Best GitHub Copilot Alternatives for Code Completion in 2026
GitHub Copilot pioneered mainstream AI code completion, but the landscape has evolved considerably. Whether you want faster suggestions, open-source transparency, offline capability, or simply a different approach to autocomplete, these alternatives challenge Copilot's dominance in meaningful ways.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Pricing | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Free plan Pro $20/month, Business $40/user/month | 4.7 |
| Supermaven | Free plan Pro $10/month | 4.5 |
| Codeium | Free plan Team $12/user/month, Enterprise custom | 4.4 |
| Tabnine | Free plan Dev $12/month, Enterprise custom pricing | 3.9 |
| VS Code with Continue | Free plan Only costs for your chosen LLM API usage | 4.2 |
Detailed Reviews
Cursor
An AI-first code editor with Tab completion that predicts multi-line edits based on your recent changes and cursor position.
Pros
- +Tab completion predicts your next edit, not just the next line
- +Whole-file context awareness produces more coherent suggestions
- +Inline chat lets you refine completions with natural language
Cons
- -Requires switching to the Cursor editor (VS Code fork)
- -Higher price point at $20/month versus Copilot's $10/month
- -Free tier more limited than Copilot's student/OSS access
Pricing
Supermaven
A speed-focused AI completion tool with a 1-million-token context window that delivers suggestions faster than any competitor.
Pros
- +Noticeably faster completions with lower latency than Copilot
- +Massive context window means better awareness of your project
- +Lightweight plugin that does not bloat your editor
Cons
- -No chat, refactoring, or agentic features beyond completions
- -Newer product with less community support and documentation
- -Language coverage narrower than Copilot's broad training data
Pricing
Codeium
A free AI code completion engine supporting over 70 languages across 40+ editors, offering the broadest free access in the market.
Pros
- +Unlimited free completions for individual developers
- +Supports more editors than any competitor including Vim, Emacs, and Sublime
- +Solid quality that rivals Copilot for most common programming tasks
Cons
- -Completion quality slightly behind Copilot for niche languages
- -Advanced features like codebase search require paid plans
- -Less well-known brand may raise questions in enterprise procurement
Pricing
Tabnine
A privacy-first AI code completion tool that can run entirely on your own infrastructure, keeping your code off external servers.
Pros
- +Fully on-premises deployment option for maximum code security
- +Personalises to your codebase patterns and coding style over time
- +Established product with years of enterprise reliability
Cons
- -Base completion quality has fallen behind newer competitors
- -On-premises deployment adds infrastructure overhead
- -Free tier substantially weaker than paid offerings
Pricing
VS Code with Continue
An open-source VS Code extension that brings AI completions using any model you choose, from GPT to Claude to local LLMs.
Pros
- +Full model flexibility including free local models via Ollama
- +Open source with transparent context handling
- +Combines completions with chat and editing in one free extension
Cons
- -Completion quality entirely dependent on your chosen model
- -More setup and configuration than plug-and-play tools
- -Tab completion experience less refined than Copilot's polish
Pricing
Our Verdict
Cursor edges out Copilot on raw completion intelligence if you are willing to switch editors. For a like-for-like replacement at zero cost, Codeium is remarkably competitive. Supermaven wins on speed. If your organisation mandates that code never leaves your network, Tabnine's on-premises option is the only serious choice.