GitHub Copilot review
AI pair programmer and coding agents built into GitHub
- GitHub
- Free + paid plans
- Mac, Windows, Linux, Web, iPhone & iPad, Android
Does it deserve #9?
Is GitHub Copilot worth it?
For most people, yes. GitHub Copilot scores 8.6/10 and ranks #9 in Developer Tools. It's best for developers on GitHub who want AI help inside their usual editor. Skip it if you want a flat price for unlimited heavy agent use. Price: Free: 2,000 completions a month; Pro is $10 a month, Pro+ $39 and Max $100.
The verdict
GitHub Copilot started as autocomplete and is now a full set of coding agents. It suggests code in VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Xcode and more, runs agent mode in your editor, works from the terminal and a desktop app, and can take an issue and open a pull request on its own. You choose models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and xAI. Since June 2026, chat and agents draw on monthly AI credits, so heavy use costs more.
- Code completions in major editors
- Agent mode in the IDE
- Cloud agent that opens pull requests
- Copilot CLI and desktop app
- Pull request code review
- Models from several AI labs
Score breakdown
Overall = features 30% · design 20% · speed 20% · value 15% · privacy 15%. Why these weights?
What's new
- Oct 2026GPT-6.1 Terra joined the model picker, and Copilot in Teams can turn notifications into code
- Jul 2026The Copilot desktop app for running agents opened to every plan, including Free
- Jun 2026Usage moved to GitHub AI Credits, a $100 Max plan arrived and paused sign-ups reopened
Privacy 6.8/10
Since April 2026, prompts, outputs and code snippets from Free, Pro and Pro+ train GitHub's models unless you opt out in Copilot settings. Business and Enterprise accounts are excluded.
What we like
- Free tier and a $10 Pro plan
- Works inside the editors you already use
- Tight GitHub integration for issues and pull requests
What could be better
- Credit-based billing makes heavy agent use harder to predict
- Individual plans train on your data unless you opt out
- Free plan limits chat, agents and model choice
Developers on GitHub who want AI help inside their usual editor
you want a flat price for unlimited heavy agent use
Questions about GitHub Copilot
Is GitHub Copilot worth it in 2026?
For most people, yes. GitHub Copilot scores 8.6/10 and ranks #9 in Developer Tools. It's best for developers on GitHub who want AI help inside their usual editor. Skip it if you want a flat price for unlimited heavy agent use. Price: Free: 2,000 completions a month; Pro is $10 a month, Pro+ $39 and Max $100.
Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes, Copilot Free includes 2,000 code completions a month and limited chat and agent use. Pro costs $10 a month, Pro+ $39 and Max $100.
What are GitHub AI Credits?
Since June 2026, chat, agents and code review draw on monthly credits worth $0.01 each, charged by the tokens a model uses. Code completions don't use credits.
Does GitHub train on my code?
For Free, Pro and Pro+ users, interaction data has been used for training by default since April 24, 2026, and you can opt out in Copilot settings. Business and Enterprise accounts are excluded.
What are the best alternatives to GitHub Copilot?
The closest alternatives are Cursor, Claude Code and OpenAI Codex. See all of them ranked on our GitHub Copilot alternatives page.
Where does GitHub Copilot rank?
GitHub Copilot ranks #9 of 13 in our Developer Tools ranking, with an overall score of 8.6 out of 10.