Side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right tool
Claude excels as a general-purpose AI assistant for a wide array of text-based tasks, including writing and research, with a strong free offering. GitHub Copilot is a specialized, highly effective tool for developers, significantly boosting coding productivity through intelligent suggestions and integrations.
We've analyzed Claude, GitHub Copilot, and dozens of other tools to find the top performers for your specific needs.
Quick recommendations based on your use case
Claude
Claude's free tier provides extensive capabilities for writing, research, and basic coding help, making it an accessible and powerful tool for students.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot's deep integration into development workflows, advanced coding features, and enterprise-grade security make it the superior choice for accelerating enterprise development.
Claude
Claude offers broader text-based assistance beyond just coding, making it more versatile for a freelancer's diverse needs, with a generous free tier for general tasks.
| Specification | Claude | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| model | N/A | GPT-4.1, GPT-5 mini, Claude Sonnet 4/4.5, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Claude Opus 4.1, Haiku 4.5 (varies by plan) |
| users | N/A | Millions of individual users and tens of thousands of business customers |
| security | N/A | Enterprise-grade controls, SOC2 (implied by GitHub's overall security posture), GDPR (implied) |
| platforms | Web | VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, Azure Data Studio, Eclipse, Raycast, GitHub CLI, Windows Terminal Canary, GitHub Mobile, GitHub.com |
| context window | N/A | N/A |
| gdpr compliant | N/A | N/A |
| soc2 compliant | N/A | N/A |
| enterprise features | N/A | ✓ Yes |
| free tier allowance | Limited messages per day/hour (specifics not detailed) | 50 agent mode/chat requests/mo, 2,000 completions/mo |