GitHub Copilot revolutionized coding with AI-powered suggestions, but at $10-19/month, many developers are looking for alternatives. Whether you want a free option, better privacy controls, or more powerful features, we've tested 20+ AI coding assistants to find the best ones.
After spending 100+ hours testing these tools across Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, and Rust projects, here are our top picks for 2026.
📑 Table of Contents
- Quick Comparison Table
- 1. Cursor — Best Overall Alternative
- 2. Codeium — Best Free Alternative
- 3. Amazon CodeWhisperer — Best for AWS
- 4. Tabnine — Best for Enterprise Privacy
- 5. Sourcegraph Cody — Best for Large Codebases
- 6. Continue — Best Open Source Option
- 7. Replit Ghostwriter — Best for Beginners
- 8. Supermaven — Fastest Completions
- 9. Aider — Best CLI Tool
- 10. Codiumate — Best for Testing
- 11. Windsurf — Best New Contender
- 12. Claude Code — Best for Complex Tasks
- FAQ
Quick Comparison: GitHub Copilot vs Alternatives
| Tool | Free Tier | Price | Best For | IDE Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot | ❌ | $10-19/mo | General coding | All major |
| Cursor | ✅ Limited | $20/mo | AI-first development | Cursor IDE |
| Codeium | ✅ Unlimited | Free-$12/mo | Free alternative | All major |
| CodeWhisperer | ✅ Unlimited | Free-$19/mo | AWS developers | VS Code, JetBrains |
| Tabnine | ✅ Limited | $12-39/mo | Enterprise/Privacy | All major |
| Cody | ✅ Limited | $9-19/mo | Large codebases | VS Code, JetBrains |
| Continue | ✅ Free | Free (OSS) | Self-hosted/Custom | VS Code, JetBrains |
| Supermaven | ✅ Limited | $10/mo | Speed | VS Code, JetBrains |
1. Cursor — Best Overall GitHub Copilot Alternative
Cursor ⭐ Editor's Choice
Cursor isn't just a Copilot alternative—it's a complete AI-native IDE built from the ground up. Fork of VS Code with deep AI integration that understands your entire codebase.
Key Features:
- Codebase-aware chat: Ask questions about your entire project
- Composer: AI writes multi-file changes in one prompt
- Cmd+K inline editing: Natural language code edits
- Multiple AI models: GPT-4, Claude, and custom models
- Tab completion: Predictive multi-line suggestions
✅ Pros
- Best codebase understanding
- Composer for multi-file edits
- VS Code compatible extensions
- Active development & updates
❌ Cons
- Requires switching IDEs
- More expensive than Copilot
- Free tier is limited
💰 Free tier available · Pro: $20/month
2. Codeium — Best Free GitHub Copilot Alternative
Codeium 🆓 Free Forever
Codeium offers unlimited free code completions with quality that rivals Copilot. Perfect for individual developers who don't want to pay for AI assistance.
Key Features:
- Unlimited completions: No daily limits on free tier
- 70+ languages: Broad language support
- Chat feature: In-editor AI chat (Windsurf)
- All major IDEs: VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Emacs, etc.
- Fast inference: Sub-200ms suggestion latency
✅ Pros
- Completely free for individuals
- Quality matches Copilot
- Wide IDE support
- No telemetry on free tier
❌ Cons
- Chat is basic vs Cursor
- Less context awareness
- Enterprise features cost extra
💰 Free · Teams: $12/user/month
3. Amazon CodeWhisperer — Best Free Option for AWS Developers
Amazon CodeWhisperer 🆓 Free Tier
Amazon's answer to Copilot with excellent AWS integration and a generous free tier. Includes security scanning that identifies vulnerabilities in your code.
Key Features:
- AWS expertise: Best-in-class for AWS SDK, Lambda, S3
- Security scanning: Built-in vulnerability detection
- Reference tracking: Shows when suggestions match open source
- 15+ languages: Python, JS, Java, C#, TypeScript, etc.
