GitHub Copilot.

GitHub Copilot is GitHub’s AI pair programmer for developers and teams who already work in editors like VS Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains. It suggests code as you type, answers questions in chat and takes on whole tasks through its agent modes. Copilot is free to start with limited usage, and paid plans begin at $10 per month billed annually according to GitHub’s official Copilot page.

What is GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant built by GitHub, Microsoft and OpenAI that works inside your existing development environment rather than asking you to move to a new one. It began as an autocomplete tool, but it now covers the full development cycle: inline suggestions, a chat panel for explanations and debugging, an agent mode that edits multiple files, a cloud agent you can assign issues to, and AI code review on pull requests. Because it is natively integrated with GitHub, Copilot understands your repositories, issues and pull requests in a way standalone editors cannot match.

Copilot also lets you choose between underlying AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, picking the model that suits each task.

Key Features of GitHub Copilot

• Inline code suggestions: Copilot completes lines and whole functions as you type, based on the context of your file and project. On paid plans, completions are unlimited and do not consume your AI Credits allowance.
• Copilot Chat: Ask questions, generate unit tests, explain code or debug an error without leaving your editor, GitHub.com or the terminal.
• Agent mode: Available in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse and Xcode, agent mode plans and carries out multi-step changes across files, running terminal commands and iterating on the results.
• Cloud agent and code review: Assign an issue to Copilot and it researches, plans and writes the code, opening a pull request. Copilot also reviews pull requests and file diffs, flagging problems before your teammates see them.
• Copilot CLI: A full terminal experience where you can delegate tasks to coding agents and make and commit code changes locally or on GitHub.
• Model choice and MCP support: Switch between leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, connect tools through MCP servers, and steer behaviour with custom instructions and custom agents.
• Enterprise safeguards: Business and Enterprise plans add policy management, usage metrics, SAML SSO, a public-code filter with code referencing, and IP indemnity. GitHub does not train its models on Business or Enterprise data.

How to Use GitHub Copilot

1. Create a GitHub account and open the Copilot settings to activate the Free plan, or subscribe to Pro for unlimited completions.
2. Install the GitHub Copilot extension in your editor — VS Code, Visual Studio, a JetBrains IDE, Eclipse, Xcode or Neovim — and sign in.
3. Start typing and accept suggestions with the Tab key, or open Copilot Chat to ask for an explanation, a test or a refactor.
4. For bigger jobs, switch to agent mode in your editor, or assign a GitHub issue to Copilot and review the pull request it produces.
5. Track AI Credits usage in Copilot settings, which alert you at 75%, 90% and 100% of budget.

How Much Does GitHub Copilot Cost?

According to GitHub’s official pricing page, Copilot Free includes 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests per month. Chat, agent mode, code review and CLI usage on paid plans draw from a monthly GitHub AI Credits allowance (1 credit = $0.01), while completions stay unlimited. Students, teachers and popular open-source maintainers can qualify for Pro at no cost.

Plan	Price	What you get
Free	$0	Limited chat and agent usage, 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests a month, agent mode and CLI access
Pro	$10/mo*	Unlimited completions, monthly AI Credits allowance for chat and agents, full model choice, code review
Pro+	$39/mo*	Everything in Pro with a larger AI Credits allowance for heavier agent and premium-model use
Max	$100/mo*	Built for sustained agent-driven workflows, includes $100 per month in GitHub AI Credits
Business	Per user	For organisations: licence and policy management, usage metrics, IP indemnity, no training on your data
Enterprise	Per user	Everything in Business plus Copilot chat across GitHub.com and organisation-wide knowledge indexing

*Billed annually. Month-to-month billing is higher: Pro $15, Pro+ $70 and Max $200 per month. Last verified: October 2026.

Pros and Cons of GitHub Copilot

Pros

• Works inside the editors developers already use, plus GitHub.com, mobile and the terminal
• Genuine free tier, and Pro is free for verified students and popular open-source maintainers
• Choice of models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google instead of a single locked-in model
• Deep GitHub integration: issue-to-pull-request agent, AI code review and repository context
• Strong organisation controls, IP indemnity and a no-training guarantee on Business and Enterprise

Cons

• Agent and chat usage is metered through AI Credits, so heavy agent workflows can outgrow the included allowance
• On individual plans, GitHub may use interaction data to train models unless you opt out in settings
• Some features vary by editor — chat, for example, is not available in every supported IDE
• The Free plan’s 50 monthly chat requests run out quickly for daily users

Who Should Use GitHub Copilot?

Copilot suits developers who live in VS Code, Visual Studio or JetBrains and want AI help without changing tools, and teams already on GitHub that want agent-written pull requests and AI review in their existing workflow. If you would rather work in a dedicated AI-first editor, Cursor is the closest alternative we have reviewed, and you can compare more options in our AI Coding Assistant category.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is GitHub Copilot free?

Yes, GitHub Copilot Free is a genuine free tier for individual developers. GitHub Copilot Free includes 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests per month, plus access to agent mode and the Copilot CLI. Developers who need unlimited completions and a larger chat and agent allowance upgrade to Copilot Pro.

How much does GitHub Copilot Pro cost?

According to GitHub’s official pricing page, GitHub Copilot Pro costs $10 per month when billed annually, or $15 per month billed monthly. Copilot Pro includes unlimited code completions and a monthly GitHub AI Credits allowance that covers chat, agent mode, code review and premium model usage.

Which editors does GitHub Copilot support?

GitHub Copilot works in Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, the JetBrains IDE suite, Eclipse, Xcode, Neovim and Azure Data Studio, plus GitHub.com, GitHub Mobile and the terminal through Copilot CLI. Agent mode is available in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse and Xcode.

Does GitHub Copilot train on my code?

GitHub states that it does not use Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise data to train its models. On individual Free, Pro and Pro+ plans, GitHub may use interaction data for training unless the user opts out in their Copilot settings. Organisations needing a contractual no-training guarantee should choose Business or Enterprise.

Final Verdict

GitHub Copilot is the safest default AI coding assistant for developers: it meets you in your current editor, starts free, scales from a $10 Pro plan to organisation-wide deployments, and its agent and code-review features plug straight into your existing GitHub workflow. Heavy agent users should watch the credit meter, but for everyday completions, chat and pull request help, Copilot remains the tool to beat.

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