capabilities — filesystem access, terminal execution, browser automation. Can complete end-to-end tasks without hand-holding. Best for: autonomous development workflows.
Weaknesses: Steeper learning curve, requires CLI comfort, API costs can accumulate on long tasks.
Strengths: Best-in-class inline editing, context-aware code generation, fast iteration loop. Best for: rapid prototyping and iterative development.
Weaknesses: Less effective for multi-file refactoring compared to agent-based tools.
Copilot for daily coding in IDE. Codex/Hermes for autonomous task execution. Cursor for fast prototyping. Many teams use all three complementary.