# AI coding assistants: what AI models recommend, October 2026

Gane Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "AI coding assistant" and as "AI pair programming tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/developer/ai-coding-assistants/2026-10

This is the permanent record of the October 2026 Edition, published October 1, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/developer/ai-coding-assistants/index.md

**Standing:** GitHub Copilot leads with 75% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 51 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [GitHub Copilot](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/github-copilot/index.md) | 75% | 11% | 73 |
| 2 | [Windsurf](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/windsurf/index.md) | 14% | 9% | 34 |
| 3 | [Cursor](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cursor/index.md) | 4% | 19% | 57 |
| 4 | [Amazon Q Developer](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/amazon-q-developer/index.md) | 4% | 16% | 38 |
| 5 | [Tabnine](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/tabnine/index.md) | 2% | 0% | 33 |
| 7 | [Claude Code](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/claude-code/index.md) | 0% | 14% | 28 |
| 8 | [Sourcegraph Cody](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/sourcegraph-cody/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 10 |
| 11 | [Continue](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/continue/index.md) | 0% | 10% | 10 |
| 12 | [Devin](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/devin/index.md) | 0% | 10% | 10 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 49 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: GitHub Copilot; alternatives JetBrains AI Assistant
- GPT-5.4 mini: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Cursor, JetBrains AI Assistant
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Augment Code, Cursor, Devin
- Perplexity Sonar: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Augment Code, Claude Code, Cursor, Kilo Code
- Grok 4.20: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Amazon Q Developer, Cursor, Gemini Code Assist, Tabnine
- Mistral Small: GitHub Copilot
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Cursor, Windsurf
- Llama 4 Maverick: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Claude Code
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Cursor, GitHub Copilot; alternatives Claude Code
- Kimi K2: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Amazon Q Developer, Cursor, Tabnine
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Cursor, Tabnine, Windsurf
- MiniMax M2.5: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Cursor, Windsurf
- GPT-6 Luna: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Cursor, Gemini Code Assist
- Muse Glimmer 30B: GitHub Copilot; alternatives Amazon Q Developer, Augment Code, Cursor

## Sources the answers cite

75 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- dev.to: 25 answers, 34 citations
- augmentcode.com: 18 answers, 31 citations
- kilo.ai: 18 answers, 23 citations
- tech-insider.org: 17 answers, 18 citations
- sourcegraph.com: 16 answers, 18 citations
- daily.dev: 15 answers, 19 citations
- docs.github.com: 14 answers, 23 citations
- resources.rework.com: 14 answers, 16 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://sourcegraph.com/blog/best-ai-coding-assistant (14 answers)
- https://tech-insider.org/best-ai-coding-assistants-2026 (14 answers)
- https://daily.dev/blog/best-ai-coding-assistants-comparison (12 answers)
- https://resources.rework.com/tools/ai-tools/best-ai-coding-tools-2026 (12 answers)
- https://zoer.ai/posts/zoer/best-ai-coding-assistant-comparison-2024 (12 answers)
- https://kilo.ai/articles/top-ai-coding-agents (11 answers)
- https://jellyfish.co/library/how-to-choose-an-ai-coding-assistant (10 answers)
- https://learn.g2.com/best-ai-coding-assistants (10 answers)
- https://axify.io/blog/the-best-ai-coding-assistants-a-full-comparison-of-20-tools (9 answers)
- https://kilo.ai/articles/ai-coding-assistant-buyers-guide (9 answers)

## Warned against

- Cursor: 11 of 57 labels negative. "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)
- GitHub Copilot: 8 of 73 labels negative. "GitHub says it may use Copilot interaction data, including prompts, suggestions, and code snippets, to train and improve models for individual subscribers." (GPT-5.4 mini, negative prompt)
- Amazon Q Developer: 6 of 38 labels negative. "Lower Priority/Avoid if Possible: Amazon Q Developer ... End-of-support looming ... migrate from Amazon soon" (Grok 4.20, negative prompt)
- Claude Code: 4 of 28 labels negative. "Claude Code when using third-party skill marketplaces. The ClawHub/ClawHavoc campaign shows high risk from unsanctioned skills." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt)

## Movement since September 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: GitHub Copilot at 75%.

- GitHub Copilot: 67% to 75%, +8. Inside the floor by 3 points · rank 1 of 44, unchanged.
- Windsurf: 10% to 14%, +4. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 2 of 44, unchanged.
- Cline: 4% to 0%, −4. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 4 → 17 of 44.
- Tabnine: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 12 → 4 of 44.
- Aider: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 6 → 16 of 44.
- Cursor: 4% to 5%, +1. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 3 of 44, unchanged.
- Amazon Q Developer: 2% to 2%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 5 of 44, unchanged.
- Claude Code: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 13 → 7 of 44.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, October 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.