- Free unlimited suggestions: For individual developers
✅ Pros
- Free for individuals
- Best for AWS development
- Security scanning included
- License attribution
❌ Cons
- Requires AWS account
- Limited IDE support
- Not as fast as competitors
💰 Free for individuals · Pro: $19/user/month
4. Tabnine — Best for Enterprise & Privacy
Tabnine 🔒 Privacy-First
The OG AI code completion tool (founded 2018) with a strong focus on privacy. Offers on-premise deployment and models trained only on permissive open-source code.
Key Features:
- On-premise option: Run entirely on your infrastructure
- Zero data retention: Your code never leaves your machine
- Personalized model: Learns your team's coding patterns
- SOC 2 compliant: Enterprise-grade security
- All major IDEs: 15+ IDE integrations
✅ Pros
- Best privacy controls
- On-premise deployment
- Team personalization
- Clean IP guarantee
❌ Cons
- Free tier very limited
- Less powerful than cloud options
- Chat feature costs extra
💰 Free (basic) · Pro: $12/mo · Enterprise: $39/user/mo
5. Sourcegraph Cody — Best for Large Codebases
Sourcegraph Cody 📚 Codebase Expert
Built by Sourcegraph (the code search company), Cody excels at understanding massive codebases. Uses advanced retrieval to find relevant context across millions of lines of code.
Key Features:
- Massive context: Understands entire monorepos
- Code graph: Powered by Sourcegraph's search technology
- Multiple LLMs: Claude, GPT-4, Mixtral options
- Custom commands: Create reusable AI workflows
- Self-hosted: Enterprise on-prem option
✅ Pros
- Best for large codebases
- Excellent code search
- Multiple model choices
- Free tier generous
❌ Cons
- Setup can be complex
- Completion not as fast
- Limited IDE support
💰 Free tier · Pro: $9/mo · Enterprise: $19/user/mo
6. Continue — Best Open Source Alternative
Continue 🔓 Open Source
A fully open-source AI coding assistant that you can customize and self-host. Connect any LLM—local models like Ollama, or cloud APIs like OpenAI/Anthropic.
Key Features:
- Bring your own model: Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.
- 100% open source: Apache 2.0 license
- Customizable: Define custom slash commands
- Local-first: Run completely offline
- Context providers: Add docs, URLs, codebase
✅ Pros
- Completely free
- Use any AI model
- Run offline with Ollama
- Highly customizable
❌ Cons
- Requires setup
- Local models need GPU
- Less polished UX
💰 Free forever (bring your own API key)
7. Replit Ghostwriter — Best for Beginners
Replit Ghostwriter 👶 Beginner Friendly
Integrated directly into Replit's browser-based IDE, Ghostwriter is perfect for learners and quick projects. No setup required—just start coding.
Key Features:
- Zero setup: Works instantly in browser
- Explain code: Great for learning
- Generate feature: Describe what you want
- Transform code: Refactor with natural language
- Deployment included: Ship directly from Replit
✅ Pros
- No setup required
- Great for learning
- Built-in deployment
- Collaborative features
❌ Cons
- Browser-only
- Limited to Replit platform
- Not for large projects
💰 Included with Replit Core: $20/month
8. Supermaven — Fastest Code Completions
Supermaven ⚡ Fastest
Created by the founder of Tabnine, Supermaven focuses on one thing: speed. Uses a custom model architecture for sub-100ms completions.
Key Features:
- Ultra-fast: ~70ms average latency
- 1M token context: Remembers more code
- Predictive edits: Knows what you'll type next
- Lightweight: Minimal resource usage
✅ Pros
- Fastest completions
- Large context window
- Lightweight
- Free tier available
❌ Cons
- No chat feature
- Limited IDE support
- Newer, less proven
💰 Free tier · Pro: $10/month
9. Aider — Best CLI Coding Agent
Aider 🖥️ CLI Power
A powerful command-line AI coding assistant that works with your existing workflow. Open source, works with any editor, commits changes directly to git.
