GitHub Copilot vs ChatGPT (2024): A Detailed Analysis

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GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT are two of the top artificial intelligence tools helping drive the massive growth in AI adoption. Both are powered by advanced models from OpenAI, but they serve distinct purposes—GitHub Copilot is primarily a coding assistant, while ChatGPT serves as a versatile conversational AI chatbot and information source. When it comes to Copilot vs ChatGPT, understanding their strengths and weaknesses will help you determine which tool better suits your needs.

• GitHub Copilot: Best for real-time AI-powered software development within integrated development environments (IDEs).
• ChatGPT: Best for providing explanations, brainstorming, and general-purpose conversational AI assistance across many knowledge domains.

GitHub Copilot vs ChatGPT at a Glance

Feature	GitHub Copilot	ChatGPT
Primary Function	AI-powered code completion and suggestion	Conversational AI with coding capabilities
Core Features	• AI-powered, context-aware code suggestions within IDEs • Supports multiple programming languages • Integrates with Visual Studio Code, JetBrains, and more	• Versatile conversational AI • Can generate and explain code snippets • Excels in natural language processing and a variety of tasks beyond coding
Integration	Directly integrates with IDEs (e.g., VS Code)	Accessible via web interface and API
Ease of Implementation	• Seamless integration with IDEs like Visual Studio Code • Requires minimal setup for users familiar with these environments	• Accessible via web interface and API • Requires no specific setup • User-friendly for a wide range of applications
Code Generation	Context-aware, highly relevant	Good, requires specific prompts
Code Explanation	Limited to suggesting code, not explanations	Excels in explaining complex logic
Pricing	• $10/month (Individual) • $19/month (Business) • $39/month (Enterprise)	• Free tier • $20/month (Plus) • $25/month (Team) • Custom quote (Enterprise)

What is GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered tool developed by GitHub in collaboration with OpenAI. It assists developers by suggesting entire lines of code or completing functions as they type within their code editor, operating as an “AI pair programmer” to make coding faster and more efficient by predicting the next steps in the software development process.

Key Features

• Real-Time Code Suggestions: Copilot provides context-aware code completions as you write, predicting the next lines of code based on the existing codebase. This feature helps streamline the coding process by reducing the need for manual code entry and documentation research.
• IDE Integration: Seamlessly integrates with popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code, allowing developers to work without switching between different tools. The suggestions appear inline, making it easier to incorporate them into the codebase.
• Broad Language Support: Supports a wide array of programming languages and frameworks, making it useful across different projects and coding environments.
• Security and Compliance: Includes features to reduce the risk of incorporating insecure code, such as AI-based vulnerability detection and licensing awareness to avoid suggesting potentially restricted code.

Pros

• Enhances productivity by reducing the time needed for coding repetitive tasks
• Provides relevant code suggestions based on the existing codebase
• Integrates within IDEs, making it a natural extension of the developer’s workflow
• Includes features for detecting and avoiding insecure code patterns

Cons

• Focuses more on code generation than on explaining code logic
• May struggle with non-standard or highly innovative coding practices
• Requires a paid subscription for full functionality after a free trial
• Generated code may need further optimization and review

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT by OpenAI is the most popular conversational AI at the moment. Designed to generate human-like text based on the prompts it receives, ChatGPT is a highly versatile tool that can assist with software coding, help with general research, and support customer service, content creation, and technical tasks.

Key Features

• Code Explanation: ChatGPT is adept at breaking down complex coding concepts and explaining them in simpler terms. It can help users understand programming languages, data structures, and algorithms, making it a valuable resource for learning and debugging.
• Natural Language Understanding: ChatGPT uses natural language programming to engage in dynamic, context-aware conversations. It excels in interpreting and generating text, making it a powerful tool for customer service, content creation, and more.
• Versatile Applications: Beyond coding, ChatGPT can be used for a wide range of tasks, including writing, ideation, and general problem-solving across many areas.
• API Integration: ChatGPT’s API allows developers to integrate its capabilities into their applications, providing conversational AI features that can enhance user interactions.

