The best GitHub Copilot alternatives in 2026
GitHub's AI pair programmer and coding agent for IDEs, the CLI and github.com. GitHub Copilot scores 8.6/10 in our AI coding assistants ranking. 1 alternative scores higher. Every app below is scored with the same published rubric.
10 alternatives, best first
Full AI coding assistants ranking →- 1
OpenAI Codex
Best forDevelopers who want parallel, asynchronous tasks and pull requests back, bundled with ChatGPT
OpenAI's coding agent across ChatGPT, CLI, IDE extension, desktop app and cloud
Free plan · paid from $8/month
8.7/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 2
Claude Code
Best forEngineers who hand off large multi-file tasks and long autonomous runs
Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal, IDEs, desktop and web
From $20/month
8.5/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 3
Cursor
Best forIDE-first developers who want AI in every keystroke and the freedom to switch models
AI-native code editor with local, cloud and CLI coding agents and multi-model choice
Free plan · paid from $20/month
8.3/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 4
Amp
Best forExperienced developers and teams running many parallel, long-running agents
Coding agent that keeps working in cloud machines, from web, Mac, iOS or terminal
Has that GitHub Copilot doesn't: Use your own API keys, local models or self-hosted deployment
Free plan · paid from $20/month
7.7/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 5
Cline
Best forDevelopers who want an open-source, model-agnostic agent and control over their AI spend
Open-source coding agent for VS Code, terminal and desktop, with any AI model
Has that GitHub Copilot doesn't: Use your own API keys, local models or self-hosted deployment
Free
7.7/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 6
Devin (Devin Desktop, formerly Windsurf)
Best forTeams that want to hand whole tickets to an autonomous agent while keeping a local IDE
Autonomous AI software engineer, with a cloud agent, desktop IDE and CLI
Free plan · paid from $20/month
7.7/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 7
JetBrains AI (Junie)
Best forDevelopers in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm and other JetBrains IDEs who want a deeply integrated agent
JetBrains' AI coding agent and assistant, built into its IDEs and a CLI
Has that GitHub Copilot doesn't: Use your own API keys, local models or self-hosted deployment
Free plan · paid from $10/month
7.5/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 8
Zed
Best forDevelopers who want a very fast native editor with optional, model-agnostic AI
Fast, open-source code editor with a built-in AI agent and edit predictions
Has that GitHub Copilot doesn't: Use your own API keys, local models or self-hosted deployment
Free plan · paid from $10/month
7.5/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 9
Replit Agent
Best forNon-engineers and indie builders who want a prototype or internal tool from a prompt to a live URL
Browser-based AI agent that builds, tests and deploys full-stack apps
Free plan · paid from $20/month
7.3/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 10
Gemini Code Assist
Best forTeams standardised on Google Cloud who want a managed, enterprise-licensed assistant
Google's AI coding assistant for teams, in VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and GitHub
From $19/user/month
6.9/10★★★★★Visit ↗
Quick answers
What is the best alternative to GitHub Copilot?
In our AI coding assistants ranking, OpenAI Codex scores highest among the alternatives (8.7/10). Best for: Developers who want parallel, asynchronous tasks and pull requests back, bundled with ChatGPT. GitHub Copilot scores 8.6/10.
Is there a free alternative to GitHub Copilot?
Yes. OpenAI Codex has a free plan (Quick coding tasks on ChatGPT Free), and scores 8.7/10 in our ranking.
Why look for a GitHub Copilot alternative?
Common reasons people switch: Usage-based AI Credits make monthly costs harder to predict. Reviewers say its multi-file agent work trails Cursor and Claude Code. Free tier is small.