3 open source alternatives to GitHub Copilot
AI pair programmer trained on public code. Here are the open source projects real teams use instead — ranked by fit, with honest pros and cons for each.
What people don't love about GitHub Copilot
- Code sent to Microsoft/OpenAI for completions.
- Subscription-only.
- Licensing questions around training data still unresolved for some teams.
Current GitHub Copilot pricing (for reference): Individual $10/month; Business $19/user/month.
Quick comparison
| Alternative | Best for | License | Self-host | Hosted cloud? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Continue Open source alternative to GitHub Copilot — run any model. |
Keep using Copilot-style IDE assistance with any LLM of your choice. | Apache-2.0 | ★☆☆☆☆ | Self-host only |
|
Aider AI pair programming in your terminal. |
Terminal power users who want AI edits and auto-commits. | Apache-2.0 | ★☆☆☆☆ | Self-host only |
|
Tabby Self-hosted AI coding assistant you can run on your own GPU. |
Teams that need fully self-hosted completions on their own GPU. | Apache-2.0 (community) / commercial (enterprise) | ★★★☆☆ | Self-host only |
1. Continue — Keep using Copilot-style IDE assistance with any LLM of your choice.
Open source alternative to GitHub Copilot — run any model.
Strengths
- Works with VS Code and JetBrains IDEs.
- Bring your own model — OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, etc.
- Keeps code local — no required cloud.
Weaknesses
- Requires you to manage model access/keys.
- Cold-start setup takes effort compared to Copilot.
- Community plugins still stabilizing.
Continue homepage · Source on GitHub · GitHub Copilot vs Continue →
2. Aider — Terminal power users who want AI edits and auto-commits.
AI pair programming in your terminal.
Strengths
- Git-aware — edits files and commits for you.
- Works with any OpenAI-compatible model.
- Lightweight — runs as a CLI.
Weaknesses
- Terminal-based — no GUI for editors.
- Model API usage costs can climb on large repos.
- Not a code-completion tool (different UX from Copilot).
Aider homepage · Source on GitHub · GitHub Copilot vs Aider →
3. Tabby — Teams that need fully self-hosted completions on their own GPU.
Self-hosted AI coding assistant you can run on your own GPU.
Strengths
- Fully self-hosted code completion.
- VS Code, IntelliJ, vim extensions.
- Runs on consumer GPUs with quantized models.
Weaknesses
- GPU strongly recommended for good latency.
- Larger install footprint.
- Enterprise features gated.
Tabby homepage · Source on GitHub · GitHub Copilot vs Tabby →
Not what you're looking for?
Browse other tools in AI Coding Assistants, or check out open source projects by category on the full category index.