Pros

• Assists in accomplishing tasks across a vast array of subject matters
• Supports learning and understanding complex concepts through detailed explanations
• Engages in dynamic, context-aware conversations
• Offers a functional free tier with the option for enhanced features under a paid plan

Cons

• Lacks the contextual awareness necessary for real-time coding assistance within an IDE
• Produces verbose or overly detailed outputs that in some cases require refinement
• Missing the latest updates or model improvements in the free version
• Requires separate integration if used alongside coding environments

Best for Pricing: ChatGPT

The better-priced tool is dependent on your use case. Developers can argue that Copilot is a better value for the money, but for more general use, ChatGPT offers better value as the more cost-effective tool.

When comparing pricing structures, GitHub Copilot provides a more cost-effective solution for developers. This subscription offers access to comprehensive coding assistance features, including real-time code completion and integration within popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code: 

• $10 per user, per month for individual users
• $19 per user, per month for business users
• $39 per user, per month for enterprise users

On the other hand, ChatGPT’s paid plan, known as ChatGPT Plus, offers better value for general users:

• $20 per month for individual users
• $25 per user, per month for the team option 

While ChatGPT offers a free version with limited functionality, its paid tier provides enhanced features such as access to GPT-4, priority support, and additional tools for content generation and data analysis. This helps make it an overall better value for the money based on its free plan and general-purpose functionality. However, for those focused strictly on coding, GitHub Copilot’s pricing may be more appealing​.

Best for Core Features: It’s a Tie

GitHub Copilot outshines ChatGPT when it comes to core coding features, especially for developers working within an IDE. Copilot can provide context-aware code suggestions, including entire lines or blocks of code, which is exactly what developers need: real-time, accurate, and relevant code completions. Its tight integration with IDEs like Visual Studio Code ensures that such suggestions are seamlessly incorporated into the developer’s workflow, making them more productive and reducing the time spent on manual coding.

However, when it comes to overall AI functionality, ChatGPT’s plethora of features shines through over Copilot’s software development specialization. From this perspective, you can hardly compare Copilot to ChatGPT. Ultimately, these two tools have different areas of focus, and both do an excellent job of meeting the needs of their users.

Best for Ease of Implementation: ChatGPT

ChatGPT excels in ease of implementation due to its user-friendly interface and broad accessibility. Users can interact with ChatGPT through a simple web interface or API without needing to integrate it into specific tools or environments. This makes it particularly easy to start using, even for those with limited technical expertise. Whether you’re looking for coding help, content generation, or general problem-solving, ChatGPT’s straightforward setup allows you to instantly start using it across various tasks.

In contrast, GitHub Copilot requires integration within an IDE, which may introduce a steeper learning curve for users who aren’t already familiar with these development environments. While this integration is beneficial for developers who spend their time coding, ChatGPT’s simplicity and versatility make it an easier option for a wider audience​.

Best for Versatility: ChatGPT

Clearly, ChatGPT wins in this category. It stands out for its versatility, as it’s made for users who need an AI tool that can handle a variety of tasks. Unlike GitHub Copilot, which specializes in coding within an IDE, ChatGPT is helpful across a broad range of activities, including brainstorming, content creation, technical support, and even learning new programming concepts. Its ability to engage in natural language conversations allows ChatGPT to provide detailed explanations, explore alternative solutions, and assist with non-coding tasks.

Best for Learning and Education: ChatGPT

ChatGPT is the better option when it comes to learning and education. For learning software development, ChatGPT’s strength lies in its ability to explain complex programming concepts in a way that is easy to understand. This makes it an excellent resource for both novice and experienced developers.

Whether it’s breaking down algorithms, providing analogies for complex concepts like recursion, or offering guidance on software design, ChatGPT excels at making technical information accessible. While effective at suggesting code, GitHub Copilot is not designed to teach or explain concepts in the same depth. For educational purposes and continuous learning, ChatGPT is the better option.​

Best for Output Accuracy and Relevance: It Depends

As much as GitHub Copilot is designed to provide highly relevant code suggestions that fit seamlessly into the existing codebase, it doesn’t generate perfect code. Instead, it creates the best code possible given the context to which it has access. As a result, its code may not always work in every situation. At times, Copilot may rely on old or deprecated libraries and languages.

