GitHub's AI pair programmer with inline suggestions, chat, and agents inside your IDE.
GitHub Copilot is the most widely deployed AI coding assistant, and its deep integration with GitHub and the major editors makes it the default choice for a huge share of professional developers. In 2026 it has grown well beyond autocomplete: it now includes chat, agent mode (generally available on both VS Code and JetBrains as of March 2026), code review, a cloud coding agent, a CLI, and Copilot Apps. The JetBrains agent-mode milestone matters — it finally brought full agentic assistance to the large population of Java, Kotlin, and Python developers who never left JetBrains.
The big structural change is billing. As of June 1, 2026, all Copilot plans moved to usage-based billing: every plan includes a monthly allotment of GitHub AI Credits, and paid plans can buy more. Usage is calculated on token consumption (input, output, and cached) at each model's API rate. This makes Copilot more flexible for varied workloads but ends the era of truly unlimited flat-rate usage.
Copilot's strengths are reach and integration. It works across virtually every editor, ties directly into pull requests and the GitHub workflow, offers a broad model catalog, and is the safest institutional choice — most enterprises already trust GitHub. At $10/mo for Pro it is also the cheapest entry into serious AI coding, which keeps it the default for individuals testing the waters.
The honest weaknesses: the move to credit-based billing introduces cost unpredictability that did not exist before, the agent is still less aggressive and editor-native than Cursor's for heavy multi-file work, and the broad "works everywhere" design means it is rarely the absolute best at any single thing. For developers who want the most powerful agentic editor, Cursor or Windsurf often edge it out. See Cursor vs GitHub Copilot.
Who it is for: developers who live in the GitHub ecosystem, JetBrains users who finally have full agent mode, and teams that want a trusted, low-cost, broadly-integrated standard. Who it is not for: developers chasing the most cutting-edge agentic editing, or anyone who specifically wanted to avoid usage-metered pricing.
The core daily use: inline code suggestions and an editor chat that knows your open files. For most developers this alone justifies the $10/mo Pro plan, speeding up routine coding without changing how they work.
Because Copilot is native to GitHub, teams use it directly in pull requests — summarizing changes, suggesting review comments, and answering questions about a diff. This tight integration is something editor-only tools cannot match.
With agent mode now GA on both VS Code and JetBrains, developers delegate multi-step tasks — implement this issue, fix this failing test — to the agent. JetBrains support in particular opened this up to Java, Kotlin, and Python teams previously left out.
GitHub Copilot offers Free (limited features and models), Pro ($10/mo, unlimited completions plus an AI-credit allowance), Pro+ ($39/mo, higher allowance), Business ($19/user/mo), Enterprise ($39/user/mo), plus a Student plan with unlimited completions. The major 2026 change: as of June 1, all plans transitioned to usage-based billing. Every plan includes a monthly pool of GitHub AI Credits, and chat, agent mode, code review, the cloud agent, CLI, and Copilot Apps all consume those credits based on token usage. The trap to watch: what used to feel unlimited is now metered, so heavy agent and chat users can exhaust their credit allotment and need to buy more.
For most developers, yes — Pro at $10/mo remains the cheapest entry into serious AI coding, with unlimited completions and a credit allowance for chat and agents. The caveat is that since June 2026 heavier features are metered, so very heavy users may need to budget for additional usage.
Yes, and this is a significant 2026 update. Agent mode became generally available on JetBrains (alongside VS Code) in March 2026, finally bringing full agentic assistance to Java, Kotlin, and Python developers who prefer the JetBrains environment.
As of June 1, 2026, all Copilot plans moved to usage-based billing. Each plan includes a monthly allotment of GitHub AI Credits, and paid plans can purchase more. Usage is calculated on token consumption at each model's API rate, ending the previous flat-rate unlimited model.
Choose Copilot for low cost, broad editor support, and deep GitHub/pull-request integration. Choose Cursor for a more powerful, editor-native multi-file agent. Many developers use Copilot as their everyday assistant and reach for Cursor on heavier agentic tasks. See our Cursor vs GitHub Copilot comparison.
Yes. Copilot Free gives individual developers limited access to features and models, and verified students get a Student plan with unlimited completions plus an AI-credit allowance. Both are good ways to evaluate it before paying for Pro.
Full review coming soon.