Free GitHub Copilot Alternatives for Code Completion
Last checked: . Prices and limits change often, so each listing links to the page we checked.
How we pick: free plan or license checked on the vendor's own page. Paid placement can't change the order. How we check
Quick comparison
| Alternative | Free tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Tabby | Open-source assistants you control | Self-hosted on your own server |
| twinny | Open-source assistants you control | Local-model autocomplete in VS Code, no sign-in |
| Kilo Code | Open-source assistants you control | Not listed |
| Cline | Open-source assistants you control | Not listed |
| Zed | Open-source assistants you control | Not listed |
| Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) | Free plans from hosted assistants | Unlimited free Tab completions in a hosted editor |
| Google Antigravity | Free plans from hosted assistants | Not listed |
| JetBrains AI Free | Free plans from hosted assistants | Not listed |
Short answer
- Best for self-hosted on your own server Tabby
- Best for local-model autocomplete in VS Code, no sign-in twinny
- Best for unlimited free Tab completions in a hosted editor Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
GitHub Copilot has a $0 plan, Copilot Free, but it stops at 2,000 code completions a month and gives only limited chat and agent use. If you want autocomplete and chat in your editor without that cap:
- Open source, you pick the model: Tabby (self-hosted server), twinny (VS Code with a local model), Kilo Code, Cline and the Zed editor.
- Hosted, with a real $0 plan: Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) and Google Antigravity both list unlimited Tab completions on their free plans. JetBrains AI Free lists unlimited completion inside JetBrains IDEs.
The open-source tools cost nothing. The AI itself is free only when you run a model on your own machine or pick a free model. With a paid API key, you pay that provider.
Free swaps for GitHub Copilot
8 options. Every card shows the same facts in the same order; "Not stated" means the vendor's page doesn't say.
Tabby
- Cost/license
- Free, open source (Apache-2.0; ee/ folder has its own license)
- Runs on
- Server builds for macOS (Apple Silicon), Linux and Windows; VS Code extension
- Commercial use
- Not stated
- Free limit
- Community: free, up to 5 users, runs on your server
- Last release
- v0.32.0 · 2026-01-25 (GitHub)
Skip it if: you don't want to run a server yourself, or you need it for more than 5 users on Community.
twinny
- Cost/license
- Free, open source (MIT)
- Runs on
- VS Code 1.93 or newer, with Ollama, LM Studio or llama.cpp
- Commercial use
- Not stated
- Free limit
- Free, no sign-in; team gateway free for 5 developers
- Last release
- v4.0.20 · 2026-09-22 (GitHub)
Skip it if: you don't use VS Code; it's a VS Code extension only.
Kilo Code
- Cost/license
- Free, open source (MIT)
- Runs on
- VS Code, JetBrains, CLI
- Commercial use
- Not stated
- Free limit
- Free for individuals; AI billed separately, or use Auto Free, your own key or a local model
- Last release
- v7.8.18 · 2026-10-26 (GitHub)
Skip it if: you need the same free hosted model to stay available; some of Kilo's free models are limited-time offers.
Cline
- Cost/license
- Free, open source (Apache-2.0)
- Runs on
- VS Code and VS Code-based editors, CLI; JetBrains (see below)
- Commercial use
- Not stated
- Free limit
- Free for individual developers; you pay for AI use or bring your own key
- Last release
- v4.1.26 · 2026-10-26 (GitHub)
Skip it if: you mainly want tab autocomplete; Cline is a chat agent, and AI use is paid unless you bring your own setup.
Zed
- Cost/license
- Free, open source (GPL-3.0-or-later, some parts Apache-2.0)
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows, Linux
- Commercial use
- Not stated
- Free limit
- Personal: $0 forever with your own keys or agents; Zed's own predictions need Pro
- Last release
- v1.25.3 · 2026-10-23 (GitHub)
Skip it if: you want Zed's own Zeta predictions for free; they need Pro, the Pro trial, Student or Business.
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
- Cost/license
- Free plan; not open source
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows 10 (64-bit), Linux; JetBrains plugin
- Commercial use
- Not stated
- Free limit
- Free: unlimited Tab completions and inline edits, a "light quota" for agents
- Last release
- Not stated
Skip it if: you lean on agents a lot; Free has only a "light quota" and limited models.
