Top 17 GitHub Copilot Alternatives for VS Code (2025) + AI Code Security Tips

If you've ever felt the lag during code suggestions, worried about data privacy, or simply can't justify Copilot's pricing for your workflow, you're not alone. Developers everywhere are looking for AI coding assistants that fit their budgets, privacy expectations, and real-world projects, without sacrificing speed or accuracy.

In this guide, we've pulled together 17 of the best GitHub Copilot alternatives you can use inside VS Code today. Whether you want a free forever option, something offline-friendly, a tool with stronger multi-language support, or a chat-based coding companion, you'll find something here that can boost your workflow.

All of these tools are actively maintained, work well with VS Code(some are better too 😉), and offer practical features for real-world devs in 2025. But first we would like to introduce CodeAnt.ai.

What is CodeAnt.ai?

CodeAnt.ai is a comprehensive AI Code Health platform and an apt GitHub copilot alternative that combines real-time code review, quality analysis, and security scanning in a single tool. It’s designed for fast-moving engineering teams, helping developers catch bugs, enforce coding standards, and maintain secure, high-quality code without slowing down delivery.

Key Features:

• Quick Issue Detection: Continuously scans new and existing code across all repositories, branches, and commits, catching bugs, security vulnerabilities, and compliance issues.

• Context-Aware AI Reviews: Understands coding patterns, team standards, and architectural decisions to provide actionable suggestions in pull requests, reducing manual review effort by up to 80%.

• Actionable Summaries: After analyzing your pull requests, it provides crisp summaries and highlights what needs fixing. This saves you hours in manual reviews and helps keep the whole team on the same page.

• 360° Engineering Insights: Delivers developer-level metrics, DORA metrics, test coverage, and AI-powered contribution summaries to help leaders identify bottlenecks, balance workloads, and scale teams effectively.

• Seamless Integrations: Works with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, VS Code, JetBrains, and integrates with CI/CD pipelines to fit naturally into existing workflows.

• Security & Compliance Focused: Performs static analysis and security scanning to ensure code follows industry standards (NIST, ISO 27001, SOC2, CIS Benchmarks).

Best For

Enterprise development teams, and startups of all sizes, that need a single platform for code quality, security, and actionable PR insights.

Pricing

14 Day Free trial and then $10/user/month

Why This Matters if You're Using AI Code Tools

Your AI code assistant will write code, lots of it. But it won’t warn you if it’s insecure.

CodeAnt AI catches issues even in AI-generated code, helping your team maintain a high standard while moving fast. It cuts down manual review bottlenecks, reduces your attack surface, and protects your customers without slowing your engineering velocity.

In a world where your team is shipping faster with AI, shipping safe code is no longer optional, it's your edge.

Let's dive in to somoe other good GitHub Copilot alternatives.

“Below is a quick comparison of the top GitHub Copilot alternatives for VS Code in 2025, highlighting their best use cases, benefits, integrations, limitations, and pricing so you can choose the right fit fast.”

Comparison of Best GitHub Copilot Alternatives

Each of these GitHub Copilot alternatives offers something unique, from privacy-first AI coding assistants to unlimited free completions. Let's explore them below.

1. Tabnine

Privacy-first AI coding assistant with over 9 million VS Code installs that puts data protection above everything else. Unlike most competitors, Tabnine never stores or trains on your code, offering self-hosting options for enterprises.

Beyond basic autocomplete, it provides AI chat, specialized agents for testing and documentation, and can even create custom models trained exclusively on your company's private codebase.

Pros:

• Your code stays private - self-hosting options and zero data retention guarantee

• Custom AI models trained on your company's codebase for personalized suggestions

• Beyond Autocomplete - includes AI chat, test generation, and legacy code explanation

• Works with 20+ languages and integrates seamlessly with major IDEs

Cons:

• Can be resource-heavy, sometimes using 40GB+ memory on large multi-language projects

• Best features require paid plans - free tier only gives 50 daily completions

Pricing:

Free Plan, Enterprise ($39/month), Dev Plan available ($9/month).

