What Is GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant built by GitHub (Microsoft). It lives inside your existing editor — VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, and more — and provides inline code completions, a chat interface, and increasingly agentic features. It was one of the first mainstream AI coding tools and remains one of the most widely used.

Copilot is powered by OpenAI models (primarily GPT-4 variants and Codex descendants) and is trained on a massive corpus of open-source code from GitHub. It's the "safe, established choice" in AI coding — not always the most cutting-edge, but reliable and well-integrated into the tools you already use.

Who Is It Best For?

Copilot is best for developers who don't want to switch editors. If you love your current JetBrains IDE, use Neovim, or have a heavily customized VS Code setup you don't want to abandon, Copilot meets you where you are.

It's particularly good for:

Teams already in the GitHub ecosystem (repos, Actions, PRs)
Developers working across multiple editors
Organizations that need enterprise compliance and audit trails
Anyone who wants a free AI coding assistant (the free tier is genuinely useful)

Setup Walkthrough

Setting up Copilot takes about 3 minutes:

Get a GitHub account if you don't have one. Go to github.com and sign up.
Enable Copilot on your account. Visit github.com/features/copilot and sign up for the free tier (or a paid plan).
Install the extension in your editor:
- VS Code: Search "GitHub Copilot" in the Extensions marketplace and install it. You'll also want "GitHub Copilot Chat" for the chat panel.
- JetBrains: Go to Settings → Plugins → Marketplace, search "GitHub Copilot," and install.
- Neovim: Follow the official setup guide for your editor.
Sign in. The extension will prompt you to authenticate with your GitHub account. Follow the OAuth flow.
Start coding. Open any file and start typing. Copilot will show gray "ghost text" suggestions inline. Press Tab to accept, or keep typing to ignore.

Real Usage Demo

Inline Completions

The core Copilot experience is inline ghost text. As you type, Copilot predicts what comes next:

// Type a function signature and Copilot fills in the body:
function calculateShippingCost(weight: number, distance: number) {
  // Copilot suggests the implementation based on context
}

You'll see gray text appear as you type. Press Tab to accept the full suggestion, or Alt+] to see alternative suggestions.

Copilot Chat

Open the chat panel (Ctrl+Shift+I in VS Code) for a conversational AI experience:

"Explain what this regex does"
"Write unit tests for the selected function"
"How can I optimize this database query?"

Chat can reference your currently open file, selected code, or specific files you tag with #file.

Copilot Edits

The newer Copilot Edits feature (similar to Cursor's Composer) lets you describe multi-file changes in natural language:

"Add input validation to all API endpoints in the controllers folder"

Copilot will propose changes across multiple files. You can review each change before accepting.

Terminal Integration

In VS Code, Copilot can also help in the integrated terminal:

"How do I find all files larger than 10MB in this directory?"

It'll suggest the right shell command, which you can run directly.

Honest Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Works in many editors (VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim)	Less context-aware than Cursor for large projects
Generous free tier for individuals	Chat is useful but not best-in-class
Reliable inline completions	Copilot Edits is newer and less refined
Enterprise features for teams	Can suggest outdated or deprecated patterns
Deep GitHub integration (PRs, issues)	Free tier has request limits
Well-established with large community	No standalone terminal agent mode

Cost Analysis

Plan	Price	What You Get
Free	$0	2,000 completions/mo, 50 chat messages/mo
Individual	$10/mo	Unlimited completions, unlimited chat, Copilot Edits
Business	$19/mo/user	Everything in Individual + policy management, audit logs, SSO
Enterprise	$39/mo/user	Everything in Business + fine-tuned models, increased context

Our take on pricing: Copilot is the most affordable paid AI coding tool. At $10/mo for unlimited access, it's half the price of Cursor Pro. The free tier is also legitimately usable for lighter usage — 2,000 completions per month is plenty for part-time coding.

For students and open-source: GitHub Copilot is free for verified students, teachers, and maintainers of popular open-source projects. Check your eligibility at education.github.com.

Our Verdict

Rating: 4.0/5 — The reliable, widely-compatible AI coding assistant.

GitHub Copilot is the Toyota Camry of AI coding tools: not the flashiest, but reliable, affordable, and available everywhere. Its inline completions are solid, the free tier is genuinely useful, and the editor compatibility is unmatched. It doesn't have Cursor's polished AI IDE experience or Claude Code's agentic power, but it doesn't require you to change your setup either.

Choose Copilot if: You want AI assistance without switching editors, you're on a budget, or your team is already deep in the GitHub ecosystem.

Skip Copilot if: You want the most advanced AI coding experience (consider Cursor) or you need an autonomous agent that can handle complex multi-step tasks (consider Claude Code).

Bottom line: Copilot is the safest choice for most developers. It won't blow your mind, but it'll make you meaningfully more productive at a very reasonable price.

Last verified: February 20, 2026. We re-test all tools regularly. If something has changed, let us know.