Continue vs GitHub Copilot
Auto-updated comparison · last refreshed September 3, 2026
TL;DR
| Continue | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | vscode-extension | extension |
| Vendor | open source | GitHub / Microsoft |
| Pricing | Free tier (OSS extension, BYO API keys) | Free tier · Pro $10/month · Business $19/user · Enterprise $39/user |
| Autocomplete | Yes | Yes |
| Agent mode | Yes | Yes |
| MCP support | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Yes | No |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No |
| Codebase indexing | Yes | Yes |
| Team features | Yes | Yes |
Where Continue wins
- fully OSS
- config-file driven
- local model support
Where GitHub Copilot wins
- enterprise trust
- wide IDE support
- included with GitHub Business
Weaknesses
Continue: config-heavy; slower to add new features than Cursor
GitHub Copilot: chat feels dated vs Cursor; slower to ship new models
Best for
Pick Continue if you are teams that need OSS auditable AI tooling, or local LLM users.
Pick GitHub Copilot if you are companies already paying for GitHub, or polyglot IDE users.
FAQ
Is Continue more expensive than GitHub Copilot?
Free tier (OSS extension, BYO API keys) 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 Continue and GitHub Copilot use the same AI models?
Continue 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.