Key Features:
- Git-native: Auto-commits with good messages
- Multi-file edits: Handles complex changes
- Voice mode: Code by speaking
- Any LLM: GPT-4, Claude, local models
- Editor agnostic: Works alongside any IDE
✅ Pros
- Free and open source
- Excellent git integration
- Works with any editor
- Very powerful for refactoring
❌ Cons
- CLI only (no GUI)
- Learning curve
- Need your own API key
💰 Free (bring your own API key)
10. Codiumate (by QodoAI) — Best for Testing
Codiumate 🧪 Testing Focus
Specialized in generating tests and improving code quality. Analyzes your code to suggest edge cases and write comprehensive test suites.
Key Features:
- Test generation: Creates unit tests automatically
- Code review: AI-powered PR reviews
- Behavior coverage: Identifies untested scenarios
- Docstring generation: Auto-documentation
✅ Pros
- Excellent test generation
- Finds edge cases
- Improves code quality
- Free tier available
❌ Cons
- Focused on testing only
- Not a full replacement
- Limited languages
💰 Free tier · Teams: $19/user/month
11. Windsurf — Best New Contender
Windsurf (by Codeium) 🌊 Rising Star
Codeium's new AI-native IDE competing directly with Cursor. Offers "Cascade" flows for multi-step agentic coding tasks.
Key Features:
- Cascade: Agentic multi-step coding
- Flow state: Minimal interruption design
- Free tier: More generous than Cursor
- VS Code based: Familiar interface
✅ Pros
- Generous free tier
- Agentic capabilities
- Clean UX
- Fast development
❌ Cons
- Very new (launched late 2024)
- Smaller community
- Requires IDE switch
💰 Free tier · Pro: $15/month
12. Claude Code — Best for Complex Tasks
Claude Code (Anthropic) 🧠 Most Capable
Anthropic's agentic coding CLI that can handle complex, multi-step tasks. Understands codebases deeply and makes thoughtful architectural decisions.
Key Features:
- Agentic execution: Plans and executes multi-step tasks
- Deep reasoning: Powered by Claude's reasoning capabilities
- Git-aware: Commits and manages branches
- Large context: 200K token context window
✅ Pros
- Most capable reasoning
- Handles complex refactors
- Excellent code quality
- Great for architecture
❌ Cons
- CLI only
- More expensive
- Overkill for simple tasks
💰 Pay-per-use via API (approx. $0.01-0.10/task)
🎯 Not Sure Which to Choose?
Check out our interactive comparison tool to find the perfect coding assistant for your needs.
Compare AI Coding Tools →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free GitHub Copilot alternative?
Codeium is the best free alternative, offering unlimited code completions with quality that matches Copilot. Amazon CodeWhisperer is also excellent and free for individuals, especially if you work with AWS.
Is Cursor better than GitHub Copilot?
For many developers, yes. Cursor offers superior codebase understanding and the ability to make multi-file changes with a single prompt (Composer). However, it requires switching to a new IDE. If you're happy in VS Code/JetBrains, Copilot might be less disruptive.
Can I use GitHub Copilot alternatives offline?
Yes! Continue with Ollama allows you to run AI coding assistance completely offline using local models like CodeLlama or DeepSeek Coder. Tabnine also offers on-premise deployment for enterprises.
Which alternative is best for privacy?
Tabnine is the gold standard for privacy with SOC 2 compliance, zero data retention, and on-premise options. Continue with local models is also fully private since nothing leaves your machine.
Are these alternatives as good as Copilot?
Several alternatives now exceed Copilot in specific areas. Cursor and Cody offer better codebase understanding, Supermaven is faster, and Codeium matches Copilot quality for free. Copilot remains excellent for general use, but it's no longer the clear leader.
The Bottom Line
GitHub Copilot is a great tool, but it's no longer the only game in town. Here's our quick recommendation:
- Best overall: Cursor — if you're willing to switch IDEs
- Best free: Codeium — unlimited, high-quality completions
- Best for AWS: Amazon CodeWhisperer — free + security scanning
- Best for enterprise: Tabnine — privacy and compliance
- Best open source: Continue — customizable, use any model
The AI coding assistant space is evolving rapidly. We'll keep this guide updated as new tools emerge and existing ones improve.
Last updated: January 28, 2026