GitHub Copilot review: our take
GitHub Copilot is the cheapest way to pay for an AI coding assistant: Pro costs $10 a month and includes unlimited completions, code review, a cloud agent and the CLI. The free plan gives 2,000 inline suggestions a month plus limited chat and agent use, and it works in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, Eclipse and Xcode. Pro+ at $39 and Max at $100 add larger credit allowances.
The limit is that paid usage is counted in AI credits, and chat, agent mode, code review and the CLI all draw from the same allowance, so a heavy agent week empties it faster than chat alone. For repository-wide changes from the terminal, compare Claude Code; for an AI-first editor, Cursor. All the options are on our AI coding tools page.
By the Prompt Hackers team · facts checked 4 Oct 2026
What GitHub Copilot does
Copilot suggests code as you type, answers questions in chat, and runs agent mode to make multi-file changes in your editor or from the Copilot CLI. Paid plans add pull request review and a cloud agent on GitHub. Usage on paid plans is measured in GitHub AI Credits, which chat, agents, code review and the CLI all draw from.
Who GitHub Copilot is for
Best for
- developers who live in GitHub and VS Code
- budget buyers: Pro costs $10 a month
- teams that want PR review and agents tied to their repositories
Not for
- heavy agent users on Pro: chat, agents and code review all draw from the same $15 credit allowance
- teams that need a published per-seat price: Business and Enterprise are not priced on the plans page
GitHub Copilot features
- F1Inline code completion
- F2Chat
- F3Agent mode
- F4Copilot CLI
- F5Code review
- F6Cloud agent on GitHub
- F7MCP support
- F8Third-party agents on Pro+
GitHub Copilot pricing and plans
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly, per month | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | — | 2,000 inline suggestions a month; limited chat and agent usage; CLI, agent mode and MCP |
| Pro | $10 | — | Unlimited completions; code review, cloud agent and CLI; $15 a month in AI credits |
| Pro+ | $39 | — | Everything in Pro plus delegation to third-party agents; $70 a month in AI credits |
| Max | $100 | — | For sustained agent-driven workflows; $200 a month in AI credits |
| Business and Enterprise | — | — | Organization plans with pooled AI credits; Enterprise adds repository indexing and custom models; price not listed on the plans page |
Free plan: yes. Prices as listed by the vendor in USD, before tax; they change, so check the pricing page before you buy.
GitHub Copilot FAQ
- How much does GitHub Copilot cost?
- Paid plans start at $10/mo. Prices checked on 4 Oct 2026.
- Does GitHub Copilot have a free plan?
- Yes, GitHub Copilot has a free plan.
- What are the alternatives to GitHub Copilot?
- Tools that cover the same jobs include Cursor, Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf).