GitHub Copilot is a closed-source, cloud-based AI coding assistant from Microsoft with GPT-4 integration, while Continue is an open-source, locally-runnable IDE plugin that supports multiple LLM backends including Claude, Llama, and Mistral. Continue offers more flexibility and privacy, while Copilot offers tighter GitHub integration and more mature features.
Continue vs GitHub Copilot — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Open-source AI code assistant supporting multiple LLM backends with local-first privacy
Industry-leading cloud-based AI coding assistant from GitHub/Microsoft with GPT-4 integration
Pricing Model. LLM Flexibility. Data Privacy. IDE Support. Code Completion Accuracy. GitHub Integration. Community & Maturity
Choose Continue if you prioritize cost savings, data privacy, and flexibility across multiple LLMs — ideal for privacy-conscious developers, enterprises with security requirements, or those using non-OpenAI models. Choose GitHub Copilot if you want the most accurate completions, seamless GitHub integration, native IDE support, and mature enterprise features — best for GitHub-centric teams and those prioritizing accuracy over cost.
Continue: 5-10 minutes | GitHub Copilot: 2-3 minutes
Continue: 10-20 (API key + config required) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Unlimited with local models | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 200-500ms average | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Up to 100,000+ tokens | GitHub Copilot: 8,000 tokens
Continue: VS Code, JetBrains suite, Vim, Neovim (4 major platforms) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Free (optional donations for commercial use) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 50+ (with LLM-dependent support) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: $0 (self-hosted) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 5 major IDEs | GitHub Copilot: 6+ major IDEs
Continue: Claude, GPT-4, Llama, Mistral, local | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Local + optional cloud | GitHub Copilot: Cloud (GitHub servers)
Continue: Unlimited (depends on API usage) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Full JSON config (prompts, model params, shortcuts) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Free (+ API costs) | GitHub Copilot: $10/month
Continue: 5+ (Claude, GPT-4, Llama 2, custom, local) | GitHub Copilot: 2 (GPT-4, Claude)
Continue: 4 major (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Web) | GitHub Copilot: 4 major (VS Code, Visual Studio, GitHub.com, JetBrains Beta)
Continue: 6+ (Claude, GPT-4, Ollama, local) | GitHub Copilot: GitHub Copilot (proprietary, Codex-based)
Continue: 5+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 8000-200000 (model-dependent) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Yes (Ollama, LLaMA) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Yes (full local support) | GitHub Copilot: No (cloud-only)
Continue: ~0.05 million (2025 estimate) | GitHub Copilot: 1.5+ million (GitHub official, 2024)
Continue: No (community-driven) | GitHub Copilot: Yes (GitHub Enterprise available)
Continue: 15–30 min (API key configuration) | GitHub Copilot: 2–5 min (GitHub sign-in)
Continue: Optional (local or cloud) | GitHub Copilot: Mandatory (cloud-based)
Continue: 800-1200 | GitHub Copilot: 150-250ms per suggestion
Continue: Yes (default) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Full open-source (Apache 2.0) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Unlimited | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 2024 | GitHub Copilot: April 2024
Continue: 2-5 sec (Claude/GPT-4) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: $50-150 for power users | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 10+ providers supported | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Required for cloud models | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 8GB minimum (16GB recommended) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Native VS Code extension | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Depends on provider, some cloud processing | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 15-30 minutes (model download + config) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 5-15 seconds (hardware-dependent) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 4 major platforms (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Unlimited (fully free and open-source) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: $0 (open-source) or hosted option available | GitHub Copilot: $20/month
Continue: Local-only, zero cloud transmission | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Yes (GitHub public repository) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 200,000 | GitHub Copilot: 8,000
Continue: Varies by provider | GitHub Copilot: 250,000,000
Continue: Free + $20 Pro | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 3 major editors (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim) | GitHub Copilot: 8+ (VS Code, JetBrains Suite, Vim, Visual Studio, etc.)
