Comparison
GitHub Copilot alternatives in 2026, for every editor
Copilot moved to usage billing in June. What to use instead, depending on which editor you won't give up.
The best GitHub Copilot alternatives in October 2026 depend on your editor. In VS Code, Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex both have official extensions, and Cline and Kilo Code are free, open-source agents that run on your own keys. In JetBrains IDEs, JetBrains AI now runs Claude Agent and Codex alongside its own Junie. In Visual Studio, Google's Antigravity is the only major non-Copilot agent with an official extension, and it works on Antigravity's free plan. If you'd switch editors, Cursor, Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) and Zed are the main options.
Key takeaways
- Why people are looking: Copilot moved every plan to usage-based AI credits on June 1, 2026, and removed Opus models from its $10 Pro plan in April.
- Free alternatives: Google Antigravity's free plan, Codex on ChatGPT Free, Devin Desktop's free plan, Cline and Kilo Code with your own keys, and Zed.
- Visual Studio: neither Anthropic nor OpenAI makes a Visual Studio extension. Antigravity does, and Visual Studio 2026 can now use Claude models through Microsoft's own agent with your own key.
- No longer free: Gemini Code Assist stopped serving free users in IDEs on June 18, 2026 (Gemini Code Assist pricing), and Supermaven was shut down.
- What developers use: Claude Code at work for 39% of developers, Copilot 21%, in JetBrains' 2026 survey.
| Tool | VS Code | Visual Studio | JetBrains | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Official | No (community wrapper) | Official | No |
| Codex | Official | No (community wrapper) | In JetBrains AI | ChatGPT Free |
| Google Antigravity | Yes | Official (VS 2026) | Yes | Free plan |
| Cline | Yes, open source | No | Yes | Free with your keys |
| Kilo Code | Yes, open source | No | Yes | Free with your keys |
| JetBrains AI | No | No | Built in | Junie Lite |
| Devin Desktop | Own editor | No | Plugin | Free plan |
| Cursor | Own editor (a VS Code fork) | No | No | Free plan |
The best Copilot alternatives for VS Code
- Claude Code: Anthropic's agent, with an official VS Code extension; from Claude Pro at $20 a month. It leads the independent agent benchmarks (the rankings).
- Codex: OpenAI's agent, with an official extension; on every ChatGPT plan, Free included.
- Cline: an open-source (Apache 2.0) agent extension; free, and you pay only for the model, with your own key or its credits.
- Kilo Code: open source (MIT), free, with its own model gateway at provider prices.
- Google Antigravity: an extension with a free weekly quota.
Compared in detail: Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot.
The best Copilot alternatives for Visual Studio
Visual Studio has the fewest options.
- Google Antigravity has an official, verified extension for Visual Studio 2026, which works on its free plan.
- Bring your own model, new in Visual Studio 2026 in September 2026, lets Microsoft's built-in agent use models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft Foundry or Ollama with your own key, whether or not you sign in to GitHub (Microsoft). That's Claude inside Microsoft's agent, not Claude Code.
- Claude Code and Codex have no official Visual Studio extension. A community extension wraps their command-line tools, or you can run them in a terminal beside Visual Studio.
- Gone: the Windsurf plugin was unpublished, and Tabnine's hasn't been updated since its sale.
The best Copilot alternatives for JetBrains IDEs
- JetBrains AI runs several agents in IntelliJ, PyCharm and the rest: its own Junie, Claude Agent, Codex (since January 2026) and any agent that supports the Agent Client Protocol (JetBrains). AI Pro is $10 a month, and Junie Lite is free.
- Claude Code has an official JetBrains plugin, which uses the Claude Code command-line tool.
- Cline and Kilo Code both have free JetBrains plugins.
- Devin Desktop's JetBrains plugin, the former Windsurf plugin, is still maintained.
Which Copilot alternatives are free?
- Google Antigravity: a free plan with weekly limits, in its own editor and in VS Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains.
- Codex on ChatGPT Free, with OpenAI's small GPT-6 Luna model.
- Devin Desktop and Cursor: free plans with light quotas.
- Cline, Kilo Code and Zed: free software; you bring a model key or a local model.
- Copilot Free itself still exists, with a small monthly allowance.
Free tiers run smaller models that score well below the paid leaders. More in The best free AI for coding.
If you'd switch editors
- Cursor: an AI-first editor built on VS Code, Pro at $20. Note that OpenAI plans to stop supplying its models to Cursor (Cursor alternatives).
- Devin Desktop: Windsurf's new name since June 2026, free or $20.
- Zed: fast and open source, with collaboration on every plan.
- Kiro (AWS) and Antigravity (Google): agent-first editors with free tiers.
All of them run on Linux as well as Mac and Windows; Visual Studio is Windows-only.
Which should you choose?
- The strongest agent, in VS Code or JetBrains: Claude Code.
- Free, in any editor including Visual Studio: Google Antigravity.
- Free and open source with your own keys: Cline or Kilo Code.
- JetBrains users who want several agents in one place: JetBrains AI.
- A whole new editor: Cursor or Devin Desktop.
- A team working with one agent: Poly (usepoly.co) runs Claude Code and Codex in a shared browser room where everyone sees each step and any member can approve a change. Free to start. What is Poly?
Common questions
What is the best alternative to GitHub Copilot?
For the strongest agent, Claude Code, which has official VS Code and JetBrains extensions. For free, Google Antigravity, Codex on ChatGPT Free, or the open-source Cline and Kilo Code with your own keys.
Is there a free alternative to GitHub Copilot?
Yes. Google Antigravity has a free plan, Codex runs on ChatGPT Free, Devin Desktop and Cursor have free plans, and Cline, Kilo Code and Zed are free with your own model key.
What is the best Copilot alternative for Visual Studio?
Google Antigravity, which has an official Visual Studio 2026 extension that works on its free plan. Visual Studio 2026 can also use Claude or OpenAI models in Microsoft's own agent with your own key.
Is Gemini Code Assist still free?
Not in IDEs. Since June 18, 2026, Gemini Code Assist extensions serve only paid Standard and Enterprise licenses, and Google points individual users to Antigravity.
Does Claude Code work in JetBrains IDEs?
Yes. Anthropic has an official JetBrains plugin that uses the Claude Code command-line tool, and JetBrains AI also offers Claude Agent inside its IDEs.