Google Antigravity vs Cursor: Agent-First or Editor-First?
October 5, 2026
You searched "Google Antigravity vs Cursor" expecting two IDEs. As of October 2026, that is only half true. Google Antigravity launched in November 2025 as an IDE with a separate agent-manager window. Since then Google has split it into a family of products: a standalone desktop app, a terminal CLI, an SDK, and extensions for other editors. Cursor is still one thing: an AI coding agent inside an editor, now owned by SpaceX.
Short version: Cursor is the editor-first choice, built around you reading and changing code with an agent beside you. Antigravity is the agent-first choice, built around briefing agents, then reviewing what they produced. Both change quickly, so every product claim below comes from the vendors' own pages and is dated to this month.
- Antigravity is made by Google and has five surfaces: Antigravity 2.0, the IDE, the CLI, the SDK, and IDE extensions
- Cursor is built on the VS Code codebase and adds Tab, an agent, a CLI, and cloud agents
- Models: Antigravity runs Gemini models and, depending on your plan, some others. Cursor lists models from several labs
- Both stacks changed hands or names this year. Gemini CLI became Antigravity CLI, and Cursor joined SpaceX
Quick comparison
| Google Antigravity | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Platform: desktop app, IDE, CLI, SDK, editor extensions | Editor with an agent, Tab, CLI, and cloud agents |
| Owner | SpaceX (acquisition announced as complete on 14 August 2026) | |
| Agent-first surface | Antigravity 2.0, a desktop app with no IDE | The agent in the editor, plus cloud agents |
| Editor | Antigravity IDE, a separate app | Cursor, based on the VS Code codebase |
| Autocomplete | Tab in the IDE: Supercomplete, Tab-to-Jump, Tab-to-Import | Tab, with multi-line and cross-file edits |
| Where agents run | On your machine, with Remote Control to watch from a browser | On your machine, or in isolated cloud VMs |
| Browser | Browser subagent driving local Chrome | Agent browser control |
| Models | Gemini, plus other families depending on plan | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, SpaceXAI and others, plus Cursor's own |
| Desktop platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux |
What Google Antigravity is, as of October 2026
Google's launch post from 18 November 2025 describes Antigravity as an "agentic development platform." The core was a familiar AI-powered IDE, with two additions. One was browser control. The other was a Manager surface, a mission control for spawning and watching several agents across workspaces.
On 19 May 2026, Google introduced Antigravity 2.0. It is a standalone desktop app, and the post states plainly that "there is no IDE." The Agent Manager idea moved out of the IDE into its own application, aimed at knowledge work as well as code. Google says the IDE stays available, and recommends keeping it for developers.
The family as the Antigravity docs now describe it:
| Surface | What Google says it is |
|---|---|
| Antigravity 2.0 | Standalone desktop command center for agents, with projects, worktrees, scheduled tasks, and parallel subagents |
| Antigravity IDE | Full AI developer environment with Agent and Tab; its docs note it is not supported for enterprise customers |
| Antigravity CLI | Lightweight terminal interface that shares the agent harness with 2.0 |
| Antigravity SDK | Python framework for building custom agents on the same harness |
| IDE extensions | Antigravity inside VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Zed, and Xcode |
Two ideas run through all of it. Artifacts are the deliverables an agent produces: plans, code diffs, architecture diagrams, images, and browser recordings. Google's artifacts docs say they let you review at milestones instead of watching every tool call. And the browser subagent can open, read, and act on a local Chrome. The browser docs describe an isolated Chrome profile so the agent doesn't touch your personal one.
Autonomy raises the question of control. Per Antigravity's feature docs, agents work only inside the folders of a project by default, and they ask before running terminal commands outside an isolated sandbox on macOS and Linux, or before any terminal command on Windows. Permissions attach to projects, so a trusted repository can be looser than an untrusted folder. You can also hook your own scripts into the agent loop with JSON hooks. If you plan to leave agents running unattended, read that page first and pick the strictest preset that still lets you work.
How Cursor approaches the same job
Cursor's docs call it "a coding agent for building ambitious software." The center of gravity is the editor you already know.
Cursor says it is based on the VS Code codebase, and a one-click import brings across your extensions, themes, settings, and keybindings. Tab suggests multi-line edits, adds missing imports, predicts your next edit location, and proposes cross-file changes. The agent searches the codebase, edits files, runs terminal commands, controls a browser, and saves checkpoints you can roll back to.
The part Antigravity doesn't mirror is cloud agents. They run in isolated VMs with a full development environment, start from the web, desktop, mobile, Slack, GitHub, or Linear, and don't need your laptop online. Antigravity's equivalent is different in kind: its Remote Control lets you monitor and approve a session running on your own desktop from any browser, keeping your local files and toolchain in place.
Models and billing
Antigravity's models page lists Gemini models as the core, plus Anthropic's Claude models and an open-weight GPT-OSS model. Availability depends on your plan, and Google flags some older entries for removal in November 2026. Cursor's models page lists models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, SpaceXAI, and others, alongside Cursor's own models.