Tip to use:

If you're handling sensitive code, use the self-hosted option and train custom models on your private repos for the most relevant suggestions without privacy risks.

2. Codeium (now Windsurf)

The “modern coding superpower” that shook up the market with unlimited free AI completions. Recently rebranded as Windsurf, this tool supports 70+ programming languages and has gained 2.8 million VS Code installs by offering what competitors charge for. It's known for frighteningly accurate multi-line predictions and has ranked as the 4th most admired AI tool in Stack Overflow surveys, even beating Google Gemini and Meta AI.

Pros:

• Completely free autocomplete code completions forever - no daily limits or credit systems

• Exceptional autocomplete accuracy that often predicts complex algorithms with surprising precision

• Massive language support covering 70+ programming languages and frameworks

• Integrated chat interface for code generation, explanation, and refactoring without leaving VS Code

Cons:

• Occasional "hallucinations" where generated code can be unusable or overly complex

• Chat interface sometimes has "amnesia" issues, forgetting context between sessions

Pricing:

Free (unlimited completions), Pro ($15/month), Teams ($30/month), Enterprise ($60/month)

Tip to use:

Leverage the unlimited free completions for rapid boilerplate generation and save the paid chat features for complex problem-solving to maximize value.

3. Amazon CodeWhisperer (now Amazon Q Developer)

Amazon’s AI coding assistant that’s integrated into the broader Amazon Q Developer platform, designed for enterprise tasks beyond just coding.

Built on billions of lines of Amazon's internal code and open-source training data, it offers deep AWS ecosystem integration with real-time code suggestions and robust security scanning. The tool emphasizes responsible AI usage with features like license attribution for open-source code and "shift-left" security capabilities for early vulnerability detection.

Pros:

• Deep AWS integration with context-aware suggestions for services like Lambda, S3, and CloudFormation

• Built-in security scanning for Python, Java, and JavaScript with 80% accurate vulnerability detection

• Open-source reference tracking that identifies similar code and provides license attribution for compliance

• Free tier available with no AWS account required, including basic CLI completions

Cons:

• AI capabilities perceived as less sophisticated compared to newer frontier models like GPT-4

• Security scanning limited to only three programming languages currently

Pricing:

Free (50 chat interactions), Pro ($19/month with higher limits as mentioned at Spotsaas). As you know Amazon-related services have complex pricing; check the website for proper understanding.

Tip to use:

Perfect for AWS-heavy development - leverage the integrated security scanning and ecosystem-specific code suggestions to build secure, compliant cloud applications.

4. Cursor

AI-first code editor built directly on the VS Code codebase, offering seamless migration of your existing settings, extensions, and keybindings. Known for "magic" tab completion and deep codebase understanding, Cursor can predict your next edit and comprehend entire projects for intelligent multi-file changes.

It's positioned as a comprehensive AI pair programmer that can generate complete functions and document them from context.

Pros:

• Native AI integration provides a more seamless experience than basic extensions

• Exceptional multi-line code completion with accurate developer intent prediction

• Comprehensive codebase understanding for intelligent project-wide edits and Q&A

• One-click VS Code migration maintains familiar environment while adding powerful AI features

Cons:

• May lag behind official VS Code updates, causing compatibility issues with newer extensions

• Resource-intensive, especially when processing large codebases, occasionally causing performance lag

Pricing:

Free (limited), Pro ($20/month), Ultra ($200/month), Teams ($40/user/month), Enterprise (custom)

Tip to use:

Use the one-click VS Code settings import, then leverage Agent Mode for complex multi-file editing tasks that benefit from deep codebase context.

5. Replit Ghostwriter

AI-powered coding assistant deeply embedded within Replit's browser-based IDE, designed to accelerate the journey from idea to working prototype.

