Ghostty vs GitHub Copilot
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Ghostty is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 8.6. Ghostty wins on 3 of the 5 scores, GitHub Copilot on 1, with 1 tied.
Developers on Mac or Linux who live in the terminal
Developers on GitHub who want AI help inside their usual editor
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Ghostty | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Category rank | #2 of 13 | #9 of 13 |
| Developer | Mitchell Hashimoto and contributors | GitHub |
| Pricing | Free | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | — | ✓ |
| Android | — | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | — | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Ghostty better than GitHub Copilot?
Ghostty is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 8.6. Ghostty wins on 3 of the 5 scores, GitHub Copilot on 1, with 1 tied.
Which is cheaper, Ghostty or GitHub Copilot?
Ghostty: Free and open source; optional donations go through the non-profit Hack Club. GitHub Copilot: Free: 2,000 completions a month; Pro is $10 a month, Pro+ $39 and Max $100. On value for money, Ghostty scores higher.
Do Ghostty and GitHub Copilot work on the same devices?
Only GitHub Copilot runs on Windows, Web, iPhone & iPad, Android.
Which is more private, Ghostty or GitHub Copilot?
Ghostty scores higher on privacy (9.8/10). No account needed. Crash reports are saved locally and never sent anywhere automatically; you can share them yourself if you choose.
Strengths and weaknesses
Ghostty
- Fast GPU rendering with a native look
- Free, open source and run as a non-profit
- Hundreds of themes that follow light and dark mode
- No Windows app planned
- SSH hosts may need its terminfo installed
- AppleScript support is still a preview
Ghostty is a terminal emulator that refuses to choose between speed and polish. It renders on the GPU, uses real native tabs and splits on Mac and Linux, ships hundreds of themes that follow light and dark mode, and supports the Kitty graphics protocol and ligatures. Version 1.3 added scrollback search. It's free, MIT-licensed and run as a non-profit project. There's no Windows version, and remote SSH hosts may need its terminfo installed.
Full Ghostty reviewGitHub Copilot
- Free tier and a $10 Pro plan
- Works inside the editors you already use
- Tight GitHub integration for issues and pull requests
- 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
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.
Full GitHub Copilot review
