Cline vs GitHub Copilot
Auto-updated comparison · last refreshed September 3, 2026
TL;DR
| Cline | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | vscode-extension | extension |
| Vendor | open source | GitHub / Microsoft |
| Pricing | Free tier (you pay LLM API costs directly) | Free tier · Pro $10/month · Business $19/user · Enterprise $39/user |
| Autocomplete | No | Yes |
| Agent mode | Yes | Yes |
| MCP support | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Yes | No |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No |
| Codebase indexing | No | Yes |
| Team features | No | Yes |
Where Cline wins
- works inside VS Code you already use
- MCP support
- local models
Where GitHub Copilot wins
- enterprise trust
- wide IDE support
- included with GitHub Business
Weaknesses
Cline: you pay API costs directly; no autocomplete
GitHub Copilot: chat feels dated vs Cursor; slower to ship new models
Best for
Pick Cline if you are VS Code users who want an agent without switching IDE.
Pick GitHub Copilot if you are companies already paying for GitHub, or polyglot IDE users.
FAQ
Is Cline more expensive than GitHub Copilot?
Free tier (you pay LLM API costs directly) vs Free tier · Pro $10/month · Business $19/user · Enterprise $39/user. Compare the Pro tiers first if you're a solo dev; Business/Enterprise only matters for teams.
Do Cline and GitHub Copilot use the same AI models?
Cline supports: any via API. GitHub Copilot supports: claude-sonnet-4-6, gpt-5, gemini-2.5-pro, o4. Most modern tools default to Claude Sonnet 4.6 in 2026.
Can I use both?
Yes. They don't conflict at the file level. Some devs use one for autocomplete and one for agent work.
Related comparisons
Best Cline and GitHub Copilot pairings by language
- Python: Cline for Python · GitHub Copilot for Python
- TypeScript: Cline for TypeScript · GitHub Copilot for TypeScript
- Rust: Cline for Rust · GitHub Copilot for Rust
- Go: Cline for Go · GitHub Copilot for Go