GitHub Copilot
by GitHub
AI pair programming tool by GitHub that suggests code completions and generates functions. GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered code completion and generation tool developed by GitHub (a Microsoft subsidiary) in collaboration with OpenAI. Launched in June 2022, Copilot integrates into code editors as a plugin, providing real-time code suggestions, function generation, test writing, and documentation creation based on context from the current file and repository.
Performance Scores
1 ranking evaluated
Score range: 8.2 – 8.2
-
#3Best AI Coding Tools and Developer Assistants 2026
Score: 8.2 · Best for: Teams wanting AI assistance in their existing IDE
Key Facts
Pricing
| Attribute | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot pricing (July 2026) | GitHub Copilot pricing (verified July 2026): Copilot Free $0, Pro $10/user/mo, NEW Pro+ $39/user/mo, NEW Max $100/user/mo (individual), Business $19/seat/mo, Enterprise $39/seat/mo. Business and Enterprise per-seat prices are unchanged. | Sep 2026 | GitHub Copilot plans |
| Usage-based billing | Effective June 1, 2026 Copilot moved to usage-based "GitHub AI Credits" (USD-denominated) that replace the older premium-request quotas. Each paid seat includes a monthly credit allowance roughly equal to its price; code completions remain free and unlimited, while agentic and premium-model usage meters against credits. | Sep 2026 | GitHub Copilot plans docs |
| Individual Plan | Pro plan at $10/month as of July 2026; the $100/year annual option was retired for new sign-ups with the June 2026 move to AI-Credits billing | Oct 2026 | GitHub Docs: Copilot plans |
| Business Plan | Business plan at $19/user/month for organisations as of 2026 | Oct 2026 | GitHub Docs: Copilot plans |
| Enterprise Plan | Enterprise plan at $39/user/month with Copilot coding agent, code review, and audit features as of July 2026 | Oct 2026 | GitHub Docs: Copilot plans |
| Free Tier | Copilot Free available to individual developers without org/enterprise access (2,000 completions, 50 chat requests/month); Copilot Pro is free for verified teachers and maintainers of popular open-source projects; verified students instead receive the separate Copilot Student plan (new sign-ups paused since April 20, 2026), as of July 2026 | Jul 2026 | GitHub Docs — Copilot plans |
General
| Attribute | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch Date | June 2022 | Mar 2026 | GitHub |
| Individual Plan | $10/month (Pro) | Oct 2026 | GitHub Copilot plans page |
| Business Plan | $19/user/month (Business) | Oct 2026 | GitHub Blog: usage-based billing |
| Enterprise Plan | $39/user/month (Enterprise) | Oct 2026 | GitHub Blog: usage-based billing |
| Paying Subscribers | 4.7M paid subscribers, up ~75% year over year (Microsoft FY26 Q2 earnings, January 2026) | Jul 2026 | Microsoft FY26 Q2 earnings call (Satya Nadella, via MLQ.ai transcript highlight) |
| Language Support | 14 core languages officially supported for Copilot (C, C++, C#, Go, Java, JavaScript, Kotlin, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, Scala, Swift, TypeScript); GitHub notes support quality varies with the volume and diversity of training data per language, as of July 2026 | Jul 2026 | GitHub Docs — GitHub language support |
| AI Model | Multi-model picker: OpenAI GPT (GPT-5 and GPT-6 families), Anthropic Claude (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku, Fable), Google Gemini, xAI Grok, Microsoft MAI-Code and Moonshot Kimi models, as of October 2026 | Oct 2026 | GitHub Copilot plans page |
Technical
| Attribute | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Support | Multiple model options including OpenAI GPT and Anthropic Claude available in Copilot Chat as of 2026 | Oct 2026 | GitHub Copilot plans page |
Strengths
- ●Works across all major IDEs
- ●Largest install base and ecosystem
Limitations
- ●Usage-based billing can create overages
- ●Under competitive pressure on capability
Based on evaluations in 1 ranking: Best AI Coding Tools and Developer Assistants 2026
Pricing Plans
Copilot Free
For individuals; no credit card required
- ✓2,000 code completions/month
- ✓Access to Haiku 4.5 and GPT-5 mini
- ✓Copilot CLI
- !Limited chat and agent usage
Copilot Pro
Per user/month, billed monthly; no annual option for new signups
- ✓Unlimited completions and next edit suggestions
- ✓Cloud agent and code review
- ✓Third-party agents (Claude Code, Codex)
- ✓Model selection
- !$15/mo total AI Credits ($10 base + $5 flex)
Copilot Pro+
Per user/month, billed monthly
- ✓Everything in Pro
- ✓Premium models including Opus
- ✓Audit logs
- !$70/mo AI Credits allowance
Copilot Max
Per user/month, billed monthly
- ✓Everything in Pro+
- ✓Priority access to new models and features
- ✓Built for high-volume agent workflows
- !$200/mo AI Credits allowance
Copilot Business
Per seat/month
- ✓Cloud agent and broad model catalog
- ✓Monthly AI Credits pool
- ✓Centralized policy management
Copilot Enterprise
Per seat/month
- ✓Everything in Business
- ✓Larger AI Credits pool
- ✓Priority access to new models
About GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered code completion and generation tool developed by GitHub (a Microsoft subsidiary) in collaboration with OpenAI. Launched in June 2022, Copilot integrates into code editors as a plugin, providing real-time code suggestions, function generation, test writing, and documentation creation based on context from the current file and repository.
As of 2025, GitHub Copilot had surpassed 1.8 million paying subscribers, making it the most widely adopted AI coding assistant by subscription count. The tool supports over 12 programming languages natively, with strongest performance in Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, Ruby, and Java. Copilot is powered by OpenAI Codex and GPT-4 models, with GitHub continually updating the underlying models.
GitHub Copilot operates through IDE extensions for VS Code, JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm), Neovim, Visual Studio, and Xcode. The Individual plan costs $10 per month, the Business plan costs $19 per user per month with organizational policy controls, and the Enterprise plan at $39 per user per month includes fine-tuning on internal codebases, knowledge base integration, and advanced security features. Copilot is part of the broader Microsoft AI ecosystem alongside Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
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