GitHub Copilot

AI pair programmer in your editor and on GitHub: completions, chat and coding agents.

Made by: GitHub (Microsoft)
Free plan: Limited free plan
Paid from: $10/mo
Skill level: Some setup
Works on: Web · iOS · Android · IDE extension · CLI · Mac · Windows · Linux

Checked 23 Sep 2026Visit GitHub Copilot →

Best for

Developers who work in VS Code, JetBrains or on GitHub and want inline completions plus a choice of Claude, GPT and Gemini models at a low entry price.

Not great for

Heavy agent users on a fixed budget: since June 2026 chat and agent work consumes AI Credits, and developers report allowances running out quickly, which leads to overage charges or upgrades.

Recent change On 1 Jun 2026 all plans moved to usage-based billing with monthly 'AI Credits', and a new $100 Max tier was added. New paid sign-ups were paused, then reopened gradually from 17 Jun (individual) and 1 Sep (Business/Enterprise, now prepaid per seat). From 24 Apr 2026, Free/Pro/Pro+ interaction data is used for training by default.

What it is

GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer that lives in your code editor and on GitHub. It suggests code as you type, answers questions about your codebase in chat, and can run coding agents that make changes and open pull requests. You can choose between models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others.

It works in VS Code, JetBrains IDEs and other editors, which makes it the easiest option if you do not want to switch editors. The free plan includes 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests a month, and it is free for verified students. In June 2026 GitHub moved every plan to monthly usage credits, so heavy agent use now draws down an allowance rather than being unlimited.

Privacy changed in 2026 too: since April, prompts and code context on Free, Pro and Pro+ are used for training by default. Opt out in GitHub Settings, Privacy.

Pricing

Limited free plan: Copilot Free: 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests per month, automatic model selection only. Copilot Student is free for verified students.

Plan	Price	What you get
Free	$0	2,000 completions + 50 chat requests/month.
Pro	$10/month	Monthly. Unlimited completions; 1,500 AI Credits (~$15) included monthly; pay-as-you-go beyond.
Pro+	$39/month	Monthly. 7,000 AI Credits (~$70) included; premium models incl. Claude Opus.
Max	$100/month	Monthly. 20,000 AI Credits (~$200) included; priority access to new models.
Business	$19/user/month	1,900 AI Credits per user; central policy management; prepaid per seat from Oct 2026.
Enterprise	$39/user/month	3,900 AI Credits per user; enterprise-grade features.

Prices in US dollars, billed monthly unless the plan says otherwise. Makers change prices often; check their site before you buy.

Your data

Under GitHub's April 2026 policy update, interaction data (prompts, code context, accepted outputs) from Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+ is used for model training by default unless you opt out in GitHub Settings > Privacy. Business and Enterprise data is excluded.

Under the hood

Runs on: OpenAI GPT-5.x and GPT-6, Anthropic Claude (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus, Fable), Google Gemini Flash, xAI Grok, Kimi, Microsoft MAI-Code. Compare the models themselves in the model directory.

Sources checked (8)