GitHub Copilot is a cloud-based paid service with broader language model access and VS Code integration, while Continue is a free, open-source IDE extension that runs locally and supports multiple AI providers including Claude, GPT-4, and local models.
Continue vs GitHub Copilot — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Choose Continue if you prioritize cost savings (free), data privacy, flexibility to use multiple AI providers, and larger context windows for complex codebases. Choose GitHub Copilot if you want the fastest code completion, integration with GitHub's security features, seamless enterprise SSO, and don't mind the subscription cost or cloud processing.
Open-source AI code assistant with local-first privacy and customizable models
IDE-integrated AI code completion that suggests code snippets in real-time while you type.
Continue vs GitHub Copilot — Comparison Data
Structured comparison data for Continue vs GitHub Copilot with 155 attributes.
Average Response Time for Code Suggestion
Continue vs GitHub Copilot — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Continue vs GitHub Copilot.
Does Continue send my code to external servers?
By default, Continue can run entirely locally if you configure it with local models (via Ollama). However, if you choose cloud providers like Claude or GPT-4, your code snippets are sent to those providers' servers. You have full control over this choice.
Can I use Continue without paying anything?
Yes, Continue is completely free and open-source. You can use it with free tiers of certain providers (Claude's free tier, GPT-4 via Azure's free credits) or with fully local models like Llama 2 running on your machine.
Yes, GitHub Copilot completes code in 0.5-1 second on average due to optimized cloud infrastructure, while Continue averages 1-3 seconds depending on whether you're using local or cloud processing. For real-time coding workflows, Copilot's speed is noticeable.
Which tool has better code quality suggestions?
GitHub Copilot has specialized training on 250M+ GitHub repositories, making it exceptionally good at common patterns. Continue's quality depends on which provider you choose—Claude 3.5 Sonnet provides high-quality suggestions comparable to Copilot, while local models may be less accurate.
Yes, Continue supports JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.) through a dedicated plugin. GitHub Copilot also supports JetBrains products, so both are viable options for JetBrains users.