Modelpeers
Claude Code charactervsGitHub Copilot character

Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot: Which coding agent gives you more for the money?

Facts checked Oct 22, 2026. Every number links to its source.

Summary

Derived from sourced facts, not from builder opinions
  • Copilot starts cheaper: a free plan with limited agent use, and Pro at $10 a month with $15 of AI Credits. Claude Code starts with Claude Pro at $20.
  • Copilot bills every plan in AI Credits at each model's API rates. Claude Code uses 5-hour and weekly limits with no published numbers.
  • Copilot offers Claude, GPT-6 and Gemini models. Claude Code is built for Claude models.
  • Claude Code with Opus 5.5 leads Terminal-Bench 4.0 at 64.85%. Copilot has no entry on the board.

Choose Claude Code if

  • You want an agent with a published Terminal-Bench 4.0 result (64.85% with Opus 5.5).
  • You use Claude heavily and want usage included within plan limits rather than billed per token.
  • You also want the Claude chat app in the same plan.

Choose GitHub Copilot if

  • You want a free or $10 plan.
  • You want GPT-6 and Gemini models next to Claude.
  • Your code lives on GitHub and you want agents in GitHub itself.
Claude Code
GitHub Copilot

Follow both to get an email when either one changes its price, limits or behavior.

Best by task

Choice of model makers

GitHub Copilot

Copilot lists Claude, OpenAI, Google, xAI, Microsoft and Kimi models. Claude Code is built for Claude models.

Cheapest paid plan

GitHub Copilot

Copilot Pro costs $10 a month. Claude Pro costs $20.

Free plan

GitHub Copilot

Copilot Free supports the CLI and agent mode with limited usage. Claude Code is not in Claude Free.

Plans

Claude Code plans

Pro
$20/month

Claude Code included · billed $17/month annually

Max
$100/month

From $100: 5x or 20x Pro usage

Team Standard seat
$25/month

Per seat, monthly · $20 billed annually

Team Premium seat
$125/month

5x a standard seat · $100 billed annually

Enterprise
$20/month

Per seat billed annually, 20-seat minimum, plus usage at API rates

GitHub Copilot plans

Free
Free

Limited chat and agent usage

Pro
$10/month

$15 of GitHub AI Credits a month

Pro+
$39/month

$70 of AI Credits a month

Max
$100/month

$200 of AI Credits a month

Subscription agents are priced per seat with usage limits, so this compares plans rather than dividing a subscription by a guessed number of tasks.

Side by side

Claude CodeGitHub Copilot
MakerAnthropic
GitHub (Microsoft)
PlatformsTerminal CLI, VS Code, JetBrains, desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux beta), web, iOS and Android app
Editors and IDEs, CLI, GitHub.com and GitHub Mobile on all plans · agent mode in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse and more
PlansNot in Free. Pro $20/month ($17 annual) · Max from $100 (5x or 20x Pro usage) · Team Standard $25/seat monthly ($20 annual), Premium $125 ($100 annual) · Enterprise $20/seat plus usage at API rates
Free $0 · Pro $10/month ($15 of AI Credits) · Pro+ $39 ($70 of credits) · Max $100 ($200 of credits)
Usage limitsPer-seat 5-hour and weekly windows · weekly Claude Code limits 25% above pre-May 2026 levels since 2026-09-14 · no published per-plan numbers
Monthly GitHub AI Credits: Pro $15, Pro+ $70, Max $200 total (base plus flex allotment) · Free has limited chat and agent usage · extra credits purchasable on paid plans
ModelsBuilt for Claude models: aliases opus (Opus 5.5), sonnet (Sonnet 5.5), haiku (Haiku 5.5), fable (Fable 5.1, may bill usage credits) · third-party providers Bedrock, Google Cloud, Foundry
Includes Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1 · GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Sol and Luna · Gemini 4 Argon (Pro+ and above) · Grok and Kimi K3 models · Claude Opus 4.8 and Opus 5 leave on 2026-11-16
Use with other toolsSubscription OAuth may not be used to route requests for third-party products
Not published
BillingNot publishedUsage-based GitHub AI Credits on all plans since 2026-06-01, priced on input, output and cached tokens at API rates

Scores appear side by side only when both were published for the same test. Settings differ between sources, so small gaps can reverse under another harness.

