Claude (incl. Claude Code) vs GitHub Copilot
Last checked 2026-10-15
Based on published features, pricing and documentation, checked 2026-10-15. No hands-on testing. No hands-on testing; this compares published information only.
| Claude (incl. Claude Code) | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Anthropic | GitHub / Microsoft |
| Summary | Assistant with Cowork and Claude Code — a coding agent in CLI, Desktop, VS Code, JetBrains, web and mobile; computer use in research preview on Pro/Max. | Coding assistant with IDE agent mode and a cloud agent that works in GitHub Actions on issues, branches and pull requests. |
| Free tier | Yes (verified) | Yes (verified) |
| Cheapest verified paid plan | Pro: $20/mo · $200/yr (claude.com/pricing) | Pro: $10/mo (github.com/features/copilot/plans) |
| Plans | Free: Free Pro: $20/mo · $200/yr Max 5x / 20x: $100/mo Team: See official site Enterprise: $20/mo | Free: Free Pro: $10/mo Pro+: $39/mo Max: $100/mo Business / Enterprise: See official site |
| Capabilities | Chat, Artifacts, Coding agent (Claude Code), CLI, IDE extensions, Cloud sessions, Routines (scheduled), Code review, Computer use (preview), Chrome extension, Slack integration, GitHub Actions/GitLab CI, Connectors | IDE agent mode, Cloud agent, Issue → PR, Custom agents, MCP, Hooks & skills, Code chat |
| Rubric score | 90/100 | 80/100 |
| Sources | code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop code.claude.com/docs/en/feature-availability claude.com/pricing | docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/cloud-agent/about-cloud-agent github.com/features/copilot/plans |
Tasks both are listed for (15)
- Explain unfamiliar code
- Write unit tests
- Fix a failing build
- Refactor across files
- Automated PR review
- Issue to pull request
- Generate a regex or SQL query
- Write a shell/PowerShell script
- Explain logs and errors
- Infrastructure-as-code changes
- CI pipeline setup
- Write analysis code
Only Claude (incl. Claude Code) (84)
- Rewrite for tone
- Summarize a long document
- Proofread and fix grammar
- Outline a long-form article
- Draft in a shared canvas
- Style-guide enforcement
- Cited quick answers
- Deep research report
- Literature scan
- Compare products or vendors