Continue: 15+ providers including premium APIs | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 2 minutes (IDE extension) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 300-500 MB | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Privacy Level (0=cloud-only, 100=fully local)
Continue: 80 (optional local via Ollama backend) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: Comprehensive with config examples | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: $0 (free + optional API costs) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Continue: 75-82% | GitHub Copilot: 87-92%
Continue: 15+ models | GitHub Copilot: 2 proprietary models
Continue: 19,000 stars | GitHub Copilot: 87,000 stars
Continue: Fully local option available | GitHub Copilot: Cloud-only, data sent to servers
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 10+ IDEs
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Very Large
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 3+ model choices
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Minimal (extension)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Copilot Pro $10/mo
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Free tier with limited completions/chat, plus free for verified students, teachers, and OSS maintainers
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Business $19/user/mo (Enterprise $39)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Plugin/extension installed into your existing IDE
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini (model picker in chat/agent)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Agent mode + Copilot Workspace + coding agent (issue-to-PR); strong but tighter loop trails Cursor
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Repository context, @workspace search, and Enterprise knowledge bases; less aggressive auto-indexing
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Very fast, low-latency completions; category pioneer and still excellent inline
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Org policy management, SSO, audit logs, content exclusion, data residency, IP indemnification
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 128,000 tokens
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Unlimited completions
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Visual Studio, Sublime
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Copilot (GPT-based, Good)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited to current + adjacent files
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5 major IDEs
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Not available
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2 days for new accounts
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: October 2023 (~27 months old)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~1,200,000
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Yes (OpenAI servers)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Deep (PR, commits, issues)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 180 code completions
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 15+ editors (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim, etc.)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Suggestion-based only, no autonomous execution
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: OpenAI GPT-4 / Anthropic Claude
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~1200ms average completion
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $10/month individual, $19/month business
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~5-10 visible files in editor
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Vim, Neovim)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No—suggestions only, manual edit required
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 1 (IDE-native, like autocomplete)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No (cloud-only)
Average Response Time for Code Suggestion
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 0.5-1 (inline suggestion)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 4+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Native PR reviews, CLI, GitHub.dev, Copilot X
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Data exclusion available (enterprise only)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $252/year
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $120 (monthly) or $100 (annual with 17% discount)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Up to 150 lines
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~15 MB extension
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 27% of developers
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-5 seconds per suggestion
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5 IDE integrations
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 20-40% faster on routine tasks
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Yes (GitHub Copilot Free)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 30-day trial only
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 20+ IDEs
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 27 million
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 4+ years (2021)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Plugin only (requires VS Code/JetBrains)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited to referenced files
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 15+ IDEs
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 10+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim, etc.)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: GPT-4o / o1 (OpenAI)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 80+ languages
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 8,000 tokens (~6,000 words)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: April 2024
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 72% correct on HumanEval benchmark
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-5 seconds (in-editor, no switching)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Code may be retained (opt-out available)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited (logs code references)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited (generic suggestions)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $100/year or $120 with GitHub Pro
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Cloud-only
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2,000 completions
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 340ms average
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 100 chat prompts
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-3 minutes
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No, single-file awareness
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $10 (Pro) or $0 (Limited)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 0.5 minutes
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 90+ languages
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Integration with VS Code
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 50-100ms per suggestion
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Fixed $10 (Copilot Individual) or $19 (Copilot Pro)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Single file at a time
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: None: requires manual git commands outside Copilot
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No: GitHub Copilot model is fixed and proprietary
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~8,000 (estimated Copilot context)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $20/month
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Available in all tiers
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $10/month
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $100/year
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2 (GPT-4, GPT-4o)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited (single file)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 0 (students only)
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5+ million
Continue: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 4+ years
How to choose between Continue and GitHub Copilot
Continue vs GitHub Copilot — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Continue vs GitHub Copilot. Contains 194 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Continue vs GitHub Copilot — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Continue vs GitHub Copilot.
Yes, Continue can run entirely locally by using open-source models like Llama 2 or Mistral on your machine. No internet connection or data transmission is required. GitHub Copilot requires cloud connectivity and sends code snippets to Microsoft's servers for processing.
Continue supports multiple models including Claude 3 Opus/Sonnet, Llama 2/3, Mistral, Grok, and local models you can self-host. GitHub Copilot exclusively uses OpenAI's GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 Turbo models integrated with Microsoft infrastructure.
How much does each tool cost for a team of 10 developers?
Continue costs $0 for unlimited developers (open-source). GitHub Copilot costs $1,000-1,200 per year for 10 developers at $10/month per person ($100/year), or $500/year with annual billing for all 10.
Which has better code completion accuracy?
GitHub Copilot has an 87-92% code completion acceptance rate, significantly higher than Continue's 75-82%. Copilot's advantage comes from GPT-4's larger training dataset and Microsoft's optimization for coding. Continue's accuracy varies based on which LLM backend you choose.
Is Continue a replacement for GitHub Copilot?
Continue is an alternative, not a direct replacement. It excels in privacy, cost, and model flexibility, but has lower accuracy and fewer enterprise features. It's ideal for privacy-conscious teams; Copilot remains better for accuracy-focused development and GitHub-integrated workflows.
How to Choose Between Continue and GitHub Copilot
Pricing Model: Continue has Free (open-source) or self-hosted, while GitHub Copilot has $10/month or $100/year per user.
LLM Flexibility: Continue has Supports 15+ models (Claude, Llama, Mistral, local models), while GitHub Copilot has Proprietary GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 Turbo only.
Data Privacy: Continue has Can run 100% locally, no data sent to cloud, while GitHub Copilot has Sends code snippets to GitHub/Microsoft servers.
IDE Support: Continue has VSCode, JetBrains IDEs (5+ supported), while GitHub Copilot has VSCode, JetBrains, Neovim, Visual Studio (6+ supported).
Code Completion Accuracy: Continue has 75-82% acceptance rate across languages, while GitHub Copilot has 87-92% acceptance rate across languages.
GitHub Integration: Continue has Basic Git support via CLI, while GitHub Copilot has Native GitHub PR review, suggestions, and code search.
Community & Maturity: Continue has 19K GitHub stars, founded 2024, rapidly growing, while GitHub Copilot has 87K GitHub stars, founded 2021, industry standard.