# Cursor vs Amazon Q Developer: which do AI models recommend for AI coding, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, AI coding assistants. One of fourteen models named Cursor first on the direct prompt; zero named Amazon Q Developer. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/developer/ai-coding-assistants/cursor-vs-amazon-q-developer/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | 4% | #3 of 9 | 19% | 57 | 14 of 14 |
| Amazon Q Developer | 4% | #4 of 9 | 16% | 38 | 13 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Qwen 3.7 Flash: cursor first (first choices: Cursor, GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Claude Code)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Cursor, JetBrains AI Assistant)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Augment Code, Cursor, Devin)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Augment Code, Claude Code, Cursor, Kilo Code)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Amazon Q Developer, Cursor, Gemini Code Assist, Tabnine)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Cursor, Windsurf)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Amazon Q Developer, Cursor, Tabnine)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Cursor, Tabnine, Windsurf)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Cursor, Windsurf)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Cursor, Gemini Code Assist)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Amazon Q Developer, Augment Code, Cursor)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: JetBrains AI Assistant)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: GitHub Copilot)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: GitHub Copilot) (alternatives: Claude Code)

## What the models said about Cursor

- "Cursor says it sends prompts and code context to model providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google... If you're on an individual plan, the DPA does not apply." (GPT-5.4 mini, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Cursor, Replit, Windsurf, OpenAI Codex. Named in the 43.1% unauthorized file operations taxonomy and in the IDEsaster 100% vulnerable set." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Cursor has bugs and inconsistent outputs, where the AI claims to have completed a task but hasn't actually done what it said" (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Cursor at $20-40/month offers the most sophisticated agent workflows with Composer mode, multi-file awareness, and autonomous coding capabilities." (Muse Glimmer 30B, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "It earns the top overall ranking based on its whole-codebase context awareness, multi-file editing capabilities, and strong accuracy scores" (Claude Haiku 4.5, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Select two of the above tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot and Cursor) and run a head-to-head pilot" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, scale prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Amazon Q Developer

- "Lower Priority/Avoid if Possible: Amazon Q Developer ... End-of-support looming ... migrate from Amazon soon" (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "extracted 2,702 valid credentials from GitHub Copilot and 129 from Amazon CodeWhisperer using clever prompts" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Ranked second lowest at 72.38 in the privacy scorecard. Also flagged in credential extraction research." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)
- ""For budget-conscious teams, Continue.dev and Amazon Q Developer offer excellent value."" (Muse Glimmer 30B, budget prompt, first choice)
- "I'd start with Amazon CodeWhisperer or Tabnine since they're free" (MiniMax M2.5, budget prompt, first choice)
- "| Amazon Q Developer (ex-CodeWhisperer) | Yes (generous for individuals/AWS) | $19/mo Pro | AWS-heavy teams" (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt, alternative)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.