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GitHub Copilot vs Visual Studio

GitHub Copilot logo

GitHub Copilot

Software

AI pair programmer for developers

From
$10/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Software

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Visual Studio has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: GitHub Copilot agent mode lacks deep tool orchestration and iterative execution compared to specialized agentic tools; Visual Studio community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio differ
AttributeGitHub CopilotVisual Studio
Starting price$10/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, LinuxWeb
Founded2008Unknown

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

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 GitHub Copilot

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

Only in Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that GitHub Copilot does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

GitHub Copilot

  • ai tools managementnot Visual Studio
  • Workflow automationnot Visual Studio
  • Reportingnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

No use cases recorded yet. See the Visual Studio review.

Where each one falls short

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

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

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

GitHub Copilot

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

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

Which should you pick?

Choose GitHub Copilot if

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

Choose Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is GitHub Copilot or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. GitHub Copilot starts at $10/month and Visual Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GitHub Copilot or Visual Studio?
Visual Studio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $10/month for GitHub Copilot and Free for Visual Studio.
Does GitHub Copilot or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
GitHub Copilot runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux. Visual Studio runs on Web.
Can I use Visual Studio for free?
Yes. Visual Studio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GitHub Copilot starts at $10/month.
What is GitHub Copilot best used for?
GitHub Copilot is most often used for ai tools management, workflow automation, reporting. Of those, ai tools management and workflow automation are not what Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can GitHub Copilot do that Visual Studio cannot?
GitHub Copilot covers Code completion, Code generation, Chat interface, Multi-language support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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
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Related pages

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