Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Authelia vs GitHub Copilot

Authelia logo

Authelia

Cybersecurity

Open-source authentication and two-factor portal for reverse proxies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GitHub Copilot logo

GitHub Copilot

Developer Tools

AI pair programmer for developers

From
$10/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Authelia has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Authelia depends on a reverse proxy: it is not a standalone identity provider; GitHub Copilot agent mode lacks deep tool orchestration and iterative execution compared to specialized agentic tools
  • They diverge on capability: Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, GitHub Copilot covers Code completion.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Authelia and GitHub Copilot actually diverge.

Attributes where Authelia and GitHub Copilot differ
AttributeAutheliaGitHub Copilot
Starting priceFree$10/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
FoundedUnknown2008

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Authelia

  • Reverse proxy integration
  • Two-factor authentication
  • Access control rules
  • Lightweight backends

Only in GitHub Copilot

  • Code completion
  • Code generation
  • Chat interface
  • Multi-language support
  • VS Code
  • JetBrains IDEs
  • Neovim
  • Visual Studio

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Authelia

  • Putting a login and 2FA in front of self-hosted services that have nonenot GitHub Copilot
  • Adding SSO across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platformnot GitHub Copilot
  • Home and small-team infrastructure behind a single reverse proxynot GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot

  • ai tools managementnot Authelia
  • Workflow automationnot Authelia
  • Reportingnot Authelia

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Authelia

  • Depends on a reverse proxy: it is not a standalone identity provider
  • Configuration is YAML-first with no administrative interface, so changes mean editing files
  • Not a full IAM: user management, provisioning and federation are limited compared with Keycloak
  • Scales poorly as an organisation-wide identity solution, which is not its target

GitHub Copilot

  • Agent mode lacks deep tool orchestration and iterative execution compared to specialized agentic tools
  • Suggestions for niche or specialized programming languages are less accurate due to limited training data
  • Less effective with non-English prompts or grammatically incorrect developer instructions
  • Free tier severely limited to 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests per month

Pricing, plan by plan

Authelia

Free
  • AutheliaFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

GitHub Copilot

$10/month
  • Individual$10/month
    • Code completions
    • Chat in IDE
    • CLI assistance
  • Business$19/month
    • Organization management
    • Policy controls
    • Audit logs

Which should you pick?

Choose Authelia if

  • You need reverse proxy integration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want two-factor authentication.
Authelia review

Choose GitHub Copilot if

  • You need code completion.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want code generation.
GitHub Copilot review

Questions people ask

Is Authelia or GitHub Copilot better?
Neither clearly leads. Authelia starts at Free and GitHub Copilot at $10/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Authelia or GitHub Copilot?
Authelia has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Authelia and $10/month for GitHub Copilot.
Does Authelia or GitHub Copilot run on more platforms?
Authelia runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. GitHub Copilot runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Authelia for free?
Yes. Authelia has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GitHub Copilot starts at $10/month.
What is Authelia best used for?
Authelia is most often used for putting a login and 2fa in front of self-hosted services that have none, adding sso across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platform, home and small-team infrastructure behind a single reverse proxy. Of those, putting a login and 2fa in front of self-hosted services that have none and adding sso across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platform are not what GitHub Copilot is typically brought in for.
What can Authelia do that GitHub Copilot cannot?
Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Two-factor authentication, Access control rules, Lightweight backends. GitHub Copilot covers Code completion, Code generation, Chat interface, Multi-language support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Authelia: Is Authelia free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

GitHub Copilot: Does GitHub Copilot have a free tier?

Yes. GitHub Copilot Free offers 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests per month at no cost with no credit card required. Students and open-source maintainers get free Pro access.

Source
Authelia: Does Authelia need a reverse proxy?

Yes. It integrates through forward authentication with Nginx, Traefik, Caddy or HAProxy rather than sitting in front of traffic itself.

GitHub Copilot: What IDEs and editors are supported?

GitHub Copilot works in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm), Vim, Neovim, and Azure Data Studio with extensions providing code suggestions and chat capabilities.

Source
Authelia: Authelia or Keycloak?

Authelia is far lighter and aimed at protecting self-hosted services behind a proxy. Keycloak is a full identity and access management platform, and much more to run.

GitHub Copilot: What programming languages does Copilot support?

Copilot supports more than 10 core languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C#, Go, and Rust. Performance is strongest for these popular languages with extensive open-source training data.

Source
GitHub Copilot: How does the free tier compare to paid plans?

Free tier limits completions and chat to 2,000 and 50 per month. Pro ($10/month) offers unlimited completions, while Pro+ ($39/month) adds access to frontier AI models and agent mode for autonomous multi-file edits.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Authelia

More on GitHub Copilot

Keep looking

Other head to heads