No affiliate links on this page and no paid placements, ever. Prices change often, so confirm on the official site.
AI pair programmer inside your editor.
| Category | coding |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan; Pro $10/mo Freemium |
| Free tier | Yes: Free plan with limited chat and agent usage |
| Price source | https://github.com/features/copilot/plans (checked Oct 27, 2026) |
| Official site | github.com/features/copilot |
| Free quota reset | Refills every month on Free (2,000 code completions + 50 chat/agent requests per month) |
| Commercial rights | Included on Free and paid plans (your code and accepted suggestions remain yours) |
| Smartest way to test | Install Copilot Free ($0) in VS Code first; only upgrade to Pro ($10/mo or $100/yr, free for verified students and open-source maintainers) if you hit the 50-chat monthly cap |
What it’s good for
GitHub Copilot is an AI helper that works inside your code editor. It suggests code as you type, answers questions in a chat panel and can take on bigger tasks in agent mode.
It works in popular editors like VS Code and JetBrains, in the terminal, and on GitHub itself.
Who it’s for
Developers who already use GitHub, and teams that want one AI tool across different editors.
Watch out for
- The free plan has limited chat and agent usage.
- Review every suggestion. Code that looks right can still have bugs or security holes.
- GitHub has offered free access to verified students and some open source maintainers. Check if you qualify before paying.
How it compares
Cursor is a whole editor built around AI, while Copilot adds AI to the editor you have. Claude includes Claude Code with its paid plans, if you’d rather work in the terminal. See Cursor vs GitHub Copilot.
Before you pay
Pro is $10/mo. Use the free plan for a couple of weeks of normal work and see if you run out.
How I wrote this: plan and price details come from the official pricing page (checked Oct 2026). The rest is my own take from reading the official pages, not a lab test. How I review
Visit GitHub Copilot → See my workspace
Tap Compare, then tap Compare on another tool in the full list. Or use the quick compare links under each alternative below.
Alternatives
Cursor: AI-first code editor.
Free plan; Plus $8/mo (part of the X Subscription; Grok models only)
⇄ Compare side by side with Cursor