GitHub Copilot
AI pair programmer from GitHub with inline completions, chat, agent mode, and model choice across IDEs
Freemium
About GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is the AI coding assistant built by GitHub (owned by Microsoft). It lives in VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, and on GitHub.com, offering inline code completion, a Copilot Chat interface, an autonomous agent mode that plans and edits across files, AI code review, and a CLI. You can pick the model behind chat and agents, including Claude and OpenAI Codex. Pricing is freemium with a Free tier plus paid plans, and as of June 2026 it uses usage based billing with monthly AI Credits.
Key Features
- Inline code completion and next edit suggestions across many languages
- Copilot Chat in the IDE and on GitHub.com
- Agent mode that researches the repo, plans, and edits across files
- Model choice including Claude and OpenAI Codex on higher tiers
- AI powered pull request code review
- Copilot CLI and Model Context Protocol (MCP) server support
Pros & Cons
What we like
- Deep, native integration with GitHub and the major IDEs
- Free tier with 2,000 monthly completions lets you try it at no cost
- Code completions and next edit suggestions stay unlimited on paid plans
- Choice of frontier models rather than a single locked in LLM
Room for improvement
- June 2026 shift to usage based AI Credits makes heavy agent use harder to budget
- Premium requests for chat and agents can run out and add overage charges
- Best models (Pro+, Max) are expensive at $39 and $100 per month
- Sign ups for some new individual plans were temporarily paused in 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is GitHub Copilot?
GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer from GitHub that suggests whole lines and functions as you type, answers questions in chat, and runs agent tasks. It now offers a catalog of models from several providers and works inside VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, and on github.com, using the context of your open files.
Is GitHub Copilot free?
There is a free tier with limited usage, roughly 2000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month as of 2026. Paid individual plans are Copilot Pro at about 10 dollars a month and Pro Plus at about 39 dollars a month, with Business and Enterprise team plans priced around 19 and 39 dollars per user.
What is GitHub Copilot best for?
Copilot is best for developers who want fast inline autocomplete with zero setup and tight GitHub integration. It shines on everyday boilerplate, test scaffolding, repetitive edits, and quick chat questions about your codebase, especially for teams already living inside VS Code and GitHub pull requests.
What is the difference between GitHub Copilot and Cursor?
Copilot is an extension that layers AI onto your existing editor, so you keep your current setup and get strong inline completions. Cursor is a full editor fork built around AI with deeper multi file editing and agent flows. Many developers find Copilot lighter and cheaper, and Cursor more aggressive for large refactors.
Best For
Autocompleting boilerplate and repetitive code while you typeAsking questions about a codebase through Copilot ChatDelegating multi file tasks and bug fixes to agent modeGetting automated review feedback on pull requests
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