While ChatGPT can also generate code, its outputs may require more refinement and adaptation, as it is not specifically tailored for real-time coding within an IDE. ChatGPT’s responses are broader and more generalized, which can sometimes lead to less precise code generation​. It is also notorious for hallucinating. At times it produces incoherent output that’s far from factual.

Both ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot produce occasional errors and poor assumptions, but with each iteration of AI model training they’ve received, they’ve both improved. In short, the best tool for output accuracy and relevance depends on what you need a generative AI tool to do, whether that’s coding or text generation.

Best for Coding Capabilities: GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is clearly a more effective tool for coding and programming tasks compared to ChatGPT. Designed specifically for developers, Copilot offers accurate code completions, snippets, and real-time coding assistance directly within IDEs like Visual Studio Code, Neovim, and JetBrains. With this seamless integration, developers receive contextualized code suggestions without leaving their coding environment.

In contrast, while ChatGPT can handle basic coding requests and provide in-depth explanations, it is a more generalized tool not specifically tailored to coding environments. ChatGPT may struggle with tasks that require real-time context and advanced troubleshooting. Its coding responses might not be as accurate or contextually aware as those from GitHub Copilot, since it wasn’t trained exclusively on code data. For most coding projects, especially those requiring intricate and real-time coding assistance, GitHub Copilot is the superior choice​.

Who Shouldn’t Use GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT?

GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT are both generative AI leaders for a reason: they each offer accessible and high-powered solutions for a variety of casual and enterprise AI use cases. However, each tool has its weaknesses, shortcomings, and reasons why you may want to find an alternative option.

Who Shouldn’t Use GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is not the best tool for you in the following use cases:

• You’re looking for a free AI coding assistant
• You want a tool that can generate multimodal content beyond just coding and programming
• You’re not part of or interested in integrating with the GitHub community
• You’re a beginner coder who only needs basic support and doesn’t require advanced features
• You’re not willing or able to thoroughly review and quality-check the code that Copilot generates
• You’re working on highly sensitive or innovative software projects where human oversight is crucial for ensuring security and accuracy
• You’re dealing with cutting-edge technologies or novel coding practices that may not yet be well-supported or documented

Who Shouldn’t Use ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is not the best tool for you in the following use cases:

• You’re in need of advanced, high-powered coding support
• You require real-time, consistently updated information for your projects
• You prefer a generative AI tool that integrates directly with your IDEs and other business tools
• You’re an experienced programmer looking for support with complex and nuanced coding projects
• You’re not prepared to invest time in reviewing and refining the outputs that ChatGPT generates
• You’re a developer who needs highly contextualized coding suggestions within an IDE for precise and efficient code generation
• You’re part of a team that needs deep integration capabilities for collaborative software development and project management​

Alternatives to GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT

If you seek an alternative AI tool, three of the top leaders are Gemini for overall AI functionality, Tabnine for software coding support, and JetBrains for programming.

Gemini

Gemini is Google’s version of a multimodal generative AI solution that directly competes against ChatGPT and handles coding tasks in similar ways. It offers support for multiple programming languages, contextual awareness, support for debugging, and awareness of different technical documentation and concepts. It also is directly connected to Google’s search engine and internet capabilities, so it can give users real-time, updated data based on online sources of information.

Although you can access and use Gemini for free, Gemini has a Code Assist service that costs $19 per user, per month with an annual commitment.

Tabnine

Tabnine is a generative AI coding assistant that offers many similar features to GitHub Copilot, including the ability to integrate its features in your selected IDE and enterprise security and privacy features.

Unlike GitHub Copilot, Tabnine also offers a three-month free plan option. This plan includes basic AI code completion abilities, air gapped privacy and security, and access to community support. The paid plans start at $12 per user, per month.

