Last updated: September 25, 2026. See the official GitHub Copilot page for the latest plans, and our About page for how we test and fact-check reviews.
GitHub Copilot is the AI pair programmer built into VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, and GitHub.com itself. If you’re trying to decide whether to add it to your workflow in 2026, this GitHub Copilot review walks through what it actually does, how much it costs now that billing has changed, and where it wins or loses against alternatives.
What Is GitHub Copilot?
At its core, GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant that suggests inline code completions as you type, answers questions in a chat panel, and — through Agent mode — can plan and execute multi-step coding tasks on its own: editing files across a repo, running terminal commands, and iterating until a task is done. It’s built by GitHub (a Microsoft subsidiary) and is one of the most widely deployed AI coding tools in the industry, largely because it lives directly inside the editors developers already use.
Table of Contents
Beyond completions and chat, Copilot now offers:
- Agent mode in VS Code and JetBrains, which autonomously edits multiple files, runs tests, and fixes its own output
- Code review, where Copilot comments on pull requests like a teammate would
- Copilot CLI for terminal-based tasks
- Model choice — you’re no longer locked into one AI model; Copilot’s catalog spans dozens of models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, and others, so you can pick a fast model for simple completions or a stronger reasoning model for complex refactors
GitHub Copilot Pricing (2026)
This is the part that changed the most this year. On June 1, 2026, GitHub moved every Copilot plan — individual and business — to usage-based billing. Instead of counting “premium requests,” GitHub now measures actual token usage and bills it through GitHub AI Credits (1 credit = $0.01). Plain inline code completions and next-edit suggestions stay unlimited and free on every paid plan; it’s chat, agent mode, code review, and the CLI that draw down your credit pool.
| Plan | Price | AI Credits included | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Limited (2,000 completions, 50 chat requests/month) | Trying Copilot casually |
| Pro | $10/month | $15/month in credits | Individual developers |
| Pro+ | $39/month | $70/month in credits | Heavy chat/agent users |
| Max | $100/month | $200/month in credits | Sustained agent-driven workflows |
| Business | $19/user/month | Pooled org credits | Small-to-mid teams |
| Enterprise | $39/user/month | Pooled org credits, repo indexing, custom models | Large organizations |
Verified students still get free access through the GitHub Student Developer Pack. Once you exceed your included credits, extra usage is billed per token at rates that vary by model — cheaper “lightweight” models cost a fraction of a cent per request, while top-tier reasoning models cost noticeably more. If your team leans heavily on agent mode, it’s worth watching your usage dashboard so a productive week doesn’t turn into a surprise overage.
Key Features
Inline completions. The original Copilot experience: it predicts the next line (or block) of code as you type, unlimited on every paid tier.
Chat. A conversational panel for asking questions about your codebase, debugging errors, or generating snippets, with model selection so you can trade off speed versus reasoning power depending on plan tier.
Agent mode. The biggest leap since launch. You describe a task — “add pagination to this API and update the tests” — and Copilot plans the change, edits the relevant files, runs the test suite, and iterates on failures, largely unattended. It’s now generally available in both VS Code and JetBrains.
Code review. Copilot can review a pull request and leave inline comments, which is useful as a first pass before a human reviewer looks at it.
Multi-model support. Because Copilot isn’t locked to a single AI model, you can match the model to the task: a lightweight model for autocomplete-style suggestions, a stronger one for architecture-level reasoning.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Deep integration with VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Xcode, and GitHub.com — no context-switching
- Agent mode can genuinely handle multi-file tasks, not just single-function suggestions
- Free tier is enough to seriously evaluate the tool before paying
- Model choice lets you balance cost and capability instead of being stuck with one AI model
- Mature ecosystem — most teams already have GitHub, so rollout is low-friction
Cons:
- Usage-based billing on chat/agent features means costs are less predictable than a flat subscription
- Agent mode still benefits from supervision — always review its diffs before merging
- Business and Enterprise pricing can add up quickly for large teams
- Some advanced features (custom model fine-tuning, deep repo indexing) are Enterprise-only
GitHub Copilot vs. Other AI Coding Assistants
Copilot isn’t the only option. Our best AI coding assistants comparison looks at how Copilot stacks up against Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex in more depth. In short: Copilot’s edge is its IDE reach and pooled, GitHub-native workflow (PRs, code review, CLI, all in one place), while tools like Cursor or Claude Code tend to feel more purpose-built for agentic, large-scale refactors. If you already write code inside VS Code or JetBrains daily, Copilot is the path of least resistance.
If you’re comparing the underlying AI models rather than the coding tool itself, our Claude review and ChatGPT review cover the general-purpose assistants that power some of Copilot’s model choices.
Who Should Use GitHub Copilot?
- Individual developers who want inline completions plus occasional chat help: the $10/month Pro plan is a reasonable entry point.
- Teams already on GitHub who want code review and PR-integrated AI without adopting a separate platform: Business at $19/user/month is the natural fit.
- Heavy agent-mode users — people delegating whole features or bug fixes to AI — should budget for Pro+ or Max, since agent runs consume more credits than simple chat.
- Students and casual coders can get meaningful value from the Free tier or student access before paying anything.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Copilot
- Start on the Free or Pro tier and watch your AI Credits usage for a couple of weeks before upgrading — it tells you which plan actually fits your habits.
- Use inline completions for routine code (they’re unlimited) and save chat/agent credits for genuinely hard problems.
- Always review agent mode’s diffs and test output before merging — treat it like a fast junior collaborator, not an unsupervised one.
- Switch models deliberately: a lightweight model for boilerplate, a stronger reasoning model for architecture or debugging.
FAQ
Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes, there’s a Free plan with limited completions (2,000/month) and chat requests (50/month). It’s enough to test the tool but most regular users move to Pro.
How much does GitHub Copilot cost per month?
Individual plans run from $0 (Free) to $10 (Pro), $39 (Pro+), and $100 (Max). Organizations pay $19/user/month (Business) or $39/user/month (Enterprise).
Does GitHub Copilot use credits now?
Yes. As of June 1, 2026, all plans use GitHub AI Credits for chat, agent mode, code review, and CLI usage. Inline completions remain unlimited and don’t consume credits.
Is GitHub Copilot better than ChatGPT for coding?
They serve different purposes: Copilot is built into your IDE for real-time completions and repo-aware agent tasks, while ChatGPT is a general assistant you’d paste code into separately. For day-to-day coding inside an editor, Copilot’s integration is the bigger advantage; for broader reasoning across many models, see our Claude vs ChatGPT comparison.
Can GitHub Copilot write entire features on its own?
Agent mode can plan and execute multi-file changes, run tests, and iterate — but it still benefits from human review before merging, especially for production code.