Source-backed analysis9
Review basis
The AppDuo team prepared this review by analysing product features, official documentation and user feedback to help you understand its strengths, limitations and suitability for your needs.
9 reference sourcesInformation updated Nov 10, 2026
How we review
By AppDuo Editorial Team · Updated
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Browser extension
On this page
Decide at a glance
Our verdict
Copilot suits teams already on GitHub that want one assistant across many IDEs, from $10 a month. The catch is that since June 1, 2026 chat and agent use is metered in AI credits, so the real cost depends on how much you use it.
Best for: Developers and teams already on GitHub who want completions, review and agents in one ecosystem.
Skip it if: Anyone who needs a flat cost for heavy agent use, since usage beyond the included credits is billed extra.
Pros
- Runs in many places: VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Xcode, Neovim, Eclipse, Zed, the terminal, web and mobile.
- Free and Student plans exist, and code completions do not consume AI credits on any plan.
- Deep integration with GitHub issues, pull requests and code review.
Cons
- Credit-based billing since June 1, 2026; running out of credits no longer falls back to a cheaper model.
- Personal plans use interaction data for training by default; users must opt out themselves.
All pros and cons · Who is it for?
Pros
- Model choice, MCP servers, bring-your-own API keys and local models via Ollama.
Cons
- The JetBrains plugin rates only 2.3/5 from 1,904 votes, nearly half of them 1-star; the VS Code extension rates 4.1/5.
Best for
- People who work across several IDEs (VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Xcode, Neovim).
- Organizations that need central management, policies and AI spending controls.
Skip it if
- Personal-plan users who object to model training on their data but will not opt out in settings.
Experience & key features
GitHub Copilot is the AI coding assistant from GitHub, which Microsoft owns. According to the official documentation it helps write, understand and ship software, working with repositories, issues, pull requests and automations. Rather than a standalone editor, it runs as an extension in IDEs and on github.com, the terminal, mobile and a desktop app.
The product page describes two modes: in-editor help (suggestions, answers, explanations) and agents that take on multi-step work such as researching a repo, planning, editing files and reviewing pull requests. Users can let Copilot pick a model, choose one, bring their own provider API key or run local models with Ollama. Repository instructions, skills and MCP servers extend it further.
Pricing and billing
On the official pricing page, Free is $0 (2,000 completions a month), Pro $10, Pro+ $39 and Max $100 per month; Business is $19 and Enterprise $39 per user per month. Since June 1, 2026, chat and agent work consumes AI credits (1 credit = $0.01) based on tokens, while completions and next edit suggestions remain free. Annual Pro and Pro+ plans keep the old premium-request model until they expire. When credits run out, users wait for the reset or set a budget for extra usage, which makes costs less predictable than a flat subscription.
Copilot's edge over peers is that it lives inside GitHub and many IDEs. Cursor and Windsurf are agent-centred editors of their own, while Claude Code and OpenAI Codex are terminal and cloud agents. Teams that already run their workflow on GitHub will likely find Copilot the most convenient; those who want an agent-first workflow should compare these tools.
Screenshots
Plans & pricing
Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026
Free
Free
2,000 completions per month, Copilot CLI, limited chat and agent usage, community support only.
Pro
$10/mo/user
Unlimited completions and next edit suggestions; cloud agent, code review and model selection; $15 in monthly AI credits ($10 base plus a $5 flex allotment).
Pro+
$39/mo/user
Adds premium models, third-party agents and audit logs; more than 4x Pro's included usage, $70 in monthly AI credits.
Max
$100/mo/user
Priority access to new models and features; $200 in monthly AI credits.
Business
$19/mo/user
For organizations: central management, policies and budgets; 1,900 AI credits per user per month.
Enterprise
$39/mo/user
For organizations on GitHub Enterprise Cloud; 3,900 AI credits per user per month.
- Free plan limits
- The Free plan includes 2,000 completions per month and needs no credit card. Verified students can use the free Student plan.
- Free trial
- No free trial
Cancellation & refunds
The official pricing page and docs do not state a refund policy; check GitHub's billing terms before buying.
