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GitHub Copilot, GitHub’s AI pair programmer, has become extremely popular among developers since its preview launch in 2021. This smart assistant offers suggestions for entire lines or entire functions, directly in your editor or IDE, based on the context of the code you are creating. to write.
Many developers use Visual Studio Code (VSCode) as their code editor of choice. A common question that comes up is: can you use GitHub Copilot for free with VSCode? Let’s find out in this article.
See more: How do I install Copilot on Xcode?
How does GitHub Copilot work?
Before we see whether Copilot is free for VSCode or not, let’s briefly understand what GitHub Copilot is and how it works.
GitHub Copilot is powered by Codex, an AI system developed by Anthropic to be helpful, harmless, and fair. It is trained on billions of lines of public code available on GitHub to learn programming patterns and conventions.
When you write code in VSCode with Copilot enabled, it automatically suggests possible completions for what you type based on context. If you accept a suggestion, Copilot builds on it to generate entire lines or even functions.
This allows you to write code faster by accepting and modifying the suggestions, instead of having to retype everything from scratch. It’s like an AI pair programmer making recommendations while you code!
Pricing and plans for GitHub Copilot
GitHub first launched Copilot in technical preview, with a limited number of developers gaining access. In 2022, they opened it up for public testing.
During the technical preview, access to GitHub Copilot was free. But now that it’s widely available, GitHub has introduced pricing plans:
- Free level – When you sign up, you get 60 days of free access to test GitHub Copilot. No credit card required.
- Pro plan – $10 per month. Gives you unlimited use of Copilot with priority support.
- Team plan – $20 per user per month. For organizations to manage team access.
There are also discounts if you purchase annual subscriptions instead of monthly.
Students and maintainers of popular open source repositories on GitHub can access Copilot for free through Github’s partnership programs.
Is GitHub Copilot free for VSCode?
Now that the pricing plans are in effect, is GitHub Copilot still free to use with Visual Studio Code?
The answer is: yes and no.
You get 60 days of free access to Copilot when you first install it in VSCode. During this period you can use all functions without any restrictions.
However, once the 60-day trial period expires, you will need an active paid subscription to continue using GitHub Copilot in VSCode and other editors. Without a subscription it no longer works.
In short:
- Copilot is free in VSCode for 60 days when you first set it up.
- After 60 days, you’ll need a paid Pro subscription ($10/month) or Team subscription ($20/user/month) to continue using it.
The free tier allows you to evaluate Copilot and see if it fits your workflow. But for long-term or production use, a paid subscription is required.
Also read: How do I use LogoAI?
Who can use GitHub Copilot for free?
While most developers will require a paid subscription to continue using GitHub Copilot after the initial 60-day trial period, there are some cases where you can use Copilot for free without restrictions:
1. Students
If you are a student aged 18 or older and enrolled in a degree or diploma granting course, you can sign up for GitHub’s Student Developer Pack.
This gives you unlimited free access to GitHub Copilot, along with several other developer tools and benefits. You must verify your student status.
2. Maintainers of popular GitHub repositories
If you are a maintainer or contributor to a popular open source repository on GitHub with more than 1,000 stars, you may also qualify for free access to Copilot.
GitHub is expanding this offering to support open source developers and projects. The repository must have an OSI-approved license.
So both students learning to code and administrators of influential open source codebases can use Copilot for free through these special programs.
Free alternatives to GitHub Copilot
If you want to code with an AI assistant in VSCode but don’t want to pay for GitHub Copilot after the trial period, there are a few free alternatives to consider:
Tabnine – Tabnine offers AI code completions like Copilot, but is free for unlimited use. It has over 3.5 million users and works very well for common languages like JavaScript, Python, Java, C++ etc.
Codota – Codota is another free autocomplete tool for VSCode and IDEs. It provides context-aware code additions and examples from open source codebases. Faster than Tabnine but less powerful than Copilot.
Question code – Askcode bills itself as an open source alternative to GitHub Copilot with over 6,000 stars on GitHub. It focuses more on explaining code and learning how things work, rather than writing code for you. Worth viewing.
While these free tools have smaller models than Copilot and may not be as advanced, they can still increase your productivity and significantly reduce repetitive coding work.
Key learning points
Here are the key highlights from this guide on whether you can use GitHub Copilot for free with VSCode:
- Copilot offers a 60-day free trial upon sign-up, after which a paid subscription is required.
- Students (18+ years) and administrators of popular GitHub repositories may qualify for unlimited free access to Copilot.
- Once the free trial ends, you will need a $10 monthly Pro subscription or a $20 Team subscription per user.
- Free alternatives like Tabnine, Codota, and Askcode offer AI-powered coding help without the need for a subscription.
So while GitHub Copilot itself isn’t completely free for use with Visual Studio Code in the long run, you do get an initial period to evaluate it, followed by a discount if you decide to proceed. And there are also free tools with similar functionality available if you want to code with AI for free.
Conclusion
GitHub Copilot is a groundbreaking addition for developers thanks to its advanced context-aware suggestions based on public code training. The 60-day free trial gives you plenty of time to determine if the productivity improvements warrant a paid subscription.
For students and open source administrators, unlimited free access lowers the barrier to benefit from AI support for coding. And alternative tools like Tabnine are free if you need to tighten your wallet.
So while Copilot isn’t free forever, with the right plan or tool you can certainly code faster and smarter with AI alongside Visual Studio Code!
The pricing and availability situation may evolve as GitHub collects feedback during the public preview period. But for now, these options provide a clear answer on how to evaluate and ultimately use GitHub Copilot freely or at an affordable price.
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