Google Antigravity
- Cost/license
- Free plan ($0 Individual); license not stated
- Runs on
- macOS 12 or later, Windows, Linux; VS Code and JetBrains extensions
- Commercial use
- Not stated
- Free limit
- Individual: $0, unlimited Tab completions, "Basic weekly rate limits" on agents
- Last release
- Not stated
Skip it if: you need predictable agent use; the free plan has "Basic weekly rate limits".
JetBrains AI Free
- Cost/license
- Free plan; not open source
- Runs on
- JetBrains IDEs
- Commercial use
- Not stated
- Free limit
- Unlimited AI completion in JetBrains IDEs, 3 AI credits a month
- Last release
- Not stated
Skip it if: you don't code in a JetBrains IDE; the free completion works only there.
Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes, there is a free plan. Per GitHub's Copilot plans page (checked 2026-10-28), Copilot Free costs $0 and includes:
- 2,000 completions per month
- "Limited chat and agent usage", with access to "Haiku 4.5, GPT-5 mini, and more". GitHub's docs say Free picks models through auto model selection only.
- Agent mode, MCP servers and Copilot CLI
- No credit card required
Not on Free: pull request code review, the cloud agent that opens pull requests, and buying extra AI credits. GitHub's docs say Free is "intended for personal use only", not for users managed by an organization or enterprise.
Pro is $10 a month with unlimited completions, Pro+ is $39 and Max is $100. Verified students get Copilot Student for free, with unlimited completions. GitHub's docs also say Pro is free for verified teachers and maintainers of popular open-source projects.
Comparison table
| Tool | Open source? (license) | Free plan limit | Inline autocomplete? (per vendor) | Works in (per vendor) | Source (checked 2026-10-28) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tabby | Yes (Apache-2.0; ee/ folder has its own license) | Community: free, up to 5 users, runs on your server | Yes | Server builds for macOS (Apple Silicon), Linux and Windows; VS Code extension | Tabby pricing |
| twinny | Yes (MIT) | Free, no sign-in; team gateway free for 5 developers | Yes | VS Code 1.93 or newer, with Ollama, LM Studio or llama.cpp | twinny on GitHub |
| Kilo Code | Yes (MIT) | Free for individuals; AI billed separately, or use Auto Free, your own key or a local model | Yes ("Code completion & generation") | VS Code, JetBrains, CLI | Kilo pricing |
| Cline | Yes (Apache-2.0) | Free for individual developers; you pay for AI use or bring your own key | Not stated (agent and chat) | VS Code and VS Code-based editors, CLI; JetBrains (see below) | Cline pricing |
| Zed | Yes (GPL-3.0-or-later, some parts Apache-2.0) | Personal: $0 forever with your own keys or agents; Zed's own predictions need Pro | Yes, with GitHub Copilot or a local model on the free plan | macOS, Windows, Linux | Zed pricing |
| Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) | No | Free: unlimited Tab completions and inline edits, a "light quota" for agents | Yes | macOS, Windows 10 (64-bit), Linux; JetBrains plugin | Devin pricing |
| Google Antigravity | Not stated | Individual: $0, unlimited Tab completions, "Basic weekly rate limits" on agents | Yes | macOS 12 or later, Windows, Linux; VS Code and JetBrains extensions | Antigravity pricing |
| JetBrains AI Free | No | Unlimited AI completion in JetBrains IDEs, 3 AI credits a month | Yes | JetBrains IDEs | JetBrains AI pricing |
Open-source assistants you control
You choose where the model runs: on your laptop, on your own server, or through an API you already pay for.
Tabby
Tabby's README calls it "a self-hosted AI coding assistant, offering an open-source and on-premises alternative to GitHub Copilot." It needs no database or cloud service and supports consumer-grade GPUs.
More details
- Free plan: Community is free and open source, for up to 5 users, with local deployment. It includes code completion, an answer engine, inline chat and context providers. Team is $19 a seat a month.
- On a Mac: Tabby's docs install it with Homebrew and run a small completion model on Apple Silicon (Metal). The docs say an M1/M2 Mac is "likely to be sufficient only for individual usage."
- License: Apache-2.0, except the `ee/` folder, which has its own license.
Source: Tabby pricing, Tabby on GitHub and Tabby Homebrew guide · checked 2026-10-28
twinny
twinny is a VS Code extension for code completion, inline edits, chat and code review. Its README says it is "Free, open source, MIT licensed, no telemetry, no sign-in."
