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Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot

Two sides of the AI coding assistants decision: terminal agent and editor plugin. When each fits, what it costs, who moves from one to the other, and what makers who chose it say.

Claude CodeTerminal agentllms.txt
GitHub CopilotEditor pluginllms.txt
Ask your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗

Which fits you

Choose Claude Code if
  • You're comfortable in a terminal and want to hand off whole tasks

Use it whenYou're comfortable in a terminal and want the agent to do the work while you review.

Trade-offUses Anthropic models only, and needs a Claude subscription or API credits.

Choose GitHub Copilot if
  • You don't want to change editors

Use it whenYou don't want to change editors, or you want to start on a free tier.

Trade-offDeeper agent features vary by editor, and heavy use counts against plan limits.

At a glance

Claude CodeGitHub Copilot
Used by738 makers' products · 88 open-source projects26 makers' products
Cost at default usagedevelopers 1 seat$20/mo Pro$10/mo Pro
Moved to it on GitHubpull requests since Oct 202440 from GitHub Copilot28 from Claude Code
Downloads18.9M/wk
PricingIncluded in Claude Pro/Max subscriptions or billed via Anthropic API token usage. · paid from $20/moFree tier with limited completions; paid individual plans and per-seat Business/Enterprise plans with pooled usage credits. · paid from $10/mo
Free tierNoYes
Open sourceNoNo
Incidents, 90 daysfrom its status page50+ (21 major)50+ (15 major)

Who moves from one to the other

Public pull requests on GitHub since Oct 2024 whose title says "Claude Code to GitHub Copilot" or the reverse — real code changes, by developers in general rather than makers only.

GitHub Copilot → Claude Code40 PRs
All matching pull requests on GitHub ↗
Claude Code → GitHub Copilot28 PRs
All matching pull requests on GitHub ↗

What makers say

Makers on using it for AI coding assistants, from Product Hunt and Starter Story interviews, each linked to the source. Products with a page of their own and fuller notes first.

On Claude Code
We build HarnessRouter with Claude Code, and HarnessRouter runs Claude Code as a product backend for other teams. It is both our daily driver and one of the harnesses we route to.
HarnessRouter, the makerSep 2026 ↗
We use Claude Code as our AI agent that addresses and responds to PR review comments. The headless mode made it incredibly easy to run an agent with repository context in a sandbox.
Merge, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Claude Code in VS Code is the closest thing to pair programming with a senior engineer. It reads my codebase, runs commands, and ships PRs right inside the editor I already live in.
Weavable, the makerSep 2026 ↗
530 more on the Claude Code page →
On GitHub Copilot
Our token compression technology has to be compatible and efficient with Github Copilot, so we have to use it extensively to understand how we can optimize its context.
Edgee, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Copilot is everywhere, but it often works in isolation. Stash MCP bridges it to your team’s repos, issues, and docs. Making Copilot way more context-aware.
Stash, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Copilot was the first agent I ran inside scritty every day; it set the bar for what a CLI agent's capture and replay had to feel like.
scritty, the makerSep 2026 ↗
17 more on the GitHub Copilot page →

Loved and watch-outs

Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises.

Claude Code
Most loved
  • Holds deep context across large multi-module codebases, so one change can span UI, backend, docs and infrastructure. PHPH 2PH 3PH 4
  • Carries complex multi-step tasks through end to end, such as waiting on CI, reading logs and iterating until green. PHHNHN 2PH 2
  • Hooks, skills, subagents, plugins and MCP make it a host that teams extend and build products on. PHPH 2HNPH 3
Watch-outs
  • Quality can shift between releases because of harness changes, such as a quietly lowered default reasoning effort. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
  • Subagents are opaque and hard to steer, and the default setup feels heavy, so power users strip tools and prompts. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
  • The subscription only works inside Claude Code, not in other harnesses people prefer. HNHN 2HN 3
On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 736 reviews · mentioned most: code generation, complex software tasks, massive context window
GitHub Copilot
Most loved
  • Inline completions work in every major IDE, including Vim and Visual Studio, cutting boilerplate as you type. PHPH 2
  • One subscription gives a choice of models from several labs, including some free ones. PHHN
  • Deep editor integration, such as a semantic index of the solution in Visual Studio and a read-only plan mode in VS Code. HNHN 2PH
Watch-outs
  • The switch to usage-based billing made it far worse value, driving people to other tools. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
  • As an agent harness it trails Claude Code and Codex, with truncated or bloated context that confuses models. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
  • Built-in pull request review misses too much and raises many wrong findings. HN
On Product Hunt: 4.8★, 34 reviews · mentioned most: productivity boost, suggests code snippets, focus on problem-solving

Who uses each

Claude Code738 makers' products
Accordio AIAdventoryAgent 37 Cloudagent-managerAgent-SinAgentcardAgentCenter for OpenClawAgentConnectAgenticCalling AIAgreeGuardAI Context FlowAI Shadowing+726 more
GitHub Copilot26 makers' products
Beatoven.aiBilly.shBoltEdgeeKastraOpen PaperPackmind Open SourcePeakRoutinePerfai SecuritySalem RoboticsscrittyStash+14 more
Used by both — often one replacing the other, or each for a different part of the product
EdgeeKastraPackmind Open SourcePeakRoutinePerfai SecuritySalem RoboticsStashCloudback

What makers pair each with

With Claude Code
Hosting
Database
Transactional Email
Frontend Framework
With GitHub Copilot
Transactional Email
Hosting
Frontend Framework

Neither quite right?

See the whole AI coding assistants decision →
CursorAI-first editorA VS Code-style editor with AI completions, chat and agents built in, keeping your VS Code extensions.vs Claude Code →vs GitHub Copilot →
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)AI-first editorA VS Code-style editor with unlimited Tab completions, an in-editor agent, and one place to manage local and cloud Devin agents.vs Claude Code →vs GitHub Copilot →
OpenAI CodexTerminal agentDelegating tasks to an agent in the terminal, IDE or desktop app, or to cloud tasks that run in the background and open pull requests.vs Claude Code →vs GitHub Copilot →
OpenCodeTerminal agentAn open-source coding agent that works with almost any model provider, local models, or an existing Copilot or ChatGPT subscription.vs Claude Code →