GitHub Copilot Review 2026: The AI Pair Programmer That Started It All

What Is GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is the AI coding assistant that kicked off the entire AI-powered development movement. Launched in 2021 as a collaboration between GitHub and OpenAI, it’s evolved from a simple autocomplete tool into a multi-model AI platform that works across more editors than any other tool.

In 2026, Copilot supports GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Gemini 1.5 Pro — letting you switch models depending on the task.

Key Features

Code Completions

Copilot’s bread and butter. It suggests whole lines and entire functions as you type, trained on a massive corpus of public code. The completions are fast and context-aware, especially for popular languages like JavaScript, Python, and TypeScript.

Copilot Chat

Chat lets you ask questions about your code, request refactors, generate tests, and explain complex logic. It works inline in the editor and as a sidebar panel. You can reference specific files and symbols using @workspace and #file syntax.

CLI Integration

Copilot in the CLI helps you compose shell commands, explains error messages, and assists with git operations. It’s surprisingly useful once you make it part of your workflow.

Pull Request Summaries

On GitHub, Copilot can auto-generate PR descriptions and review summaries. For teams that write a lot of PRs, this is a genuine time-saver.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Key Features
Free	$0	2000 completions/mo, 50 chat messages/mo
Pro	$10/mo	Unlimited completions, unlimited chat, multi-model
Business	$19/mo	Everything in Pro + IP indemnity, policy controls
Enterprise	$39/mo	Fine-tuned models, knowledge bases, Bing search

The $10/mo Pro plan is the sweet spot for individual developers. It’s the most affordable premium AI coding tool on the market, and the unlimited completions make it a no-brainer for daily use.

What Copilot Does Well

Editor support is unmatched. VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Vim, Xcode, Visual Studio, Eclipse — Copilot works everywhere. If you’re locked into a specific editor, Copilot is probably the best AI tool available for it.

GitHub integration is deep and natural. Code review suggestions, PR summaries, and issue references all feel like native GitHub features. If your team lives on GitHub, the workflow improvements compound.

The ecosystem is mature. Copilot has the largest user base of any AI coding tool, which means excellent documentation, community answers, and consistent updates.

Where Copilot Falls Short

Agentic capabilities trail the competition. Cursor’s Composer and Claude Code’s autonomous editing are significantly ahead. Copilot can suggest code, but it can’t orchestrate multi-file changes the way newer tools can.

Suggestions can be verbose. Copilot sometimes generates more code than you need, especially for boilerplate. You’ll find yourself trimming suggestions more often than with Cursor.

The free tier is tight. 50 chat messages per month is barely enough for a single afternoon of development. The free tier is a trial, not a sustainable option.

Copilot vs. the Competition

Copilot vs. Cursor: Cursor wins on multi-file editing and agentic features. Copilot wins on editor support and price. If you use VS Code exclusively, Cursor is better. If you use JetBrains or another editor, Copilot is your best option.

Copilot vs. Claude Code: Different paradigms. Claude Code is terminal-based and more autonomous. Copilot is an inline assistant. Use both for different tasks.

Copilot vs. Codeium: Codeium’s free tier is more generous, but Copilot’s paid plans offer better quality and features. For teams, Copilot’s enterprise features are far more mature.

Who Should Use Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is best for:

• Teams already using GitHub for source control and CI/CD
• Developers who use non-VS Code editors (JetBrains, Vim, Xcode)
• Enterprise teams needing IP indemnity and compliance controls
• Developers who want the best value at $10/month

Copilot is not ideal for:

• Developers who need strong agentic/multi-file editing (use Cursor instead)
• Terminal-first developers who want autonomous coding (use Claude Code)
• Developers who refuse to pay anything (use Codeium)

The Verdict

GitHub Copilot earns our Best Integration badge. It’s not the most advanced AI coding tool — Cursor and Claude Code have surpassed it in agentic capabilities — but it’s the most widely supported, the most affordable premium option, and the best choice for GitHub-centric teams.

At $10/month, it’s hard to argue against having it in your toolkit.

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This review is based on GitHub Copilot as of February 2026. Features and pricing may change.