An AI coding assistant built into GitHub and the editors developers already use. It suggests code as you type, answers questions about a codebase, and can act on a task across several files. GitHub publishes a free tier alongside Business and Enterprise plans, so the entry point costs nothing. The distinction that matters is context: because it reads the code open in your editor, it avoids the copy-and-paste step a separate chat window needs, and that is also why its mistakes are easier to miss than a wrong answer you had to paste in yourself.

Frequently asked questions

What is GitHub Copilot?

An AI coding assistant from GitHub. It works in supported editors, in the terminal, and on the GitHub site itself, suggesting code as you write and carrying out multi-step changes on request.

Who is it for?

Developers who want assistance without leaving their editor. Its main advantage over a separate chat tool is context: it can see the code you are working in, so you spend less time explaining what is already on screen.

Is GitHub Copilot free?

There is a free tier alongside paid Business and Enterprise plans. GitHub publishes the current tiers and limits on its own plans page, so check those before budgeting rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere.

What should you check first?

How your organisation treats code sent to a hosted service. That is a policy question about your repository, not a setting inside the editor, and it should be settled before wider rollout rather than after.

Does it replace reading the code?

No, and treating it that way is the common failure. It is fastest and safest on patterns you already understand, and least reliable exactly where you would most want help: unfamiliar logic in a codebase with thin test coverage.

What it is good at

Writing code faster in the editor

Inline suggestions for the boilerplate you already know how to write is where it saves the most time and carries the least risk.

Understanding an unfamiliar codebase

Asking questions about code that is open in front of you avoids the copy-and-paste step a separate assistant needs.

Working across several files

Delegating a described change and reviewing the result suits well-tested repositories where mistakes surface quickly.

Pricing

GitHub publishes a free tier plus Business and Enterprise plans. The name, scope and limits of those tiers are on the vendor site and its plans documentation, which is the place to confirm current figures rather than a number repeated here.

Alternatives

Cursor — An editor built around AI assistance rather than a plugin.
Codeium — A free-oriented alternative with broad editor support.
Claude Code — Terminal-first, with a different review workflow.

What to check before you commit

Settle the policy question first

Whether your code may be sent to a hosted service is an organisational decision. Agree it before a team adopts the tool individually, because reversing it later is harder than setting it up front.

Review what it writes

A confident suggestion is not a correct one. The repositories where this matters most are the ones with the least test coverage and the fewest reviewers.