JetBrains AI Assistant

For those who use JetBrains IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA or PyCharm, the JetBrains AI Assistant is a natural choice. This AI tool is embedded within the JetBrains suite, providing features like code explanation, documentation generation, and commit message suggestions, all without requiring you to leave your coding environment. It’s valuable to developers who need advanced coding assistance that’s deeply integrated into their preferred IDE.

Its paid plans start at $8.33 per user, per month billed annually.

How I Evaluated GitHub Copilot vs. ChatGPT

To deliver an objective comparison of GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT, I assessed each tool across several key criteria. These criteria made my evaluation comprehensive, balancing the needs of different users, from developers seeking coding support to those needing versatile AI-driven solutions.

Core Features

Core features are central to the functionality of any AI tool, therefore, I gave this factor top priority. For GitHub Copilot, I focused on its ability to provide accurate and context-aware code completions directly within IDEs. For ChatGPT, I evaluated its versatility in handling a range of tasks, from coding assistance to broader conversational AI capabilities. Within this criterion, sub-criteria included the precision of code outputs, the relevance of suggestions in various coding environments, and the depth of features that support both simple and complex tasks.

User Experience

The importance of a smooth user experience cannot be ignored. I considered how intuitive each AI tool is to implement and use, with particular attention to GitHub Copilot’s seamless integration within development environments like Visual Studio Code and JetBrains IDEs. For ChatGPT, I evaluated its ease of access through web interfaces. Sub-criteria included the simplicity of the setup process, the learning curve for new users, and the overall user interface design, ensuring both tools provide a user-friendly experience.

Pricing and Value

Pricing and value also heavily influenced the review. I compared the cost of each tool relative to the features and benefits it offers. For GitHub Copilot, I analyzed subscription costs for individuals and businesses, forming an opinion on whether the tool provides a good return on investment for developers. For ChatGPT, I evaluated the value provided by the free tier compared to the paid Plus plan. 

Accuracy and Relevance

Accuracy and relevance were also crucial to our evaluation. In this, I assessed how well each tool delivers correct and contextually appropriate responses or code suggestions. For GitHub Copilot, I measured and took note of the accuracy of its code completions and its ability to generate relevant suggestions based on the specific coding context. For ChatGPT, I evaluated its ability to provide accurate information and relevant responses to a wide range of queries.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which is better, Copilot or ChatGPT?

The choice between GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT depends on your needs. GitHub Copilot is better suited for coding tasks, especially when integrated into an IDE like Visual Studio Code. On the other hand, ChatGPT is a more versatile AI tool capable of handling a wide range of tasks beyond coding, such as content creation, general problem-solving, and natural language processing.

Is Copilot worth the cost?

GitHub Copilot is generally considered worth the cost, particularly for developers who spend significant time coding. It offers a subscription at $10 per user, per month for individual users; $19 per user, per month for businesses; and $39 per user, per month for enterprises. For developers working within supported IDEs, Copilot’s ability to speed up coding tasks and reduce errors can justify the investment. However, it may not be as valuable for those who only occasionally code or who need broader AI functionalities beyond coding​.

Is Copilot using GPT-4?

Yes, GitHub Copilot uses GPT-4, the same underlying model that powers ChatGPT. This allows Copilot to provide highly relevant and accurate code suggestions. The use of GPT-4 in Copilot ensures that the tool can handle a wide range of programming languages and tasks, offering sophisticated completions and recommendations based on the context of your code. This advanced model means Copilot delivers more precise and contextually appropriate suggestions than earlier models.

Bottom Line: GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT Serve Different Audiences

GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT both bring powerful AI capabilities to the table, but they are designed for different purposes. GitHub Copilot is best for developers who need IDE assistance with code completion, while ChatGPT offers a broader range of applications, from coding support to general conversational AI. So ultimately, which is better? You’ll have to decide that for yourself based on your use case and workflow.

Read our detailed comparison of the top generative AI tools to learn about the leading AI software to support your workflow.