I Used 4 AI Coding Tools for 3 Months. Here's My Honest Take.

I've been using AI coding tools full-time since January 2026. Not just testing them for a weekend - actually building production software with them daily. After 3 months of real-world usage across Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf, and GitHub Copilot, here's what I actually think. The TL;DR Tool Best At Worst At Monthly Cost Cursor Everyday coding + agent tasks Gets expensive fast $20-60 Claude Code Complex refactoring Learning curve $20-200 Windsurf Value for money Less powerful agent $15 Copilot Low-friction integration Weaker autonomy $10 But rankings don't tell the real story. Let me explain. Cursor: The Daily Driver Cursor is where I spend 80% of my coding time. Two features make it irreplaceable: 1. Tab Completion That Actually Understands Context Cursor doesn't just complete the current line. It predicts what you're about to do across multiple lines and shows it as a diff. One Tab press, and an entire function gets restructured. This alone saves me 30-40 minutes per day. No exaggera