Head-to-head · profiles checked Sep 30, 2026
Pick GitHub Copilot if most of your work is code: Copilot runs inside your IDE and on GitHub, and Copilot Pro costs $10/mo. Pick ChatGPT for one assistant covering writing, research, files, images and voice, with ChatGPT Plus listed at $20/mo. Copilot Free gives 2,000 completions a month, and ChatGPT Free gives everyday text chat.
We based this comparison on our verified ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot profiles, checked on 2026-09-30 from official sources only; we ran no benchmark on these two tools and took no vendor payments.
Pick ChatGPT if you want a general assistant for writing, research, file analysis, images and voice, with some coding help through Codex. Pick GitHub Copilot if most of your work is code and you want completions, chat and agents inside your existing IDE and on GitHub, with Pro at $10/mo. ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot both have a free plan. ChatGPT's US prices are not confirmed in our profile, while Copilot lists USD prices, so check the official pricing pages before you subscribe.
Based on our ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot profiles, both verified on 2026-09-30 from official sources; no benchmark was run.
If you only want the answer, this is the table. Everything below is the evidence from the two documented profiles.
| You want to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Write or edit long documents | ChatGPT | ChatGPT covers drafting and editing text; Copilot is built for code. |
| Research a topic with cited sources | ChatGPT | ChatGPT documents web search and deep research reports. |
| Autocomplete code while typing | GitHub Copilot | Copilot offers inline completions and next edit suggestions in your editor. |
| Analyze a spreadsheet or uploaded file | ChatGPT | ChatGPT lists file uploads and data analysis. |
| Generate images or talk by voice | ChatGPT | Image creation and voice conversations are documented for ChatGPT only. |
| Refactor or explain existing code | GitHub Copilot | Copilot Chat and agent mode work inside VS Code, JetBrains, Xcode and more. |
| Turn a GitHub issue into a pull request | GitHub Copilot | The Copilot cloud agent researches a repo and can open pull requests. |
| Ask a coding question in chat | Either | ChatGPT and Copilot both answer code questions; ChatGPT also has the Codex agent, Copilot has Copilot Chat. |
| Review code changes | GitHub Copilot | Code review is a documented Copilot feature on paid plans. |
| Work from the terminal | GitHub Copilot | Copilot CLI is a terminal agent; ChatGPT lists Codex but no terminal profile entry. |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Free | ChatGPT | $0 | Unlimited everyday text chat; separate limits for uploads, images and voice |
| ChatGPT Go | ChatGPT | Not stated | Higher limits than Free; may include ads |
| ChatGPT Plus | ChatGPT | $20/mo | Message caps may apply, especially in high demand |
| ChatGPT Pro 100 | ChatGPT | $100/mo | Model allowances vary by tier |
| ChatGPT Business Standard | ChatGPT | $25/seat/mo ($20 annual) | Minimum 2 seats; credits purchasable beyond included limits |
| ChatGPT Enterprise | ChatGPT | Custom | Not stated |
| Copilot Free | GitHub Copilot | $0 | 2,000 completions per month; limited chat and agent usage |
| Copilot Pro | GitHub Copilot | $10/mo | 1,500 monthly AI credits |
| Copilot Pro+ | GitHub Copilot | $39/mo | 7,000 monthly AI credits |
| Copilot Max | GitHub Copilot | $100/mo | 20,000 monthly AI credits |
| Copilot Business | GitHub Copilot | $19/seat/mo | 1,900 pooled AI credits per user |
| Copilot Enterprise | GitHub Copilot | $39/seat/mo | 3,900 pooled AI credits per user |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Sep 30, 2026. ChatGPT pricing in full · GitHub Copilot pricing in full
| ChatGPT | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / rate limits | Plan-dependent caps that OpenAI says can change; Free has unlimited everyday text chat | Monthly AI credit allowance (1 credit = $0.01); Free has 2,000 completions |
| Context / file size | Not stated | Not stated |
| Seats / team | Business needs at least 2 seats; Enterprise via sales | Business $19 and Enterprise $39 per seat; credits pooled across the organization |
| Feature | ChatGPT | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Image generation | Yes | Not stated |
| Voice | Yes | Not stated |
| File upload | Yes | Not stated |
| Web search | Yes | Not stated |
| Agents / tools | Yes (Codex, ChatGPT Agent) | Yes (IDE agent mode, CLI, cloud agent) |
| API | Yes, billed separately | No standalone model API found |
| Mobile apps | Yes (iOS, Android) | Yes (GitHub Mobile) |
| IDE integration | Not stated | Yes (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Xcode, Eclipse, Neovim) |
| ChatGPT | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Consumer plans may be used to improve models unless you turn it off; Business, Enterprise and API are not used by default | Free, Pro and Pro+ may be used unless you opt out; Business and Enterprise are not used |
| Retention | Not stated | Not stated |
| Business controls | SSO, SCIM, admin controls and data residency on Enterprise | Content exclusion, audit logs and IP indemnity on Business and Enterprise |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for writing, research, analysis, image generation and coding help.
Free stops at: Unlimited everyday text chats subject to abuse-prevention safeguards, Separate usage limits for file uploads,…
Free · paid from $20/mo US · checked Sep 30
AI coding assistant from GitHub offering code completions, chat and agent features in editors, the terminal and GitHub.
Free stops at: 2,000 completions per month, Limited chat and agent usage (allowance of GitHub AI Credits)
Verified github.com (opens GitHub Copilot website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $10/mo US · checked Sep 30
GitHub Copilot is built for coding: it works inside VS Code, JetBrains, Xcode and other editors and on GitHub.com, with completions, chat, agents and code review. ChatGPT helps with code through chat and the Codex coding agent, but it is a general assistant.
Yes, ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot both have free plans. ChatGPT's free plan covers everyday text chat but limits uploads, image generation, voice and deep research. Copilot Free includes 2,000 completions per month and limited chat and agent usage, and verified students get free access.
ChatGPT lists $20/mo as its starting price, but US prices were not confirmed because the pricing page showed a non-US currency. Copilot lists Pro at $10/mo, Pro+ at $39/mo, Max at $100/mo, Business at $19/user/mo and Enterprise at $39/user/mo.
On ChatGPT consumer plans, conversations may be used to improve models unless you turn that off; Business, Enterprise and API data is not used by default. On Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+, GitHub may use prompts and code snippets unless you opt out; Business and Enterprise data is not used.
No, GitHub Copilot is not totally free: Copilot Free has limits, Pro costs $10/mo and Business $19/user/mo. Check the official pricing page for current free-plan caps.
ChatGPT is better for general work and Copilot is better for coding inside your editor. Copilot offers inline completions, next edit suggestions and a cloud agent that opens pull requests. For writing, research, images, voice and file analysis, ChatGPT is the broader assistant.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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