Unique for its cloud-native approach, Ghostwriter can generate fully functional applications from high-level inputs or even screenshots, with proactive debugging that identifies and suggests fixes for bugs in real-time. It's particularly valuable for educational purposes and rapid web-based prototyping.

Pros:

• Complete cloud IDE eliminates local setup complexity, accessible from any browser

• Rapid prototyping capabilities can transform ideas or screenshots into deployable applications

• Excellent learning tool for beginners with insights into coding patterns and best practices

• Built-in collaboration features enable real-time teamwork on projects

Cons:

• Limited direct VS Code integration - core AI features are confined to Replit platform

• Credit consumption for debugging AI-generated bugs can lead to expensive "constant fights" with the AI

Pricing:

Free Starter (limited AI, 3 public projects), Replit Core ($20/month), Teams ($35/user/month), Enterprise (custom)

Tip to use:

Ideal for educational projects and rapid web prototyping, but monitor credit usage carefully when debugging to avoid unexpected costs.

6. OpenAI Codex Playground (via VS Code extension)

Direct access to OpenAI's foundational Codex models through VS Code extensions, offering the core technology that powers many AI coding tools. Codex is optimized specifically for software engineering tasks using reinforcement learning on real-world coding challenges. It aims to function as a "programmer co-worker" that can autonomously plan and execute complex development tasks with minimal human input.

Pros:

• Powered by state-of-the-art OpenAI models specifically optimized for software engineering

• Agentic capabilities designed to function as autonomous programmer co-worker

• Effective for targeted task automation like fixing typos and generating utility functions

• Potential for high-level workflow integration handling planning, implementation, and testing

Cons:

• User experience immaturity with unpredictable wait times and GitHub connection issues

• Limited internet access restricts autonomous research capabilities, requiring manual environment setup

Pricing:

Usage-based through OpenAI API - GPT-4.1 ($2-8 per million tokens), GPT-4.1 mini ($0.40-1.60 per million tokens)

Tip to use:

Best for experimental use and specific development tasks, but monitor token usage closely and be prepared for manual environment setup complexities.

7. Phind

AI-powered search engine and coding assistant that combines traditional web search with generative AI to deliver rich, visual answers to technical questions.

Functions as a "pair programming agent" that intelligently browses the web, asks clarifying questions, and performs recursive problem-solving. The VS Code extension integrates with your codebase to automatically identify relevant code sections for debugging assistance.

Pros:

• Hybrid search and AI approach provides up-to-date information with comprehensive technical solutions

• VS Code extension automatically identifies relevant code sections for efficient debugging assistance

• Agentic problem-solving with dynamic tool selection and multi-step reasoning capabilities

• Free tier provides access to GPT-4 powered model for evaluation before subscription

Cons:

• Significant privacy concerns - default behavior potentially publishes user queries and code publicly

• AI frequently asks too many or irrelevant clarifying questions, disrupting development workflow

Pricing:

Pro ($20/month) and Business Plan ($40/month/user)

Tip to use:

Essential to subscribe to paid plan with data opt-out enabled when working with proprietary code, and provide explicit prompts to minimize unnecessary questioning.

8. Zed.dev AI

High-performance code editor built from scratch in Rust, designed to be the "world's fastest AI code editor" with native AI integration and real-time collaboration.

Features innovative "agentic editing" capabilities and uses a transparent, open-source approach including proprietary open-source LLM called Zeta. Emphasizes exceptional performance with minimal typing latency while providing deep AI integration through its Agent Panel.

Pros:

• Exceptional performance with blazing-fast speed and minimal typing latency, often outperforming VS Code

• Native AI integration through Agent Panel enables deep collaboration between human and AI developers

• Open-source and transparent with support for custom models and user-controlled data for training

• Privacy-centric design with conversations private by default and no data collection for training

Cons:

• Standalone editor requiring adoption of new IDE, losing VS Code's extensive extension ecosystem

• Still considered work-in-progress with less mature features like Git integration and language support

Pricing:

Personal (Free, 50 prompts monthly), Pro ($20/month, 500 prompts), Enterprise (custom pricing)

Tip to use:

Ideal for developers prioritizing raw editor speed and privacy-focused AI experience, especially when using your own API keys for cost and data control.

