Each has its niche; beginners should start with Cursor. Cursor is a standalone AI editor with multi-model support, great at multi-file editing and project-level understanding, with the most intuitive interface;
Claude Code is Anthropic's CLI AI tool, excellent for complex refactoring and large projects, suited for developers with terminal experience;
GitHub Copilot is a VS Code/JetBrains plugin that integrates seamlessly with existing workflows, with fast code completions. Experienced developers often combine multiple tools.
Detailed Cursor vs Copilot comparison