Back to Directory
Top 7 Alternatives to GitHub Copilot in 2025
The best alternatives to GitHub Copilot are Cursor (96/100), Claude Code (98/100), and JetBrains AI Assistant (90/100). Cursor offers superior multi-file editing, Claude Code excels at autonomous agentic coding, and JetBrains AI provides seamless IDE integration for JetBrains users.
Quick Comparison: GitHub Copilot Alternatives
| Tool | Score | Best For | Price | Free Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | 98/100 | Agentic coding, complex tasks | $20/mo | Limited |
| Cursor | 96/100 | AI-native IDE, multi-file | $20/mo | Yes |
| JetBrains AI | 90/100 | JetBrains IDE users | $10/mo | Yes |
| Sourcegraph Cody | 89/100 | Enterprise, large codebases | $59/mo | No |
| Tabnine | 86/100 | Privacy, offline mode | $12/mo | Yes |
| Continue.dev | 81/100 | Open source, local LLMs | Free | Yes |
| Cline | 80/100 | VS Code, agentic tasks | Free* | Yes |
*Cline is free but requires your own API key for the underlying LLM.
Why Switch from GitHub Copilot?
While GitHub Copilot is excellent for inline completions and has wide IDE support, developers often switch for these reasons:
Multi-File Editing
Tools like Cursor and Claude Code can understand and modify multiple files simultaneously, making complex refactoring much faster.
Agentic Capabilities
Claude Code can autonomously plan, implement, and test features across your entire codebase with minimal supervision.
Privacy & Offline
Tabnine offers complete offline operation and on-premises deployment for teams with strict security requirements.
Cost Savings
Continue.dev is fully open source and free, while JetBrains AI costs less than Copilot.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | GitHub Copilot | Claude Code | Cursor | JetBrains AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-file editing | Limited | Excellent | Excellent | Good |
| Agentic mode | Basic | Industry-leading | Good | Limited |
| Context window | ~8K tokens | 200K tokens | 128K tokens | Varies |
| Offline mode | No | No | Limited | Yes (local models) |
| IDE support | Universal | Terminal + extensions | VS Code fork | JetBrains only |
| Price/month | $10 | $20 | $20 | $10 |
Which Alternative Should You Choose?
Choose Claude Code if...
- You want autonomous, agentic coding capabilities
- You work on complex multi-file refactoring tasks
- You value code reasoning and architecture decisions
Choose Cursor if...
- You want a complete AI-native IDE experience
- You prefer visual, inline AI suggestions
- You want choice of multiple frontier models
Choose JetBrains AI if...
- You already use JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, etc.)
- You want seamless integration with existing workflow
- You need offline/local model support
Choose Tabnine if...
- Privacy and security are top priorities
- You need offline or air-gapped deployment
- You want AI trained on your team's code patterns
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free alternative to GitHub Copilot?
Continue.dev is the best free alternative. It's fully open source and supports multiple LLMs including local models via Ollama. Cline is also free but requires your own API key.
Which Copilot alternative works offline?
Tabnine offers the best offline experience with on-premises deployment. JetBrains AI also supports local models via Ollama for offline use.
Is Cursor better than GitHub Copilot?
Cursor excels at multi-file editing and offers deeper AI integration as a purpose-built AI IDE. GitHub Copilot has broader IDE support. Choose based on whether you value AI-native experience (Cursor) or universal compatibility (Copilot).
What's the cheapest GitHub Copilot alternative?
Continue.dev is free. Among paid options, JetBrains AI at $10/month matches Copilot's price with a free tier available.