Overview

What it is

GitHub Copilot is GitHub's AI coding assistant. It started as an autocomplete tool that suggests code as you type and has grown into a broader platform with chat, an agent mode that can make multi-file changes, AI code review on pull requests, a terminal tool (Copilot CLI) and a cloud agent you can assign tasks to. Because it is built by GitHub, it connects directly to repositories, issues and pull requests.

Key features

According to GitHub's official plans page (October 2026):

Code suggestions and chat in supported editors, including VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, Eclipse and Xcode.
Agent mode in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse and Xcode, available on all plans, including Free.
MCP server integration and custom instructions and agents on all plans.
Code review of pull requests on GitHub and of file diffs in editors (Pro and above).
Cloud agent: assign work to Copilot to research, plan and write code, with or without opening a pull request (Pro and above).
Third-party coding agents: on Pro+ and Max, delegate tasks to agents such as Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI Codex (in preview).
App modernisation for Java and .NET on Pro and above.
Copilot CLI for using Copilot from your terminal, on all plans.

Pricing (verified October 2026)

Free: $0, with limited chat and agent usage.
Pro: $10/month, with $15 of GitHub AI Credits per month ($10 base plus a $5 flex allotment).
Pro+: $39/month, with $70 of AI Credits ($39 base plus $31 flex).
Max: $100/month, with $200 of AI Credits ($100 base plus $100 flex).

GitHub explains that chat, agent mode, code review, the cloud agent, Copilot CLI and Copilot Apps all consume AI Credits, with usage varying by model. The flex allotment is extra usage on top of the base and "may change over time". Paid plans can buy more credits. Verified students, teachers, open-source maintainers and MVPs may qualify for free Pro access. Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise are sold to organisations; check the official site for current pricing.

A note on data use

GitHub's FAQ states that interactions from Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+ users, including inputs, outputs and code snippets, may be used to train and improve its models unless the user opts out in their GitHub account settings. Business and Enterprise seats are managed by organisation administrators, who control policies, models and preview features.

Who it's for

Developers who already host code on GitHub and want AI connected to issues and pull requests.
Students and beginners, especially those eligible for free Pro access.
Teams standardising on one assistant across several editors.
Developers who prefer to stay in their existing IDE rather than switch to an AI-first editor.

Pros

Low entry price, with agent mode even on the free tier.
Broadest editor support of the major coding assistants.
Deep integration with GitHub repositories, issues and pull requests.
Access to models from several providers.
Free Pro access for eligible students, teachers and maintainers.

Cons

Credit-based usage makes heavy agent use harder to predict.
Flex allotments can change over time.
Individual plans may use your interactions for training unless you opt out.
Organisation pricing isn't published on the individual plans page.
Like all AI coding tools, suggestions can be wrong or insecure and need review.

Alternatives on AIMAPER

Cursor: an AI-first code editor built around agents.
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf): Cognition's AI editor, rebranded in June 2026.
Claude: strong for coding through chat and Claude Code.
ChatGPT: general-purpose help, including Codex for coding tasks.

Compare them in our best AI coding tools category.

Bottom line

GitHub Copilot is the safe default for most developers: affordable, available in nearly every editor and tightly linked to GitHub. Start on Free, move to Pro when you hit the limits, and review the training opt-out setting on day one.