Key takeaways
- As of October 31, 2026, Claude Code starts at $20 a month on Claude Pro, while GitHub Copilot has a free plan and Pro at $10 a month.
- At the top, Claude Max costs $100 a month and Ultra $200, against Copilot Pro+ at $39 and Max at $100.
- Copilot adds unlimited inline completions on paid plans and models from several vendors; Claude Code runs Anthropic's models across terminal, IDEs, desktop and web.
Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot comes down to how much you want the agent to do on its own, and where you want it to live. As of October 31, 2026, Claude Code starts at $20 a month on Claude Pro and runs in the terminal, IDEs, a desktop app and the web, while GitHub Copilot starts free, costs $10 a month on Pro and is built into GitHub and your editor.
This comparison is based on the products' docs and published results. Neither product was tested for it.
Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot at a glance
| Claude Code | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Anthropic | GitHub (Microsoft) |
| Free tier | No, not on the free Claude plan | Yes, $0 with 2,000 inline suggestions a month and limited chat and agent usage |
| Entry paid plan | Pro, $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually | Pro, $10 a month |
| Middle plan | Max, $100 a month, 5x Pro usage | Pro+, $39 a month, $70 in AI credits |
| Top individual plan | Ultra, $200 a month | Max, $100 a month, $200 in AI credits |
| Where it runs | Terminal, VS Code, Cursor, JetBrains, desktop app, web and mobile | Editors, the GitHub website, the command line and the cloud |
| Models | Claude models | Claude, OpenAI, Google, xAI and other models, plus Fusion |
| Inline completions | Not its job: it is an agent you give tasks to | Unlimited on paid plans, no credits used |
| Automation | Subagents, hooks, skills, MCP, GitHub Actions, scheduled tasks | Agent mode, coding agent that opens pull requests, code review, MCP |
Prices are US dollars, read on October 31, 2026, from Anthropic's pricing page and GitHub's plans page. GitHub's page lists monthly prices only.
What each one is
Claude Code is an agentic coding tool. Anthropic's docs say it reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands and connects to your development tools. You give it a task in plain language, such as "write tests for the auth module, run them, and fix any failures", and it works across files. The CLI installs with one command, and the VS Code and JetBrains extensions, desktop app and web version use the same engine, so a repository's CLAUDE.md and MCP settings carry across them. Most surfaces need a Claude subscription or an Anthropic Console account.
GitHub Copilot started as autocomplete and is now both things. GitHub's docs describe an assistive side, which suggests code as you type and answers questions, and an agentic side, which researches a repository, proposes a plan, edits files, reviews pull requests and runs tools. What you get depends on your plan, your client and your organization's policies.
Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot pricing
As of October 31, 2026:
| Plan | Claude | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, no Claude Code | $0, 2,000 inline suggestions, limited chat and agent usage |
| Pro | $20 a month, $17 billed annually ($200 up front) | $10 a month, $15 in AI credits |
| Middle | Max, $100 a month | Pro+, $39 a month, $70 in AI credits |
| Top | Ultra, $200 a month | Max, $100 a month, $200 in AI credits |
| Teams | Team standard seat $20 a month billed annually ($25 monthly), premium seat $100 ($125 monthly) | Business: not listed on the plans page |
| Enterprise | $20 a seat a month billed annually, 20-seat minimum, plus usage at API rates | Not listed on the plans page |
The two price lists measure usage differently. GitHub counts AI credits, where 1 credit is $0.01, so a Pro plan includes $15 of model usage. Extra credits can be bought on Pro, Pro+ and Max. Claude counts time windows: the pricing page says Max gives 5x Pro usage every five hours and every week, and Ultra has no five-hour limit for verified accounts and 10x Pro usage every week. Anthropic gives no message counts. Both say limits depend on the model and the work.
The cheap end favors Copilot: it has a free plan and a $10 paid plan. At $100 a month the two are priced the same, and which gives more depends on which models you use.
Which models each one uses
Claude Code runs Anthropic's models. Copilot lists models from several companies on every individual plan, including Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5, OpenAI's GPT-6 family, Google's Gemini and xAI's Grok. If you want to switch between vendors in one tool, Copilot is the one that allows it.
GitHub has also added its own routing option. We covered Copilot Fusion, which picks models per task. GitHub says Fusion Max scored 60 on the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index, within two points of Claude Code with Opus 5.5 Max, at about half the cost per task. That is GitHub's claim, and we have not checked it.
Features that differ
- Autocomplete. Copilot has inline suggestions, unlimited on paid plans and not billed against credits. Claude Code has no equivalent, because it is built around tasks rather than keystrokes.
- Pull requests. Copilot's coding agent takes assigned work and returns a pull request, on Pro and above. Claude Code opens pull requests from your machine, and its GitHub Actions and code review integrations handle review in CI.
- Customization. Claude Code offers
CLAUDE.mdmemory, skills, hooks and subagents that work in parallel. Copilot offers instructions, reusable prompts, agent skills and custom agents. - Scheduling. Claude Code has cloud and desktop scheduled tasks. Copilot's docs do not describe scheduling.
- Third-party agents. Copilot lets Pro+ and Max users delegate to third-party agents, a feature GitHub marks as Preview.
- Enterprise controls. GitHub's plans page says SAML SSO, IP indemnity and usage metrics are not part of the individual plans. Both vendors sell organization plans.
Which one to pick
Pick Copilot if you want completions in your editor, a free or $10 starting point, or a choice of models from several vendors. Pick Claude Code if you mainly hand off whole tasks and want to run them from the terminal, a desktop app or the web. Many developers use both: Claude Code installs as an extension in VS Code and Cursor. For a different pairing, see our comparison of Cursor vs Claude Code, and for chat assistants rather than coding tools, Claude vs Copilot plans, prices and limits.
Check both pricing pages before you pay. Plans, credits and model lists change often.
Frequently asked questions
Is Claude Code better than GitHub Copilot?
Neither is better for everyone. Claude Code is built for handing off whole tasks from the terminal, IDEs, desktop or web, while Copilot adds editor autocomplete, a free plan and models from several vendors. This comparison is based on docs and published results, not our own tests.
Is GitHub Copilot cheaper than Claude Code?
At the entry level, yes. As of October 31, 2026, Copilot has a free plan and Pro costs $10 a month, while Claude Code needs Claude Pro at $20 a month. Copilot Max and Claude Max are both $100 a month.
Is Claude Code free?
No. Anthropic's pricing page lists Claude Code as not included on the free Claude plan. It is included from Pro at $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually.
Can you use Claude Code and GitHub Copilot together?
Yes. Claude Code installs as an extension in VS Code and Cursor, so it can sit alongside Copilot in the same editor. Copilot also lists Anthropic's Claude models among its choices.
Sources
- Claude Code overviewAnthropic
- Claude pricingAnthropic
- GitHub Copilot plansGitHub
- What is GitHub Copilot?GitHub Docs
- Route and orchestrate models with GitHub Copilot FusionGitHub
