Teams look past GitHub Copilot when agent work starts to burn through metered AI credits, when individual-plan data policy needs a decision, or when they want an editor or agent built around one workflow. Most go to Cursor or Claude Code for agent-first work, or to JetBrains AI Assistant if the team lives in IntelliJ-family IDEs.
Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within
the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. The first three alternatives
go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the
established names follow in their ranked order. How it works:
placement disclosure · editorial process.
What each alternative does differently
1. Cursor
AI-native editor built around a coding agent · United States
A full editor built around its own agent, not an extension inside yours. Third-party models are billed at API list price on top of the plan, and the Plus tier covers only Grok models. Its blog reports a SpaceX acquisition, so ownership differs from Copilot's.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if you want an agent-first editor and accept leaving VS Code or JetBrains.
Pricing: Free has limited agent requests; Plus is $8 per month but covers Grok models only; Premium is $30, Super $100 and Ultra $200 per month; Teams seats are Premium $30, Super $100 or Ultra $200 per user per month; Enterprise is custom. (free plan)
Full review: #5 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Cursor →
2. Claude Code
Terminal and IDE coding agent from Anthropic · United States
Terminal-first agent that also runs in IDEs, a desktop app and the browser. It uses Anthropic models only, where Copilot lists several makers. It comes inside Claude plans or API billing, and a team can store standards in a CLAUDE.md file and share skills.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if your work is multi-file delegation and one model family is acceptable.
Pricing: Included in Claude Pro at $17 per month billed annually ($20 monthly), Max from $100, Team from $20 per seat; the free Claude plan does not include it. (none)
Full review: #6 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Claude Code →
3. JetBrains AI Assistant
AI chat and agents inside JetBrains IDEs · Czech Republic
Lives inside IntelliJ-family IDEs, which suits Java, Kotlin and Python teams who want native refactoring context. It is sold in credit tiers, and JetBrains states it will not train on your inputs. It is of little use outside a JetBrains IDE.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if the team works in JetBrains IDEs and wants a vendor that commits to no training on inputs.
Pricing: AI Free gives 3 credits per 30 days; AI Pro is $20 per month for 20 credits; AI Ultimate is $60 for 70; AI Enterprise is $60 per month. (free plan)
Full review: #4 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit JetBrains AI Assistant →
4. Windsurf (Devin Desktop)
Cognition's agent editor, formerly Windsurf · United States
Cognition's renamed editor, now sold as Devin Desktop, with a Kanban board for supervising several agents and a handoff to cloud execution. The Teams plan adds a base fee to each full developer seat, so the small-team maths differs from Copilot's flat seat.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if you want to supervise several agents from one board and can move to a new editor.
Pricing: Free at $0; Pro $20 per month; Max $200 per month; Teams is $80 per month plus $40 per full developer seat; Enterprise is custom. (free plan)
Full review: #8 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Windsurf (Devin Desktop) →
5. OpenAI Codex
OpenAI's coding agent inside ChatGPT plans · United States
A coding agent bundled into ChatGPT plans, with a free tier, an $8 Go plan and Business per user. It suits a company already on ChatGPT Business. Usage runs on credits that vary by model and task, and it covers one model family.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if your company already pays for ChatGPT Business and wants one vendor review.
Pricing: Free at $0; Go $8 per month; Plus $20; Pro from $100; Business $20 per user per month on annual billing ($25 monthly); Enterprise is custom. (free plan)
Full review: #9 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit OpenAI Codex →
6. Zed
A fast code editor with agents, built by its own team · United States
A native editor, not an extension, where Personal is free and accepts your own keys or external agents without Zed charging for that traffic. Pro adds $5 of tokens, and extra usage is billed separately. Teams on JetBrains or Visual Studio gain nothing from it.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if you want to bring your own model keys and are ready to change editors.
Pricing: Personal is free with 2,000 accepted edit predictions; Pro is $10 per month with a 14-day trial and $5 of tokens; Business is $30 per seat per month. (free plan)
Full review: #1 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Zed →
7. Cline
Open source coding agent that uses your own model keys · United States
Open source agent under Apache 2.0 for VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal, with no subscription for individuals, who pay only for inference. There is no flat monthly cap, so a heavy session can produce a large API invoice. SSO sits behind enterprise sales.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if you want open code and your own model keys instead of a seat price.