Updates

Claude Code

27 recorded incidents in the last 90 days.

GitHub Copilot

4 recorded incidents in the last 90 days.

Now available

Copilot Fusion adds local model routing in experimental preview

Copilot Fusion can now choose between supported on-device models and cloud models in Copilot CLI, the Copilot app and VS Code. MAI Code 1.1 Flash can be downloaded on supported Windows devices.

Who is affected:
Copilot users who want to run local models with automatic routing.
What to do:
Enable experimental local routing to try it.

Plan change

GitHub Enterprise now includes Copilot for every licensed user, Standalone is $10

Enterprises working with a GitHub or Microsoft account team can get Copilot included with GitHub Enterprise. Users without an Enterprise license get Copilot Standalone at $10 per user per month, with no monthly AI credits per seat.

Before

Separate Copilot seats plus AI usage to manage

After

Copilot included with GitHub Enterprise, usage metered against the enterprise budget

Who is affected:
Enterprise admins and users on GitHub Enterprise Cloud who manage Copilot seats and AI usage budgets.
What to do:
Talk to your sales team about moving an enterprise account to the new model, or keep your current plan.

Switching checklist

  1. Keep CLAUDE.md for Copilot's cloud agent and the Copilot CLI, which read AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md or GEMINI.md. VS Code chat reads AGENTS.md, so add one there.
  2. Put rules for every Copilot feature in .github/copilot-instructions.md, which Visual Studio and JetBrains also read.
  3. Recreate the servers from .mcp.json in your editor's mcp.json, or with /mcp add in the Copilot CLI.
  4. Add the same servers in the repository's MCP settings on GitHub if the cloud agent or code review needs them.
  5. Price your Claude use: Copilot bills Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 and Fable 5.1 from AI Credits at API rates.
  6. Estimate your monthly use against the plan's credits: $15 on Pro, $70 on Pro+, $200 on Max.
  7. Run one real task in your own repository with both tools and compare the diffs before moving a team.

FAQ

Is Claude Code better than GitHub Copilot?

Claude Code with Opus 5.5 scored 64.85% on Terminal-Bench 4.0. Copilot has no result on that board, so there is no direct benchmark comparison.

How much do Claude Code and Copilot cost?

Claude Code comes with Claude Pro at $20 or Max from $100. Copilot has Free, Pro $10, Pro+ $39 and Max $100.

Can I use Claude models in Copilot?

Yes. Copilot lists Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 and Fable 5.1, paid from AI Credits at API rates.

How does Copilot billing work?

Since June 1, 2026, every plan uses GitHub AI Credits, priced on input, output and cached tokens at each model's API rates.

Does Copilot read CLAUDE.md?

Yes, in the cloud agent and the Copilot CLI, which read AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md or GEMINI.md. Copilot code review reads CLAUDE.md too.

Is GitHub Copilot free?

Yes, with limited chat and agent usage. Claude Code has no free plan.

Which models does Copilot include?

Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 and Fable 5.1, GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Sol and Luna, and Gemini models.

Related comparisons

OpenAI Codex vs Claude CodeCursor vs Claude CodeCursor vs GitHub CopilotOpenClaw vs Claude CodeOpenAI Codex vs GitHub CopilotClaude Code vs ChatGPTGoogle Antigravity vs Claude CodeGemini CLI vs Claude CodeClaude Code pageGitHub Copilot page

Sources and method

Prices, specs and limits come from each maker's own pages. Benchmark scores come from independent benchmark publishers and the makers' announcements, with the setting each was measured in. Changes come from changelogs, deprecation pages and status pages. The summary is written from these facts only.