📖 The AI Tool Bible

Continue vs GitHub Copilot

A side-by-side look at pricing, capabilities, pros, cons, and our editorial scores.

 
Continue
Coding
GitHub Copilot
Coding
TaglineOpen-source, self-hostable VS Code/JetBrains AI assistant.The original AI pair programmer, now with chat and agents.
CategoryCodingCoding
PricingFree· Free / open-source; you pay model costsPaid· Free for individuals; $10/mo Pro; $19/mo Business
ModelBYO (any OpenAI-compatible API + Ollama for local)GPT / Claude / OpenAI o-series (configurable)
Editorial score7.9 / 109.1 / 10
Use cases
self-hostedopen sourceBYO model
autocompletechatPR reviewagents
Pros
  • Free and open source
  • Works with local models via Ollama
  • No data leaves your machine if local
  • BYO model flexibility
  • Excellent JetBrains + VS Code support
  • Tight GitHub PR integration
  • Now offers multiple model choices
  • Free tier for individuals
Cons
  • Less polished than Cursor/Copilot
  • Setup is fiddly
  • UX less integrated than Cursor
  • Multi-file edits are catching up but not yet leading
Websitecontinue.devgithub.com
Pick Continue if
  • ✅ Free and open source
  • ✅ Works with local models via Ollama
  • ✅ No data leaves your machine if local
  • ✅ BYO model flexibility
Pick GitHub Copilot if
  • ✅ Excellent JetBrains + VS Code support
  • ✅ Tight GitHub PR integration
  • ✅ Now offers multiple model choices
  • ✅ Free tier for individuals
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