Privacy
From April 24, 2026, GitHub may use Copilot interaction data (prompts, suggestions, code context, file names, repository structure and similar) from Free, Pro and Pro+ users to train its models. This is on by default and users must opt out. Business and Enterprise users and enterprise-owned repositories are excluded. GitHub says private repository content at rest is not used for training, and that data may be shared with affiliates such as Microsoft but not with independent third-party AI model providers.
GitHub Copilot alternatives
7.4/10Claude Code
Anthropic's coding agent across terminal, IDE, web and CI
7.4/10Cursor
An AI-first code editor with agents that run locally or in the cloud
Frequently asked questions
Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes. The Free plan gives 2,000 completions a month with no credit card required. Verified students can use the free Student plan.
What are AI credits?
From June 1, 2026 GitHub replaced premium requests with AI credits, each worth $0.01 and consumed by input, output and cached tokens. Code completions use no credits.
Does Copilot train on my code?
For Free, Pro and Pro+, GitHub may use interaction data for training from April 24, 2026 unless you opt out. Business and Enterprise are excluded.
Which IDEs does Copilot support?
The official page lists VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, Vim/Neovim, Zed and Eclipse, plus the terminal, web and mobile.
Review evidence & sources9
Scores
- Ease of use
- 8.0
- Features
- 8.6
- Value for money
- 7.5
- Performance
- 7.2
- Support
- 7.0
- Privacy & security
- 6.5
Why this score
Installs as an extension in familiar IDEs and starts suggesting right away; the docs stress that users still need to check the output. The interface is English-only.
Why this score
Completions, chat, agent mode, cloud agent, code review, model choice, MCP and third-party agents across many surfaces.
Why this score
The Free tier and $10 Pro plan are cheap, but chat and agent use is metered, so heavy use can cost extra.
Why this score
The VS Code extension rates 4.1/5 (1,059 votes), but the JetBrains plugin only 2.3/5, with 931 of 1,904 votes at 1 star. Output quality depends on the model chosen; no independent benchmark was verified.
Why this score
Thorough official docs, but the Free plan gets community support only and the pricing page states no support level for paid personal plans.
Why this score
Business and Enterprise are excluded from training, but since April 24, 2026 personal plans share interaction data for training by default unless users opt out.
What users say
- Visual Studio Marketplace (VS Code extension)4.1/5 · 1,059
- JetBrains Marketplace (plugin)2.3/5 · 1,904
Sources
- Vendor-providedOfficial Copilot product pageNov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedOfficial Copilot plans pageNov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedGitHub Docs: Copilot plansNov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedGitHub Docs: What is GitHub CopilotNov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedGitHub Changelog: usage-based billing (2026-04-27)Nov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedGitHub Blog: Copilot generally available (2022-06-21)Nov 10, 2026
- pressHelp Net Security: Copilot data policy update (2026-03-26)Nov 10, 2026
- storeVisual Studio Marketplace listingNov 10, 2026
- storeJetBrains Marketplace listingNov 10, 2026
Specs & compatibility
- Developer
- GitHub (Microsoft)
- Headquarters
- United States
- Launched
- 2021
- Category
- Development
Capabilities
- AI features
- Real-time collaboration
- Integrations
- Mobile app
Platforms
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Browser extension
Interface languages
- English
Integrations
- Visual Studio Code
- Visual Studio
- JetBrains IDEs
- Xcode
- Neovim
- Eclipse
- Zed
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- MCP servers
Support
- Help center
- Community forum
Change history
- Limits.Credit-based billing took effect for monthly plans; running out of credits no longer falls back to a cheaper model.
- Price.GitHub announced usage-based billing: from June 1, 2026 AI credits replace premium requests, with base plan prices unchanged.
- Update.GitHub announced that from April 24, 2026 interaction data from Free, Pro and Pro+ users may be used for model training unless they opt out.
Full change history (4)
- Launch.Copilot became generally available to individual developers at $10 a month or $100 a year, after more than 1.2 million developers used the technical preview.