Best GitHub Copilot Alternatives in 2026
Looking for alternatives to GitHub Copilot? Here are the top options compared.
Why Consider GitHub Copilot Alternatives?
- β οΈNo free tier - $10/month minimum
- β οΈLimited agentic capabilities compared to Windsurf
- β οΈInline suggestions can be distracting
- β οΈNo standalone IDE experience
Top 10 Alternatives to GitHub Copilot
Cursor
Cursor is an AI-powered code editor built on VSCode that integrates Claude and GPT-4 directly into your coding workflow. It offers intelligent code completion, chat, and entire codebase understanding.
β Pros
- β’ Full codebase context understanding
- β’ Built-in chat with AI assistants
- β’ Multi-file editing capabilities
β Cons
- β’ Requires subscription for full features
- β’ Higher resource usage than plain VSCode
- β’ Newer tool with evolving features
Windsurf
Windsurf by Codeium is an AI-powered IDE featuring Cascade, an agentic AI system that can understand context, make multi-file edits, and execute terminal commands autonomously.
β Pros
- β’ Agentic AI (Cascade) can autonomously complete complex tasks
- β’ Generous free tier with substantial AI usage
- β’ Full IDE experience with AI deeply integrated
β Cons
- β’ Standalone IDE - requires switching from current editor
- β’ Smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code
- β’ Newer product with less community support
Warp
Warp is a modern, AI-powered terminal application that reimagines the command-line experience with block-based output, intelligent command suggestions, and team collaboration features.
β Pros
- β’ AI-powered command suggestions and explanations
- β’ Block-based output for easy navigation
- β’ Modern IDE-like text editing in terminal
β Cons
- β’ Requires account creation to use
- β’ macOS and Linux only (no Windows yet)
- β’ Sends telemetry data by default
iTerm2
iTerm2 is a beloved macOS terminal emulator that has been the go-to replacement for Terminal.app for over a decade, offering extensive customization, split panes, and powerful features for developers.
β Pros
- β’ Completely free and open source
- β’ No account or cloud dependency required
- β’ Extremely stable and battle-tested
β Cons
- β’ macOS only - no cross-platform support
- β’ No built-in AI features
- β’ UI feels dated compared to modern terminals
Zed
Zed is a high-performance code editor built from the ground up in Rust by the creators of Atom. It focuses on speed, real-time collaboration, and clean design with growing AI integration capabilities.
β Pros
- β’ Blazingly fast - built in Rust for native performance
- β’ Real-time multiplayer collaboration built-in
- β’ Free and open source
β Cons
- β’ Smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code-based editors
- β’ Less mature AI features compared to Cursor
- β’ Limited language server support for niche languages
Replit
Replit is a browser-based IDE that combines coding, hosting, and AI assistance in one platform. It's designed for rapid prototyping, learning, and building full applications without any local setup.
β Pros
- β’ Zero setup - start coding instantly in browser
- β’ Built-in AI assistant (Replit Agent) for app generation
- β’ Integrated hosting and deployment
β Cons
- β’ Performance limitations on free tier
- β’ Not suitable for large-scale production apps
- β’ Limited customization compared to local IDEs
GitHub Codespaces
GitHub Codespaces provides cloud-hosted development environments with full VS Code in the browser, deeply integrated with GitHub repositories for seamless development workflows.
β Pros
- β’ Full VS Code experience in the browser
- β’ Deep GitHub repository integration
- β’ Customizable dev containers with Docker
β Cons
- β’ Requires GitHub account and repository
- β’ Can be expensive for heavy usage
- β’ Startup time for large containers
Bolt
Bolt (bolt.new) is an AI-powered web app builder by StackBlitz that generates full-stack applications from text prompts directly in the browser, using WebContainers for instant development environments.
β Pros
- β’ Generate full apps from natural language prompts
- β’ Instant preview with WebContainers (no server needed)
- β’ One-click deployment to production
β Cons
- β’ Limited to web technologies (React, Next.js, etc.)
- β’ Less control over generated code structure
- β’ Token/generation limits on free tier
GitHub
GitHub is the world's largest source code hosting platform, home to over 100 million developers. It offers Git repositories, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, project management, and the AI-powered Copilot assistant.
β Pros
- β’ Largest developer community and open-source ecosystem
- β’ GitHub Actions for powerful CI/CD pipelines
- β’ GitHub Copilot AI-powered coding assistant
β Cons
- β’ Advanced project management features are basic
- β’ GitHub Actions can get expensive at scale
- β’ Owned by Microsoft (concern for some)
Bitbucket
Bitbucket is Atlassian's Git hosting platform, deeply integrated with Jira, Confluence, and the Atlassian ecosystem. It's popular with teams already using Atlassian tools for project management.
β Pros
- β’ Seamless Jira and Confluence integration
- β’ Free for teams up to 5 users
- β’ Built-in CI/CD with Bitbucket Pipelines
β Cons
- β’ Smaller community than GitHub
- β’ UI/UX feels dated compared to GitHub
- β’ Fewer third-party integrations
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Price | Free Tier | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot | $10/month | β | Developer Tools |
| Cursor | Free / $20/month | β | AI Coding |
| Windsurf | Free / $15/month | β | Developer Tools |
| Warp | Free / $18/month | β | Developer Tools |
| iTerm2 | Free | β | Developer Tools |
| Zed | Free | β | Developer Tools |
| Replit | Free / $25/month | β | Developer Tools |
| GitHub Codespaces | 60 hrs free / $0.18/hr | β | Developer Tools |
| Bolt | Free / $20/month | β | Developer Tools |
| GitHub | Free / $4/month per user | β | Developer Tools |
| Bitbucket | Free (5 users) / $3/month per user | β | Developer Tools |