More details
- Local models: it finds Ollama, LM Studio and llama.cpp on their usual ports. The README says completion is "tuned to work well with a 7B model."
- Teams: an optional shared gateway is free for five developers, then $15 a seat a month.
- Editor: VS Code 1.93 or newer only.
Source: twinny on GitHub (license: MIT per GitHub) · checked 2026-10-28
Kilo Code
Kilo Code is an open-source (MIT) coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal. Its pricing page lists "Code completion & generation" on the free plan.
More details
- Free AI: "Auto Free" sends work to free models through Kilo Gateway "where available". You can also bring your own provider keys, or run local models with Ollama or LM Studio.
- Paid parts: the platform is free for individuals; Kilo's hosted inference and cloud compute are billed separately. Teams is $15 a user a month.
- Our test: we installed the Kilo CLI on a Mac with npm and got an answer from the free `kilo-auto/free` model without signing in. The default model asked us to sign in.
Source: Kilo pricing and Kilo Code on GitHub (license: MIT per GitHub) · checked 2026-10-28
Cline
Cline's pricing page says: "Cline is free for individual developers. Pay only for AI inference on a usage basis." It's an agent you chat with, not a tab-completion tool.
More details
- Models: your own keys from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and others, or the Cline provider. The pricing FAQ says you can "Switch providers or self-host anytime."
- Where it runs: a VS Code extension (also Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and Antigravity, per its docs) and a CLI. Cline's install docs list JetBrains, but its pricing page puts the JetBrains extension under Enterprise.
Source: Cline pricing and Cline install docs (license: Apache-2.0 per GitHub) · checked 2026-10-28
Zed
Zed is an open-source code editor. Its Personal plan is "$0 forever" with "Unlimited use with your API keys or external agents".
More details
- Autocomplete: Zed's own prediction model, Zeta, comes with Pro, the Pro trial, Student and Business. Zed's docs say that on the free plan "you can use other providers, like GitHub Copilot or a local model."
- Paid: Pro is $10 a month with unlimited edit predictions and $5 of tokens.
- Platforms: macOS, Windows and Linux.
Source: Zed pricing and Zed edit prediction docs (license: GPL-3.0-or-later, with Apache-2.0 parts, per its README) · checked 2026-10-28
Free plans from hosted assistants
Nothing to set up and no model to run, but your code goes to the vendor's servers and the free plans have limits.
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Cognition's download page says "Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf." Its pricing FAQ says the Free plan includes "a light quota to code with agents, limited model availability, unlimited inline edits, and unlimited Tab completions."
More details
- Platforms: macOS, Windows 10 (64-bit) and Linux. The Windsurf plugin for JetBrains IDEs is still available.
- Paid: Pro is $20 a month.
Source: Devin pricing and Devin Desktop download · checked 2026-10-28
Google Antigravity
Google's Antigravity Individual plan is $0 a month, with "Unlimited Tab completions", "Unlimited Command requests", access to a variety of agent models and "Basic weekly rate limits".
More details
- Platforms: macOS 12 or later, Windows and Linux. There are also extensions for VS Code (with inline completions) and JetBrains IDEs.
- Note: Google stopped the free Gemini Code Assist for individuals on June 18, 2026, and points those users to Antigravity.
Source: Antigravity pricing, Antigravity download and Gemini Code Assist consumer notice · checked 2026-10-28
JetBrains AI Free
If you already code in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm or another JetBrains IDE, JetBrains AI Free gives "Unlimited AI completion in JetBrains IDEs" and 3 AI credits a month. JetBrains also lets you connect your own AI provider or API key; that use is billed by the provider.
More details
Source: JetBrains AI pricing · checked 2026-10-28
Picks by editor
- VS Code: twinny, Kilo Code, Cline, Tabby's extension, and Antigravity's extension. Copilot Free also works here.
- JetBrains IDEs: JetBrains AI Free, Kilo Code, the Windsurf plugin and Antigravity's extension.
- A new editor: Zed (open source), Devin Desktop or Google Antigravity.
- Fully offline: twinny with Ollama or LM Studio, Tabby on your own machine, or Zed with a local model.
