Cline vs GitHub Copilot
Cline 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.
Cline
Open-source autonomous coding agent inside VS Code. Creates files, runs commands, and can use a browser for UI testing and debugging with your permission.
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 | cline.bot | github.com |
| Pricing | Open Source - free for individual developers (Apache 2.0); pay only for inference, at cost through the Cline provider or with your own API keys; Enterprise - custom pricing: JetBrains extension, SSO, SLA, centralized billing, role-based access control, dedicated support | 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 | npm i -g cline | npm install -g @github/copilot or brew install --cask copilot-cli or curl -fsSL https://gh.io/copilot-install | bash |
| Models | Cline is model-agnostic: bring keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, Vercel AI Gateway, AWS Bedrock, Azure, GCP Vertex, Cerebras, Groq or any OpenAI-compatible API, or run local models through Ollama or LM Studio. As of October 17, 2026 the Cline provider defaults to Claude Sonnet 5.5 when no model is chosen. | 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 17, 2026 | October 17, 2026 |
In Depth
Cline
Cline is an open-source autonomous coding agent that runs as a VS Code extension. Unlike traditional coding assistants that provide suggestions, Cline executes complete workflows from a single natural language prompt. It can create and edit files, explore large projects, run terminal commands, and optionally use a browser to click elements, type text, and capture screenshots for interactive debugging and end-to-end testing. Every file edit and terminal command needs your approval by default, or you can toggle auto-approve and let Cline run autonomously. It supports multiple model providers (including OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google Gemini) plus local models through tools like Ollama.
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 Cline cost?
As of October 17, 2026: Open Source - free for individual developers (Apache 2.0); pay only for inference, at cost through the Cline provider or with your own API keys; Enterprise - custom pricing: JetBrains extension, SSO, SLA, centralized billing, role-based access control, dedicated support. Source: Cline pricing, cline/cline README, cline/cline releases.
How do I install Cline?
Official install commands as of October 17, 2026: npm i -g cline.
Which models does Cline use?
As of October 17, 2026: Cline is model-agnostic: bring keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, Vercel AI Gateway, AWS Bedrock, Azure, GCP Vertex, Cerebras, Groq or any OpenAI-compatible API, or run local models through Ollama or LM Studio. As of October 17, 2026 the Cline provider defaults to Claude Sonnet 5.5 when no model is chosen.
How much does GitHub Copilot cost?
As of October 17, 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: 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 17, 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 17, 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.
