GitHub Copilot vs ChatGPT Plus
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Facts and prices checked
The short answer: coding in your editor versus a general assistant with a coding agent
If you write code every day in an editor, start with GitHub Copilot Pro at $10 a month. It gives unlimited inline completions and next-edit suggestions in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, Neovim and more, lets you pick models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others, and can turn GitHub issues into pull requests. ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month is the better buy if coding is one job among several: it bundles the Codex coding agent (in the ChatGPT app, the terminal and a VS Code, Cursor or Windsurf extension) with deep research, image generation and voice. What decides it is autocomplete: Copilot suggests code as you type, while Codex works through chat and tasks you hand off. If you want both, they cost $30 a month together.
Key differences
| GitHub Copilot | ChatGPT Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Individual pricing | Free ($0, 2,000 completions a month), Pro $10/month, Pro+ $39/month, Max $100/month. | Free, Go $8/month, Plus $20/month, Pro from $100/month. |
| Where it works | VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode, Neovim, Eclipse, Zed and more, plus GitHub.com, GitHub Mobile and Copilot CLI. | ChatGPT on web, desktop and mobile. Codex runs in the ChatGPT app, the Codex CLI, an IDE extension for VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf, and Xcode and JetBrains integrations. |
| Autocomplete | Unlimited inline completions and next-edit suggestions on Pro and above. | OpenAI's docs describe no tab-style autocomplete. Codex edits code from a chat sidebar and shows diffs to review. |
| Agents and code review | Agent mode in the IDE. On Pro and above, you can assign an issue to the cloud agent and it opens a pull request. Includes pull request reviews on GitHub. | Codex runs tasks locally or in parallel in the cloud. Plus includes automatic code review and Slack integration. |
| Models | A model picker that covers OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, xAI Grok and others. Pro+ adds premium models, including Anthropic's Opus. | OpenAI models only, including its latest models on Plus. |
| Usage limits | Chat, agent, code review and CLI use draw on monthly AI credits: $15 of credits on Pro and $70 on Pro+. You can buy more. | Plus includes Codex usage within rolling message limits that OpenAI publishes on its pricing page, shared by local and cloud Codex work. Weekly limits may also apply, and you can buy extra credits. |
| Beyond coding | Coding only. | Full ChatGPT: deep research, image generation, voice, projects, custom GPTs and data analysis. |
| Free access | Free for verified students (Copilot Student). Verified teachers and maintainers of popular open-source projects may qualify for free Copilot Pro. | The free ChatGPT plan includes limited Codex access. |
Choose GitHub Copilot if…
- you want suggestions as you type in the editor you already use, including Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs or Neovim.
- your work lives on GitHub and you want issues turned into pull requests and pull requests reviewed automatically.
- you want the cheapest paid plan ($10) or want to switch between Claude, GPT and Gemini models.
Choose ChatGPT Plus if…
- you want one $20 subscription that covers coding help plus writing, research, images and voice.
- you'd rather describe a task and review a diff than accept suggestions line by line.
- you're learning to code and want explanations, debugging help and project planning in plain conversation.
Pros
- +Seamless IDE integration — works in VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, and more
- +Code suggestions are contextually accurate and save significant time
- +Copilot Chat enables natural-language coding conversations in the IDE
Cons
- −Can suggest code with licensing issues — review suggestions carefully
- −Paid plans are metered: Pro $10, Pro+ $39 and Max $100 per month
Don't buy if
- ⚠ Review AI-generated code for correctness and licensing before shipping to production
- ⚠ Copilot sends code snippets to GitHub servers — check your org's data policy
Pros
- +Most versatile AI assistant — handles writing, coding, analysis, and creative tasks
- +Massive ecosystem of custom GPTs and plugins
- +Regular model improvements and new feature launches
Cons
- −Usage limits on the newest models can bite during heavy use; Pro starts at $100/month
- −Privacy concerns — conversations may be used for training by default
Don't buy if
- ⚠ Disable chat history in settings if you're inputting sensitive business information
- ⚠ Usage limits on the most capable models can slow heavy workflows; check current plan limits