9. Magic AI (Kilo Code)

Open-source AI agent extension for VS Code offering multiple operational modes including Orchestrator, Architect, Code, and Debug. Features experimental autocomplete, AI-generated commit messages, and custom workflows with emphasis on automatic failure recovery and hallucination-free code through integration with documentation tools.

Pros:

• Completely open-source with transparent pay-what-you-use pricing model for LLM tokens

• Advanced agentic workflows with Orchestrator Mode for breaking complex projects into subtasks

• Automatic failure recovery designed to detect and fix errors without manual intervention

• Hallucination-free code approach using documentation lookup tools for more reliable output

Cons:

• Operational instability when getting stuck in loops or confusing working directories

• Limited autocomplete functionality when using external AI providers

Pricing:

Open source (free), pay directly for LLM tokens, $20 free credits to start, Enterprise (custom pricing)

Tip to use:

Leverage Orchestrator or Architect modes for complex multi-step development tasks, utilizing automatic failure recovery for more robust AI-driven development.

10. Codiga

Real-time static code analysis tool integrated directly into VS Code, providing instantaneous feedback with every keystroke. Offers automated fixes for vulnerabilities and coding issues with single-click resolutions, along with customizable rule creation for team-specific coding standards. Features a Code Snippets Hub for discovering and sharing reusable code patterns across development teams.

Pros:

• Real-time static analysis provides immediate feedback and automated fixes for vulnerabilities

• Customizable rule sets enable teams to create and enforce specific coding standards

• Cross-platform consistency ensuring uniform code quality across IDEs and CI/CD pipelines

• Explicit privacy guarantee that code is never stored or used for system training

Cons:

• Limited language compatibility may not support every programming language

• Subscription required for advanced features, potentially creating cost barriers for smaller teams

Pricing:

Free (basic features), Teams ($12-14/month with full repository support and dedicated pipelines)

Tip to use:

Define custom code analysis rules matching your team's standards for real-time feedback and automated fixes directly in your VS Code workflow.

11. Blackbox AI

Real-time code completion and debugging assistant claiming "World's Fastest AI Autocomplete" at 200 milliseconds response time. Offers comprehensive AI features including code chat, generation, commenting, and unique capabilities like README generation and commit message creation. Supports integration with multiple AI providers and includes generous free tier for individual developers.

Pros:

• Exceptionally fast autocomplete with 200ms response time for rapid code generation

• Comprehensive AI feature suite including chat, generation, commenting, and project setup guidance

• Smart context understanding of project structure with relevant setup suggestions

• Generous free tier offering unlimited completions and chat usage for normal usage patterns

Cons:

• Occasional AI hallucinations generating incorrect or outlandish solutions requiring manual review

• Privacy concerns as cloud-only service sending code to external servers without self-hosted options

Pricing:

Free (unlimited basic usage), Pro ($7.99/month), Business ($29.99/month), and Ultimate from $99.99/month. Also has 90 day free trial.

Tip to use:

Leverage exceptionally fast autocomplete for boilerplate code and quick refactoring, but always review generated code due to hallucination potential.

12. DeepCode (Snyk Code)

AI-powered security analysis tool integrated into Snyk Trust Platform, providing real-time code scanning and automated vulnerability remediation directly within VS Code. Specializes in identifying, automatically fixing, and prioritizing security vulnerabilities using neural networks trained on millions of lines of code. Features 80% accurate security autofixes with a hybrid AI approach combining symbolic and generative AI.

