GitHub Copilot
Your AI pair programmer
GitHub Copilot is the world's most widely adopted AI developer tool. Developed by GitHub and OpenAI, it integrates directly into your editor (VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Vim) as an extension. It turns natural language prompts into coding suggestions and offers a chat interface to explain code, fix bugs, and generate tests.
Category
Extension
Rating
Users
1M+
Platform Support
Pricing Plans
Free Plan
$0
Free for verified students, teachers, and open source maintainers
Pro Plan
Individual: Plug right into your editor, turn natural language into code
Pro Plan
Business: Organization management, IP indemnity, enterprise security
Enterprise Plan
定制
Enterprise: $39/user/month, Custom models, advanced knowledge base
Core Features
1 Core Features
Multi-IDE Support
Works everywhere: VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Vim/Neovim
Ghost Text
Real-time code suggestions and function completions as you type
Copilot Chat
Context-aware chat directly in your IDE sidebar
Copilot Workspace
Plan and implement changes across multiple files from a GitHub Issue
2 Ecosystem
GitHub Integration
Seamless integration with GitHub Issues, PRs, and CLI
Security & Compliance
Enterprise-grade security, code referencing filters, IP indemnity
3 Developer Experience
CLI Support
Copilot in the CLI provides command explanations and suggestions
Voice Control
Code with your voice using "Hey GitHub" (Accessibility feature)
Familiarity
No need to switch IDEs, keep your existing setup and keybindings
Pros and Cons
Advantages
- Available in almost all major IDEs (VS Code, IntelliJ, Visual Studio)
- Cheaper individual plan ($10/month) compared to competitors
- Deep integration with GitHub ecosystem (Issues, PRs, Mobile)
- Enterprise-grade security and IP protection (Business/Enterprise plans)
- Huge user base and extensive documentation
- Low friction to adopt, no need to migrate to a new editor
Disadvantages
- As an extension, it has less control over the editor UI than standalone AI IDEs
- Context window sometimes feels more limited than Cursor/Windsurf
- Multi-file editing capabilities (edits) are less aggressive than Cursor Composer
- Chat features can vary significantly between different IDEs (e.g., VS Code vs IntelliJ)
Best For
Developers who don't want to switch their IDE (JetBrains/Vim users)
Enterprises requiring strict compliance and security controls
Students (Free access)
Teams deeply integrated into the GitHub ecosystem
Developers looking for a reliable, standard AI assistant
Tech Stack
Architecture
IDE Extension / Plugin