Billing differs in model. Google's Plans page describes usage as quotas tied to your Google AI plan, refreshed on a schedule, with purchased credits as optional overage. It also says bring-your-own-key isn't supported. Google's FAQ adds that using third-party agent software with your Antigravity login breaks the Terms of Service, and points those users to an API key instead. Cursor bundles model usage into its own subscription; see Cursor's pricing page for the current terms. We quote no prices here, since plans and limits on both sides change often.
Extensions and your existing editor
If your VS Code setup is the thing you can't give up, Cursor's answer is documented: import it.
Antigravity solved the problem from the other side. In August 2026 Google introduced IDE extensions so you can use Antigravity agents inside VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Zed, and Xcode without switching editors. The post says the aim was to avoid turning traditional editors into heavy multi-agent hubs, and individuals can sign in with a personal Google Account, including on the free tier, per the extensions docs.
What Google's pages don't say is whether the standalone Antigravity IDE loads VS Code marketplace extensions. If a specific extension is non-negotiable for you, install the IDE and test that one before moving anything.
The Gemini CLI transition
Google's developer blog announced the move on 19 May 2026. The post says that on 18 June 2026, Gemini CLI and the Gemini Code Assist IDE extensions stop serving requests for Google AI Pro and Ultra users, and for people using them free of charge through Gemini Code Assist for individuals. Organisations using them through a Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise licence keep their access, and Gemini CLI stays reachable through paid API keys.
Antigravity CLI replaces it. Google says it is built in Go, runs agents in the background, and keeps Agent Skills, Hooks, Subagents, and Extensions (now plugins), though without one-to-one feature parity at launch. Its migration docs cover moving your config over.
This matters for the comparison because a lot of Antigravity's audience is Gemini CLI users who were moved, not people who shopped around.
Where each one is stronger
| Stronger with Antigravity | Stronger with Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Working style | Brief agents, review artifacts, steer by comment | Edit code with an agent beside you |
| Surfaces | App, IDE, CLI, SDK, and extensions on one agent harness | One product built around the editor |
| Background work | Scheduled tasks and parallel local subagents | Cloud agents in isolated VMs |
| Your editor | Extensions for several editors and IDEs | One-click VS Code import |
| Building on top | Python SDK for custom agents | Plugins, skills, and MCP, per Cursor's docs |
| Ownership | A large vendor with its own models | A large vendor with its own models, newly SpaceX |
Where the table can't help: the quality of results on your codebase. Both vendors tune their agents against their own models, and no table captures how either behaves on your repository. A week of real work in each beats any chart, including this one.
Which to choose
| If you… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Spend most of your day reading and changing code | Cursor |
| Want to hand off whole tasks and review plans and recordings | Antigravity |
| Need your VS Code extensions intact on day one | Cursor |
| Work in JetBrains, Zed, or Xcode and want Google's agent there | Antigravity extensions |
| Want agents running while your laptop is off | Cursor cloud agents |
| Want a Python SDK on the same harness | Antigravity |
| Are an enterprise team | Check both vendors' enterprise docs; Antigravity's docs steer enterprises to 2.0 or the CLI |
If neither fits, our Cursor alternatives guide covers the wider field. Zed vs Cursor is worth reading too, since Zed is one of the editors Antigravity now plugs into.
Where Taku fits
Both tools assume you write software, or at least work inside a repository. The gap they leave is the person who saw an AI setup somebody else got working and can't run it: no editor, no terminal, no environment.
Taku is an AI-native desktop workspace where you mirror an AI app, skill, or workflow that already works, run it, remix it, and keep it. It isn't a code editor and doesn't compete with Antigravity or Cursor; it's for the step before, when the useful thing exists and you just need to run it. Taku is in Beta, and the Mac app is available now. The marketplace shows what mirroring looks like in practice.
FAQ
What is Google Antigravity?
Google's agentic development platform. As of October 2026 it spans a desktop app (Antigravity 2.0), a standalone IDE, a CLI, a Python SDK, and extensions for VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Zed, and Xcode.
Is the Antigravity IDE the same as Antigravity 2.0?
No. Google's launch post calls 2.0 a completely separate desktop application with no IDE. The IDE remains its own app, and the 2.0 docs say agents there work in projects rather than a single workspace.
Can I use Claude or GPT models in Antigravity?
Google's models page lists Claude models and an open-weight GPT-OSS model next to Gemini, with availability depending on your plan. It also says bring-your-own-key isn't supported.
Is Gemini CLI still available?
For individuals, no: it stopped serving requests on 18 June 2026 for Google AI Pro and Ultra users and free Gemini Code Assist for individuals users. Standard and Enterprise licence holders keep access, per Google's announcement.
Did SpaceX really buy Cursor?
Yes. Cursor's announcement is dated 14 August 2026 and says the acquisition is complete, following a partnership that began in April.
Can I use Antigravity without leaving VS Code or JetBrains?
Yes, through Google's extensions for VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Zed, and Xcode. Install steps and requirements are in the VS Code extension docs.