GitHub Copilot vs Claude Code
GitHub Copilot: GitHub's AI coding assistant for code completion, chat, agents and review. Claude Code: Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal, IDEs, desktop and web. Here is how they compare on price, free plan, platforms and the jobs each does best, from each vendor's own pages.
| GitHub Copilot | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | GitHub's AI coding assistant for code completion, chat, agents and review | Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal, IDEs, desktop and web |
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $10/mo (Pro)GitHub Copilot pricing | $17/mo billed annually (Claude Pro)Claude Code pricing |
| Free trial | None stated | None stated |
| Platforms | Web, macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux, Web, iOS, Android, API |
| Integrations (vendor's figure) | Not stated | Not stated |
| Open source | No | No |
| Made by | GitHub (Microsoft) | Anthropic |
Choose GitHub Copilot if…
- You want a free plan: Claude Code does not have one.
- Price matters: its cheapest paid plan is $10/mo against $17/mo.
- The job is getting code suggestions while writing scripts or apps.
- The job is asking questions about an unfamiliar codebase.
Choose Claude Code if…
- You want a mobile app (iOS and Android).
- You need an API to build on.
- The job is fixing a bug by pasting in the error message.
- The job is writing tests and updating dependencies across a project.
Still weighing it up?
If neither is quite right, GitHub Copilot and Claude Code are also compared with their other rivals: Cursor vs GitHub Copilot, Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex and GitHub Copilot vs OpenAI Codex.
What GitHub Copilot does
- Code completions and next edit suggestions
- Chat in the IDE, on GitHub.com and in GitHub Mobile
- Agent mode that edits files in the workspace
- Cloud agent and code review on paid plans
- Copilot CLI for the terminal
- Works in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Eclipse, Xcode and Neovim
Watch out for
- The Free plan is capped at 2,000 completions per month
- Paid plans include a monthly AI credit allowance (1,500 on Pro); extra usage costs $0.01 per credit
- Cloud agent and code review are not in the Free plan
What Claude Code does
- Reads the codebase, edits files and runs commands
- Creates commits, branches and pull requests
- Connects to external tools through MCP
- Project instructions in CLAUDE.md files, plus skills and hooks
- Parallel subagents and scheduled routines
- GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD and Slack integrations
Watch out for
- Not included in the free Claude plan
- Usage counts against the same limits as the Claude subscription
- The desktop app requires a paid subscription
Questions
Is GitHub Copilot or Claude Code cheaper?
On published entry prices, GitHub Copilot is cheaper: $10/mo (Pro) for GitHub Copilot against $17/mo billed annually (Claude Pro) for Claude Code. What each plan includes differs, so compare the limits too.
Do GitHub Copilot and Claude Code have free plans?
GitHub Copilot does; Claude Code does not.