Head-to-head · profiles checked Sep 30, 2026
Pick GitHub Copilot for AI inside the IDE you already use, a free plan, or a cloud agent that opens pull requests. Pick Claude Code for an agent that edits files and runs commands from the terminal. Copilot starts at $0 (Free) or $10/mo (Pro); Claude Code has no free tier and starts at $20/mo with Claude Pro.
We based this comparison on our verified profiles of both tools (GitHub Copilot checked 2026-09-30, Claude Code checked 2026-09-29) and on one benchmark run of Claude Code; it uses no third-party benchmarks and no vendor paid for placement.
Pick GitHub Copilot if you want completions and chat inside your current IDE, a free plan, or a cloud agent that opens pull requests on GitHub. Pick Claude Code if you want an agent that edits files and runs commands from the terminal and you already have, or will buy, a Claude Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan. Copilot starts at $0 (Free) or $10/mo (Pro); Claude Code has no free tier and starts at $20/mo billed monthly. GitHub Copilot and Claude Code both cap heavy use: Copilot through monthly AI credits, Claude Code through plan usage limits.
Based on our GitHub Copilot profile (verified 2026-09-30) and Claude Code profile (verified 2026-09-29) from the vendors' pricing, docs and privacy pages; Claude Code completed one benchmark run (task-01-orders-report: 5/5 tests, 48 s, $1.22 at API list price), but Copilot was not benchmarked, so no speed or quality comparison is made.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Get code suggestions while typing | GitHub Copilot | Copilot offers inline suggestions and next edit suggestions on all plans; Claude Code's documented surfaces are agent-style. |
| Fix a bug across several files | Either | Copilot has agent mode in the IDE; Claude Code edits multiple files and runs your tests. |
| Work from the terminal | Either | Copilot CLI and the Claude Code CLI both run in the terminal; Copilot CLI asks for approval on file changes and shell commands. |
| Hand an issue to a bot that opens a pull request | GitHub Copilot | The Copilot cloud agent works in a GitHub Actions environment and opens PRs on paid plans. |
| Get an automatic review of a pull request | GitHub Copilot | Copilot code review covers PRs on GitHub and diffs in editors on Pro and above. |
| Code in Xcode, Eclipse or Neovim | GitHub Copilot | Copilot lists Xcode, Eclipse and Neovim among supported IDEs; Claude Code lists VS Code, Cursor and JetBrains. |
| Code on a phone or in the browser | Claude Code | Claude Code lists web, iOS and Android; Copilot lists GitHub Mobile for chat and agent sessions. |
| Start an AI coding tool for free | GitHub Copilot | Copilot Free includes 2,000 completions per month; Claude Code is not in the Free Claude plan. |
| Start tasks from Slack | Either | Copilot's cloud agent starts from Slack and Microsoft Teams mentions; Claude Code lists Slack too. |
| Choose between models from several vendors | GitHub Copilot | Copilot paid plans let you pick among Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI, Kimi and Microsoft models. |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot Free | GitHub Copilot | $0 | 2,000 completions per month; limited chat and agent usage; auto model selection only |
| Copilot Student | GitHub Copilot | $0 (verified students) | Allowance of AI credits; auto model selection only |
| Copilot Pro | GitHub Copilot | $10/mo | 1,500 total monthly AI credits; unused credits do not carry over |
| Copilot Pro+ | GitHub Copilot | $39/mo | 7,000 total monthly AI credits |
| Copilot Max | GitHub Copilot | $100/mo | 20,000 total monthly AI credits |
| Copilot Business | GitHub Copilot | $19/seat/mo | 1,900 AI credits per user per month, pooled |
| Copilot Enterprise | GitHub Copilot | $39/seat/mo | 3,900 AI credits per user per month, pooled; requires GitHub Enterprise Cloud |
| Claude Pro | Claude Code | $20/mo billed monthly ($17/mo billed annually) | Usage limits apply |
| Claude Max 5x | Claude Code | $100/mo | 5x the usage of Pro |
| Claude Max 20x | Claude Code | $200/mo | 20x the usage of Pro |
| Claude Team (standard seat) | Claude Code | $25/seat/mo billed monthly ($20 annual) | Teams of 2 to 150; more usage than Pro |
| Claude Enterprise | Claude Code | Seat plus usage at API rates | Spend limits set by admins |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Sep 30, 2026. GitHub Copilot pricing in full · Claude Code pricing in full
| GitHub Copilot | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / rate limits | Monthly AI credits (1 credit = $0.01); credit use varies by model and task | Plan usage limits; Max 5x and 20x give 5x and 20x the usage of Pro |
| Context / file size | Not stated | Up to 1M tokens, varies by model |
| Seats / team | Business and Enterprise seats with pooled credits, policies and budgets | Team for 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise with admin spend limits |
| Beyond the allowance | Set a USD budget for extra usage, upgrade, or wait for the reset on the 1st (00:00 UTC) | Extra usage options exist on Team and Enterprise |
| Feature | GitHub Copilot | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Inline completions | Yes | Not stated |
| IDE support | VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse, Xcode, Neovim | VS Code, Cursor, JetBrains |
| Terminal agent | Yes (Copilot CLI) | Yes (Claude Code CLI) |
| Cloud agent opening PRs | Yes (paid plans) | Not stated |
| Code review | Yes (Pro and above) | Not stated |
| MCP servers | Yes | Not stated |
| Mobile apps | GitHub Mobile | iOS and Android |
| Desktop app | Yes (GitHub Copilot app) | Yes (macOS and Windows; Linux beta) |
| API | Copilot SDK; no standalone pay-per-token model API on the pages checked | Console billed per API token; not included in subscriptions |
| GitHub Copilot | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Free, Pro and Pro+: GitHub may train on prompts and snippets unless you opt out. Business and Enterprise: not used for training. | Opt-out on Free, Pro and Max; none by default on Team and Enterprise |
| Retention | Business and Enterprise IDE chat and completions: engagement data kept two years | Not stated |
| Business controls | Content exclusion, public code filter, audit logs, policies, budgets, MCP allow lists, IP indemnity | SSO and SCIM, audit logs, Compliance API, custom retention controls, IP allowlisting |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
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
Anthropic's agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files and runs commands from the terminal, IDEs, desktop app or browser.
Watch out: Not included in the Free Claude plan, and usage on subscriptions is capped by plan limits.
Verified code.claude.com (opens Claude Code website in a new tab)
From $20/mo US · checked Sep 29
GitHub Copilot has a free plan with 2,000 completions per month and limited chat and agent usage, and verified students get Copilot Student at no cost. Claude Code has no free tier: it is included in paid Claude plans or billed per token through the Anthropic Console.
Copilot Pro is $10/mo, Pro+ $39/mo and Max $100/mo. Claude Code comes with Claude Pro at $20/mo billed monthly ($17/mo billed annually), Max 5x at $100/mo and Max 20x at $200/mo.
Yes. The Copilot profile lists Anthropic Claude models on its plans page and says you can delegate work to Claude as a third-party agent (Preview) on Pro+, Max, Business and Enterprise. Claude Code itself is a separate product that needs a Claude subscription or Console account.
GitHub Copilot and Claude Code both sell team plans. Copilot Business is $19 per user per month and Enterprise $39, with seat management, policies, audit logs and content exclusion. Claude Code Team standard seats are $25 per seat per month billed monthly ($20 annual), with SSO and no model training by default. Copilot is not available on GitHub Enterprise Server.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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