FAQs
Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes. Copilot Free costs $0 and includes 2,000 completions a month, limited chat and agent use, and Copilot CLI, with no credit card. Pro, with unlimited completions, is $10 a month. Verified students can get Copilot Student free (checked 2026-10-28).
What are Copilot Free's limits?
2,000 code completions a month, limited chat and agent use with models picked automatically, and no pull request code review or cloud agent. GitHub says Free is for personal use only, not for users managed by an organization or enterprise.
Is there an open-source GitHub Copilot alternative?
Yes. Tabby (Apache-2.0) calls itself "an open-source and on-premises alternative to GitHub Copilot." twinny (MIT) adds completion and chat to VS Code with a local model. Kilo Code (MIT), Cline (Apache-2.0) and the Zed editor are open source too.
Can I get AI autocomplete that runs on my own computer?
Yes. twinny works with Ollama, LM Studio or llama.cpp on your machine. Tabby runs a completion model on your own hardware, including Apple Silicon Macs. Zed can use a local model for edit predictions on its free plan.
What happened to Supermaven, Tabnine, Continue and Gemini Code Assist?
Supermaven announced it was "Sunsetting Supermaven" on November 21, 2025. Continue's site says it was acquired by Cursor; its open-source code is still available. Google stopped the free Gemini Code Assist for individuals on June 18, 2026. Tabnine's pricing page now redirects to a Tricentis sales form, so we couldn't confirm a free plan (checked 2026-10-28).
Is Amazon Q Developer still free?
Its Free tier still lists 50 agentic requests a month. But AWS says it will end support for the Amazon Q Developer IDE plugins on April 30, 2027, and points users to Kiro. Kiro Free gives 50 credits with rate limits (checked 2026-10-28).
Copilot Free vs Devin Desktop Free: which gives more autocomplete?
Copilot Free caps you at 2,000 completions a month. Devin Desktop's Free plan lists unlimited Tab completions and inline edits, with a light quota for agents. Google Antigravity's free plan also lists unlimited Tab completions.
How we picked and checked
- How we picked: we looked for tools that do Copilot's main jobs (autocomplete and chat in your editor) and kept those with an open-source license or a $0 plan we could confirm on the vendor's own pricing page, docs or GitHub repository. We dropped products that were shut down, archived or acquired.
- How we checked: we read each pricing page, doc and README on 2026-10-28. Licenses come from GitHub or the project's README. Every listing links to the page we used.
- What we tried: we installed the Kilo Code CLI (version 7.8.18) on a Mac with npm and got a reply from its free model without an account. We also downloaded Tabby's macOS build directly; it didn't start because it needs OpenSSL from Homebrew, so use Tabby's Homebrew install. We didn't compare completion quality, so we don't rank by it.
- Affiliate links: some links may earn us a commission. The open-source tools don't pay us.
Sources
All checked 2026-10-28.
- GitHub Copilot plans: https://
github.com/ features/ copilot/ plans - GitHub Copilot docs, plans: https://
docs.github.com/ and https://en/ copilot/ get-started/ plans docs.github.com/ en/ copilot/ concepts/ billing/ individual-plans - Tabby: https://
www.tabbyml.com/ , https://pricing github.com/ and https://TabbyML/ tabby tabby.tabbyml.com/ docs/ quick-start/ installation/ apple/ - twinny: https://
github.com/ twinnydotdev/ twinny - Kilo Code: https://
kilo.ai/ and https://pricing github.com/ Kilo-Org/ kilocode - Cline: https://
cline.bot/ and https://pricing docs.cline.bot/ getting-started/ installing-cline - Zed: https://
zed.dev/ , https://pricing zed.dev/ and https://docs/ ai/ edit-prediction zed.dev/ download - Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf): https://
devin.ai/ and https://pricing devin.ai/ download - Google Antigravity: https://
antigravity.google/ and https://pricing antigravity.google/ download - Gemini Code Assist consumer notice: https://
developers.google.com/ gemini-code-assist/ docs/ deprecations/ code-assist-individuals - JetBrains AI: https://
www.jetbrains.com/ ai-ides/ buy/ - Supermaven: https://
supermaven.com/ blog - Continue: https://
continue.dev/ - Amazon Q Developer: https://
aws.amazon.com/ and https://q/ developer/ aws.amazon.com/ q/ developer/ pricing/ - Kiro: https://
kiro.dev/ pricing/