The best AI coding assistants for JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm and more)
AI coding assistants ranked for people who stay in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand and the rest of the JetBrains family. We looked at what actually runs inside the IDE today (completion, chat, agents, diffs), what you need to pay for it, and which integrations are being wound down.
Facts and prices checked Oct 17, 2026 · no paid placements
- 01
JetBrains AIBest overall, because it's built in: JetBrains AI powers AI Assistant and the new Air in IDEs, which runs coding agents (JetBrains' own Junie plus Claude Agent, Codex and Gemini) across several projects and opens their changes as IDE diffs you can comment on line by line. Code completion uses JetBrains' own Mellum model by default. AI Free gives unlimited AI completion and 3 AI credits every 30 days (not in IntelliJ IDEA without an Ultimate subscription, PyCharm without Pro, or Android Studio). AI Pro is $10/mo or $100/yr with 10 credits, and AI Ultimate $30/mo or $300/yr with 35 credits (5 bonus). One credit equals $1 of AI use, third-party models are billed at public API rates with no surcharge, unused credits don't roll over, and top-ups last 12 months. There's a free 30-day AI Pro trial, and the All Products Pack includes 10 credits a month. You can also bring your own API keys or connect 25+ agents over the Agent Client Protocol (ACP) without a JetBrains AI subscription. Organizations buy credits in any amount for a shared pool.
- 02
GitHub CopilotBest plugin for teams on GitHub: GitHub's own JetBrains plugin (55 million+ Marketplace downloads, updated Oct 13, 2026) brings code completion, chat, edit mode, agent mode with checkpoints, MCP servers, workspace indexing and Copilot code review into the IDE. Next edit suggestions, custom instructions, custom agents and agent skills are still in preview in JetBrains, per GitHub's feature matrix. Free covers limited chat and agent use; Pro is $10/mo ($15 of AI credits), Pro+ $39/mo ($70) and Max $100/mo ($200). Business is $19 and Enterprise $39 per user/mo, with 1,900 and 3,900 AI credits per user pooled across the org. Code completions and next edit suggestions don't use credits and are unlimited on every paid plan.
- 03
Claude CodeBest for big, multi-file agent tasks: Anthropic's JetBrains plugin runs the claude CLI in the IDE's terminal (install the CLI separately), opens Claude's edits in the IDE diff viewer, shares your current selection or tab, adds a shortcut for file references, and lets Claude read the IDE's inspection diagnostics such as lint and syntax errors. It works in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, Android Studio, WebStorm, PhpStorm and GoLand, and /ide connects a Claude Code session started in any outside terminal. It needs a paid Claude plan or a Claude Console account: Pro is $20/mo ($17/mo billed annually), Max from $100/mo, and Team Standard seats $25/seat/mo ($20 annually). JetBrains' separate "Claude Agent" in AI Chat is a different integration that runs on JetBrains AI credits or an Anthropic API key.
- 04
OpenAI CodexBest if you already pay for ChatGPT: OpenAI's Codex is built into JetBrains AI Chat as a third-party agent. Pick Codex in the chat and sign in with your ChatGPT account, an OpenAI API key or a JetBrains AI subscription. It picks up the open file and your selection automatically, and you @-mention anything else. ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo) includes Codex on the web, in the CLI and in the IDE; Pro is $100, $200 or $500/mo; Business is $20/user/mo billed annually ($25 monthly, 2+ users); Free and Go ($8/mo) are for light use. One catch from JetBrains' docs: Codex ignores AI Assistant's .aiignore file, so files listed there can still be read.
- 05
CursorBest if you already pay for Cursor: there's no Cursor plugin, but Cursor's agent runs in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm and other JetBrains IDEs over ACP. Install it from the ACP registry in the AI Chat panel (AI Assistant plugin enabled, 2025.1 or later), sign in, and the agent reads your project, edits files and runs terminal commands with Cursor's model choice. It needs a paid Cursor plan and uses the same usage-based pricing: Plus $8/mo, Premium $30, Super $100, Ultra $200, Teams from $30/user/mo. Cursor's JetBrains docs cover the agent only (models, file edits, terminal); they don't mention Cursor Tab completions.
How to choose
If you don't already pay for an AI tool, start with JetBrains AI Free (unlimited completion) and move to AI Pro ($10/mo) when you want agents. If you already pay for Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor, connect that subscription instead: Claude Code has its own plugin, and Codex and Cursor run in AI Chat, so you don't pay twice. If your company is on GitHub and wants seat billing, policies and PR reviews, Copilot Business ($19/user/mo) is the simplest standard. You can mix them: JetBrains lets you switch agents and subscriptions, even mid-session.
Also considered, and why they're not in the top 5
Amazon Q Developer still has a JetBrains plugin with a free tier (50 agentic requests a month) and Pro at $19/user/mo, but AWS will end support for the Q Developer IDE plugins on Apr 30, 2027 and points users to Kiro (Pro $20/user/mo). The Windsurf JetBrains plugin (formerly Codeium) is in maintenance mode and its Cascade agent is being deprecated; Cognition says newer JetBrains releases can break it and recommends Devin over ACP instead (Devin Pro is $20/mo). Continue's JetBrains plugin is now community-maintained, with the last update on Mar 27, 2026, and Continue recommends its cn CLI instead. Tabnine's website and pricing page now redirect to Tricentis, so there was no public price list to check and we left it out.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a JetBrains AI subscription to use other agents?
No. JetBrains' docs say ACP-compatible agents (such as Cursor) can be connected and used without a JetBrains AI subscription, and Claude Code's plugin uses your Claude plan. Codex can sign in with a ChatGPT account. A JetBrains AI subscription is required for Air's cloud runs. ACP agents don't currently work under WSL.
What does a JetBrains AI credit cost?
One AI credit equals $1 of AI use, charged in your local currency, and third-party models are billed at public API rates with no surcharge. AI Pro ($10/mo) includes 10 credits every 30 days and AI Ultimate ($30/mo) includes 35. Unused credits don't roll over; top-up credits are valid for 12 months.
Is there a Cursor plugin for JetBrains?
No plugin, but Cursor's agent works inside JetBrains IDEs through the Agent Client Protocol. You need a paid Cursor plan (from $8/mo) and a JetBrains IDE 2025.1 or later with the AI Assistant plugin enabled, then you install Cursor from the ACP registry in AI Chat.
Does GitHub Copilot work in all JetBrains IDEs?
GitHub's plugin is listed on the JetBrains Marketplace for IntelliJ-based IDEs, and agent mode, chat, MCP and code review are supported in JetBrains. A few features (next edit suggestions, custom instructions, custom agents, agent skills) are still in preview there.
Facts and prices checked on vendor pages on Oct 17, 2026: JetBrains AI plans & pricing, JetBrains AI plans and usage, Air in IDEs, Junie, ACP agents in JetBrains, Codex in AI Assistant, Claude Agent in AI Assistant, JetBrains AI code completion, GitHub Copilot plans, Copilot plans (docs), Copilot feature matrix, GitHub Copilot JetBrains plugin, Claude Code in JetBrains, Claude pricing, Codex in your IDE, Codex pricing, Cursor in JetBrains (ACP), Cursor pricing, Amazon Q Developer pricing, Amazon Q JetBrains plugin (end of support), Kiro pricing, Windsurf plugins (maintenance mode), Devin pricing, Continue JetBrains plugin. Plans and limits change often, so confirm before you buy.