GitHub Copilot Alternatives for Developers

GitHub Copilot isn’t the only option for AI-assisted coding. Here are the main alternatives.

Why look for Copilot alternatives?

• Privacy: You may need on-prem or stricter data handling (e.g. Tabnine).
• Context: You might want full-repo or codebase Q&A (e.g. Cursor, Cody).
• Cost: Free or lower-cost options exist (e.g. Codeium).
• Editor: You may prefer an AI-first editor or a different IDE.

Top alternatives

Cursor

AI-first editor built on VS Code. Strong repo context and chat; good for multi-file edits and natural-language commands. Best AI Coding Agents 2026.

Cody (Sourcegraph)

Codebase-aware assistant: ask questions, get edits, refactors. Fits teams that want deep codebase understanding. AI Coding Agent vs GitHub Copilot.

Codeium

Free tier and solid completion. Good if you want to try AI coding without paying. Best AI Coding Agents 2026.

Tabnine

Privacy-focused; supports on-prem. Fits enterprises that can’t send code to the cloud.

How to choose

• Best completion in your IDE: Copilot or Codeium.
• Repo-wide and chat: Cursor or Cody.
• Privacy and on-prem: Tabnine.

For a direct comparison, AI Coding Agent vs GitHub Copilot. For the niche, AI Coding Agent.