Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot
Claude Code and GitHub Copilot side by side: what each one is, verified plan pricing and install commands where we have them, and the full review of each.
Claude Code
Daily DriverAnthropic's agentic coding CLI. Runs in your terminal, edits files autonomously, spawns sub-agents, and maintains memory across sessions. Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on paid plans as of October 2026.
GitHub Copilot
328K viewsGitHub's AI coding assistant. Inline completions, chat, and agent mode in VS Code and JetBrains, plus a coding agent that turns issues into pull requests. Free tier, Pro from $10/mo.
At a glance
| Field | | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Coding | AI Coding |
| Website | docs.anthropic.com | github.com |
| Pricing | Pro - $20/mo, or $17/mo billed annually ($200 up front): includes Claude Code; Max - $100/mo (5x Pro usage) or $200/mo (20x Pro usage), plus $100 to $200/mo in API credits; Team - Standard seat $20/seat/mo billed annually ($25 monthly); Premium seat $100/seat/mo billed annually ($125 monthly); 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise - $20/seat/mo billed annually, 20 seat minimum, plus usage at API rates; Console (API key) - pay per token at Anthropic API rates; Free claude.ai plan - does not include Claude Code | Free - $0: 2,000 completions/mo, limited chat and agent usage, Copilot CLI, Auto model selection only; Pro - $10/mo: unlimited completions and next edit suggestions, cloud agent and code review, model selection, $15/mo in GitHub AI Credits; Pro+ - $39/mo: premium models including Opus, $70/mo in GitHub AI Credits; Max - $100/mo: priority access to new models and features, $200/mo in GitHub AI Credits; Business - $19 per granted seat/mo, 1,900 credits per user per month; Enterprise - $39 per granted seat/mo, 3,900 credits per user per month; GitHub AI Credits - 1 credit = $0.01; additional usage billed against a budget you set |
| Install | curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash or brew install --cask claude-code or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code | npm install -g @github/copilot or brew install --cask copilot-cli or curl -fsSL https://gh.io/copilot-install | bash |
| Models | Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and the Anthropic API (Sonnet 4.5 on Microsoft Foundry). Switch with /model, claude --model, or ANTHROPIC_MODEL using the opus, sonnet, haiku, and fable aliases (Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1 on the Anthropic API) or a full model name; Fable is never the default and must be picked explicitly. | Pick a model in the model picker in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Xcode, Eclipse, Copilot CLI, and the coding agent, from OpenAI (GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, Sol, Luna), Anthropic (Claude Opus, Sonnet, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1), Google (Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.8 Flash), xAI (Grok 4.7), Moonshot Kimi K3, and Microsoft MAI-Code-1.1-Flash; Free and Student plans get Auto model selection only. HydraFusion can orchestrate several models into a single response instead. |
| Last verified | October 25, 2026 | October 25, 2026 |
In Depth
Claude Code
Claude Code is a terminal-based coding agent from Anthropic. You give it a prompt, and it reads your codebase, plans changes, edits files, runs tests, and commits - all autonomously. It spawns sub-agents for parallel work, uses persistent memory (CLAUDE.md files) to remember project context between sessions, and integrates with MCP servers for external tools. I run it on the Max plan (from $100/mo) and it handles everything from multi-file refactors to full feature builds. My video on Claude Code sub-agents hit 160,000 views - it's the tool my audience asks about most. As of October 2026 it defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and API accounts, and you can switch models per session.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is one of the most widely adopted AI coding tools. It runs inside VS Code and JetBrains, offering real-time code completions as you type. Copilot Chat adds conversational editing, agent mode makes multi-file changes in the editor, the Copilot CLI works in the terminal, and the coding agent can take a GitHub issue and open a pull request. Copilot Spark (announced at GitHub Universe) is their no-code app builder competitor. Plans moved to a credit-based structure (August 2026): Free $0, Pro $10/mo, Pro+ $39/mo, Max $100/mo - chat, agent mode, code review, CLI and cloud agent usage draw down GitHub AI Credits, while inline completions stay unlimited on every paid plan. My Copilot intro video hit 328,000 views - my most-viewed video ever. It's still the default recommendation for developers new to AI coding tools.
FAQ
Answers taken from each tool's verified fact sheet, with the date it was last checked.
How much does Claude Code cost?
As of October 25, 2026: Pro - $20/mo, or $17/mo billed annually ($200 up front): includes Claude Code; Max - $100/mo (5x Pro usage) or $200/mo (20x Pro usage), plus $100 to $200/mo in API credits; Team - Standard seat $20/seat/mo billed annually ($25 monthly); Premium seat $100/seat/mo billed annually ($125 monthly); 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise - $20/seat/mo billed annually, 20 seat minimum, plus usage at API rates; Console (API key) - pay per token at Anthropic API rates; Free claude.ai plan - does not include Claude Code. Source: Claude Code setup docs, Claude Code model configuration, Claude pricing, anthropics/claude-code CHANGELOG, anthropics/claude-code releases, @anthropic-ai/claude-code on npm (release dates).
How do I install Claude Code?
Official install commands as of October 25, 2026: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash or brew install --cask claude-code or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code.
Which models does Claude Code use?
As of October 25, 2026: Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and the Anthropic API (Sonnet 4.5 on Microsoft Foundry). Switch with /model, claude --model, or ANTHROPIC_MODEL using the opus, sonnet, haiku, and fable aliases (Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1 on the Anthropic API) or a full model name; Fable is never the default and must be picked explicitly.
How much does GitHub Copilot cost?
As of October 25, 2026: Free - $0: 2,000 completions/mo, limited chat and agent usage, Copilot CLI, Auto model selection only; Pro - $10/mo: unlimited completions and next edit suggestions, cloud agent and code review, model selection, $15/mo in GitHub AI Credits; Pro+ - $39/mo: premium models including Opus, $70/mo in GitHub AI Credits; Max - $100/mo: priority access to new models and features, $200/mo in GitHub AI Credits; Business - $19 per granted seat/mo, 1,900 credits per user per month; Enterprise - $39 per granted seat/mo, 3,900 credits per user per month; GitHub AI Credits - 1 credit = $0.01; additional usage billed against a budget you set. Source: GitHub Copilot plans, GitHub Docs: Plans for GitHub Copilot, GitHub Docs: Installing Copilot CLI, GitHub Docs: Supported AI models, Changelog: models deprecated on October 19, 2026, Changelog: upcoming model deprecations, Changelog: HydraFusion updates and Max option, Changelog: Gemini 4 Argon in GitHub Copilot.
How do I install GitHub Copilot?
Official install commands as of October 25, 2026: npm install -g @github/copilot or brew install --cask copilot-cli or curl -fsSL https://gh.io/copilot-install | bash.
Which models does GitHub Copilot use?
As of October 25, 2026: Pick a model in the model picker in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Xcode, Eclipse, Copilot CLI, and the coding agent, from OpenAI (GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, Sol, Luna), Anthropic (Claude Opus, Sonnet, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1), Google (Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.8 Flash), xAI (Grok 4.7), Moonshot Kimi K3, and Microsoft MAI-Code-1.1-Flash; Free and Student plans get Auto model selection only. HydraFusion can orchestrate several models into a single response instead.
