The 5 best alternatives to GitHub Copilot

Looking for an alternative to GitHub Copilot? Here are the best options available in 2026, compared on features, pricing and quality.

Why look for an alternative to GitHub Copilot?

→ Less precise than Cursor for multi-file editing
→ Suggestions parfois hors contexte
→ Intellectual property questions about generated code
→ Requires GitHub subscription for best features

Quick comparison

Feature	C Cursor 1.8/5	B BLACKBOX AI 4.4/5	W Windsurf 2.1/5	C Claude Code 4.6/5
Price	Free Pro from $20/mo	Free Pro from $19.99/mo	Free Pro from $15/mo	Free Pro from $20/mo
API available	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed
Free plan or trial
Multilingual support	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed
	Try it	Try it	Try it	Try it

Cursor

1.8/5

Price: Free

Not confirmed API available

Free plan or trial

Not confirmed Multilingual support

Try Cursor

BLACKBOX AI

4.4/5

Price: Free

Not confirmed API available

Free plan or trial

Not confirmed Multilingual support

Try BLACKBOX AI

Windsurf

2.1/5

Price: Free

Not confirmed API available

Free plan or trial

Not confirmed Multilingual support

Try Windsurf

Claude Code

4.6/5

Price: Free

Not confirmed API available

Free plan or trial

Not confirmed Multilingual support

Try Claude Code

All alternatives

Rising Star

1.8

/5 · 214

Cursor

The AI-powered code editor

Ideal for : Developers who want a complete IDE with deeply integrated AI

Free plan 12,500

View

4.4

/5 · 13

BLACKBOX AI

AI-powered coding assistant for faster development

Ideal for : Developers wanting AI code assistance at no cost

Free plan

Try BLACKBOX AI free

2.1

/5 · 23

Windsurf

The AI code editor that competes with Cursor

Ideal for : Developers wanting a free and performant alternative to Cursor

Free plan

View

4.6

/5 · Catalogue score

Claude Code

The autonomous AI dev agent, right in your terminal

Ideal for : Developers who want an autonomous AI agent for coding, debugging and deploying

Free plan

Try Claude Code free

4.5

/5 · Catalogue score

Codex

OpenAI's coding agent: CLI, IDE, cloud and GitHub, included with ChatGPT

Ideal for : Developers on ChatGPT plans who want to delegate complete coding tasks (fixes, features, reviews, PRs) to an autonomous agent

Free plan

View

An option to explore: Cursor

The AI-powered code editor

Try Cursor

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best alternative to GitHub Copilot?

Selection based on shared categories and catalogue order. Compare the use cases before choosing. Cursor: Developers who want a complete IDE with deeply integrated AI.

Are there free alternatives to GitHub Copilot?

Yes: Cursor, BLACKBOX AI, Windsurf, Claude Code, Codex offer free plans.