Tempr vs GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Cline, and Continue

The short answer

• Tempr if you want your own keys behind every feature, inline completion included, working the same way in Visual Studio, VS Code, and JetBrains IDEs.
• GitHub Copilot if you'd rather use GitHub's built-in models than manage keys, want a free tier, or want GitHub-native extras like the cloud agent that opens pull requests.
• Cursor if you're happy to move to a new, AI-first editor and buy model usage from Cursor.
• Cline if you want a free, open-source agent in VS Code, can do without inline completion, and want requests to go straight to your provider.
• Continue was a free, open-source option, but Cursor acquired it in June 2026 and it's no longer maintained.

Where your code goes

Every tool here sends your prompts, and often your code, to a model provider. What differs is whether anything sits in between. Cline and Continue call your provider straight from your machine. Copilot's bring-your-own-key chat in VS Code does too, but code completions, semantic search, and its built-in models go through GitHub. Cursor routes every request through its own servers, including ones on your own key, and its zero-data-retention policy doesn't cover those.

Tempr relays requests through its servers too. The agent's tool-calling loop runs server-side, so a turn survives a dropped connection and resumes where it stopped; tool calls and their results, which can include code, are kept to support that run. Your provider keys are encrypted at rest, never logged in plain text, and never pooled with other customers', and Tempr doesn't mark up token prices.

Tempr vs GitHub Copilot

Copilot runs in all three IDEs Tempr does, and it has added bring-your-own-key: in VS Code, where it works without a GitHub account, and in preview in Visual Studio and JetBrains IDEs. What your key covers is where they still differ. In VS Code, your own key applies to chat and utility tasks only; code completions run on Copilot's own models and need a GitHub account. In Visual Studio, your own key works only in the new Agent (Preview). Since June 2026, chat and agent use of Copilot's built-in models is billed in metered AI Credits, and on the Free, Pro, and Pro+ plans GitHub uses interaction data for training unless you opt out.

Pick Copilot if you'd rather not manage keys, want a free tier, or want GitHub-native features such as the cloud agent, which works in GitHub Actions and opens pull requests.

Pick Tempr if you want your keys behind every feature, inline completion included, working the same way in Visual Studio, VS Code, and JetBrains, with about 30 providers to choose from.

Already on Copilot? The Tempr Gateway can be its bring-your-own-key provider, so its agent sessions can use any model on your allowlist.

Full comparison: Tempr vs GitHub Copilot →

Sources: Copilot plans · language models in VS Code · bring your own key · Visual Studio 2026 release notes · JetBrains BYOK · usage-based billing · interaction data policy

Tempr vs Cursor

Cursor is its own editor, built on the VS Code codebase, with fast multi-line Tab completion and cloud agents. It has no Visual Studio version, and JetBrains users get its agent, without Tab, through JetBrains AI Assistant on a paid plan. Your own keys (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock) work for chat models only; Tab always runs on Cursor's models. Every request, including ones on your own key, is routed through Cursor's servers, and Cursor's zero-data-retention policy doesn't apply to requests made on your key.

Pick Cursor if you're happy to switch to an AI-first editor and would rather buy model usage from Cursor than bring your own keys.

Pick Tempr if you want to stay in Visual Studio, VS Code, or your JetBrains IDE, and want your own keys used for every feature, completions included.

Using Cursor already? Point its OpenAI base URL at the Tempr Gateway to use any model on your allowlist.

Full comparison: Tempr vs Cursor →

Sources: Cursor pricing · API keys · JetBrains integration · data use

Tempr vs Cline

Cline is a free, open-source (Apache 2.0) coding agent for VS Code and its forks, with a JetBrains plugin and a CLI. It's bring-your-own-key through and through: 30+ providers plus local models, no account needed, and requests go straight from your machine to your provider. It has Plan and Act modes, checkpoints you can roll back to, and an MCP marketplace. It doesn't offer inline completion, and there's no official Visual Studio version.

Pick Cline if you want a free, open-source agent in VS Code, don't need inline completion, and want nothing between you and your provider.

Pick Tempr if you want the agent, chat, and inline completion in one extension across Visual Studio, VS Code, and JetBrains, with sessions that sync between your machines and an agent that picks up where it left off after a dropped connection.

Using Cline already? Add the Tempr Gateway as one provider entry to reach every model on your allowlist with one key.

Full comparison: Tempr vs Cline →

Sources: Cline pricing · installing Cline · Cline FAQ · source code

Continue (discontinued)

Continue was a popular free, open-source (Apache 2.0) assistant for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, with chat, an agent, and autocomplete on your own keys. Cursor acquired it in June 2026. The repository is no longer maintained, its hosted services have shut down, and the last releases were in June 2026 for VS Code and March 2026 for JetBrains. The extension still runs, but it won't get fixes when providers change their APIs.

Moving off Continue? Tempr covers the same ground, with chat, the agent, and inline completion on your own keys in VS Code and JetBrains, adds Visual Studio, and is actively developed. Start with the IDE quickstart. Staying on Continue for now? You can point it at the Tempr Gateway.

Full comparison: Tempr vs Continue →

Sources: continue.dev · source code · The New Stack

How we checked

Everything about the other tools comes from their own pricing pages, documentation, and release notes, checked on September 21, 2026 and linked above. These products change quickly, so prices and features may have moved since. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.