GitHub Copilot is the AI coding assistant most developers have already tried. It plugs into the editor you already use, including VS Code, JetBrains and others, and adds strong inline completions, a chat panel and an agent mode without asking you to change your setup. Your editor stays your editor; Copilot rides along inside it.
The appeal is value and familiarity. At around $10 a month for Pro it is the cheapest serious option, and the free tier (around 2,000 completions a month plus limited chat and agent access) is enough to find out whether AI autocomplete suits you. Because it is wired into GitHub, it is especially convenient if your workflow lives in issues, pull requests and Actions. In 2026 it moved to usage-based AI Credits billing: code completions are free on paid plans, and each tier includes a credit allowance for chat and agent mode.
The limits follow from being an extension. It cannot integrate as deeply as an editor built around AI, and for large delegated tasks an agent-first tool will usually do more on its own. Heavy chat and agent use also draws down credits, so check the current allowances before assuming the entry price covers your usage.
Verdict: the pragmatic pick if AI is an assist rather than the centre of how you work. We look at whether it is still worth it in Is GitHub Copilot Worth It in 2026? and compare it with an AI-native editor in Cursor vs GitHub Copilot.