Pricing: Free for individual developers, who pay only for model inference by usage; Enterprise is quote only. (open source)
Full review: #2 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Cline →
8. Amazon Q Developer
AWS's developer assistant for IDEs and console · United States
AWS's assistant for IDEs, the command line and the console, with a Java upgrade allowance of 4,000 pooled lines per user on Pro. Pro lists IP indemnity at $19 per user. Outside AWS work it has little edge, and the free tier is 50 agentic requests.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if your stack and your platform team sit mainly on AWS.
Pricing: Free tier with 50 agentic requests per month; Pro is $19 per user per month, adding higher limits, an admin dashboard and IP indemnity. (free plan)
Full review: #10 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Amazon Q Developer →
9. Kiro
Spec-driven agent IDE and CLI from AWS · United States
Agentic IDE and CLI from AWS built around written specs, which turn a prompt into requirements, design and a task list before code. Credit tiers run from $0 to $200 per user. Free and individual content may be used for service improvement unless opted out.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if you want written specs reviewed before an agent edits code.
Pricing: Free is $0 with 50 credits a month; Pro is $20 per user per month with 1,000 credits, Pro+ $40 with 2,000, Pro Max $100 with 5,000 and Power $200 with 10,000; add-on credits cost $0.04 each; Enterprise is quoted. (free plan)
Full review: #12 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Kiro →
10. Augment Code
Coding agents with a codebase context engine · United States
Agent platform with a codebase context engine for VS Code and JetBrains. Standard is a flat $20 for up to 50 seats with usage pooled across the team, and a 40% service fee applies to model inference. No free plan appeared on the pricing page.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if your codebase is large and you prefer a pooled team allowance to per-seat plans.
Pricing: Standard is $20 per month flat with $20 of usage, Business $100 with $100 of usage, both up to 50 seats; a 40% service fee applies to LLM usage. (none)
Full review: #3 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Augment Code →
11. Gemini Code Assist
Google Cloud's coding assistant for teams · United States
Google Cloud's assistant, sold as Standard and Enterprise editions rather than self-serve tiers. The docs cap agent mode and the Gemini CLI at 1,500 or 2,000 requests per user per day. List price and data terms need a written answer from Google.
Switch from GitHub Copilot if your company already runs on Google Cloud and buys through it.
Pricing: Sold as Standard and Enterprise editions through Google Cloud; the documented quotas are 1,500 requests per user per day on Standard and 2,000 on Enterprise. (none)
Full review: #11 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Gemini Code Assist →
Questions and answers
Does GitHub Copilot train on my code?
It can on individual plans. The terms say GitHub may use Inputs and Outputs to train models unless you opt out in account settings, and the Copilot page applies this to Free, Pro and Pro+. Business and Enterprise use is governed by customer agreements instead.
Can I use my own model keys with Copilot?
Yes, in part. The BYOK docs say local keys work in VS Code, JetBrains, Xcode, the CLI and the Copilot app. Organization policy can disable local keys for Business and Enterprise users.
What happens when I run out of AI credits?
You buy more or stop. For individuals, the docs say you can purchase additional credits to keep working. For organizations, additional paid usage is on by default, and unused included credits are forfeited at the monthly reset.
Are code completions metered in Copilot?
Not on paid plans. The usage docs say completions and next edit suggestions are not billed in AI credits and remain unlimited for paid plans. Copilot Free is limited to 2,000 completions per month.
How much is Copilot Business per developer?
$19 per granted seat per month. The plans docs list 1,900 credits per user per month, pooled at the billing entity, so one heavy user can draw from the shared balance. Enterprise is $39 per granted seat.
Does Copilot run on GitHub Enterprise Server?
No. The plans docs state Copilot is not currently available for GitHub Enterprise Server. Copilot Enterprise is designed for GitHub Enterprise Cloud, which matters if you leave a self-hosted GitHub and want to compare tools.