Pros:

• Purpose-built AI security designed for secure development with vulnerability detection and autofix capabilities

• Hybrid AI approach combining symbolic and generative AI for high accuracy and minimal hallucinations

• Shift-left security integration enables early issue identification and resolution in development process

• No user data used for training, with models trained exclusively on permissively licensed open-source projects

Cons:

• User interface complexity when managing large volumes of vulnerabilities with filtering and sorting challenges

• Limited automated fix support for inter-file changes, focusing only on single-file corrections

Pricing:

Free, Team ($25/month), Enterprise (custom pricing with automated fixes)

Tip to use:

Integrate into VS Code workflow for proactive security scanning and AI-powered autofixes to address vulnerabilities during development rather than post-deployment.

13. Sourcery

Real-time code quality enhancement tool focusing on Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript with AI assistant that provides on-demand code reviews, automated GitHub and GitLab PR reviews, and continuous quality feedback with scoring system. Can generate Mermaid diagrams, comprehensive unit tests, and detailed code explanations for optimization.

Pros:

• Real-time refactoring suggestions directly in IDE for immediate code quality improvements

• Comprehensive quality feedback with function scoring for sub-scores for length, complexity, and working memory

• AI chat with codebase context for questions, improvements, diagrams, tests, and explanations

• Free tier available for open-source projects with Pro features included

• Language specificity limiting utility for developers working outside Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript environments

Cons:

• Language specificity limiting utility for developers working outside Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript environments

Pricing:

Open Source (Free for public repos), Pro ($12/month annually), Team ($24/month), Enterprise (custom pricing)

Tip to use:

Consistently apply real-time refactoring suggestions and monitor quality scores within VS Code to address maintainability issues before committing changes.

14. CodiumAI (now Qodo)

Quality-first generative AI coding platform rebranded as Qodo, supporting all programming languages with integrated AI chat, code completion, and test generation. Focuses on generating meaningful tests, improving code quality, proactively uncovering bugs, and streamlining pull request processes. Features automated code review through “Qodo Merge” for enhanced development workflows.

Pros:

• Broad language support emphasizing reliable code generation with fewer bugs and comprehensive test coverage

• Quality-first approach compatible with virtually all programming languages for versatile development needs

• Strong privacy and security posture with SOC2 certification, SSL encryption, and no data retention policy

• Extensible coding workflows with Model Context Protocol tooling for integration with external services

Cons:

• Inconsistent agentic quality with reports of unusable or overly complex generated code requiring manual rework

• Customer support issues including reports of ignored support requests and delayed assistance

Pricing:

Developer (Free, 250 credits monthly), Teams ($30/user/month, 2500 credits), Enterprise ($45/user/month)

Tip to use:

Prioritize test generation capabilities to quickly increase coverage and uncover bugs, particularly for newly developed functions or classes.

15. GPT Pilot (Pythagora)

Core technology behind Pythagora VS Code extension, designed as a "real AI developer companion" capable of writing full features, debugging, and discussing issues. Focuses on building fully working, production-ready applications with human oversight, suggesting AI can handle approximately 95% of coding tasks. Employs multi-agent architecture with specialized agents for implementation, review, troubleshooting, and documentation

Pros:

• Full application generation capabilities including front-end and back-end components for complete projects

• Iterative development approach with step-by-step coding and real-time debugging for issues as they emerge

• Multi-agent architecture with specialized agents for implementation, review, troubleshooting, and documentation

• Scalability for large projects through intelligent code context filtering for relevant processing

Cons:

• Early stage maturity with operational issues including rate limits, WSL compatibility problems, and project loading difficulties

• Dependency on human oversight for critical 5% of work, meaning not fully autonomous development yet

Pricing:

Free Plan (limited), Pro ($49/month for individuals and small teams), Premium ($89/month), Enterprise (custom)

Tip to use:

Leverage multi-agent approach for iterative full-stack development, but be prepared for human oversight and intervention during complex challenges.

16. AskCodi

AI assistant integrated across IDEs with context-awareness and customizable shortcuts, requiring API key from AskCodi web application for full functionality. Provides chat interface, natural language code suggestions, and specialized mini-apps for specific development tasks. Features broad AI capabilities including documentation, explanation, testing, and integration with multiple LLM providers.

Pros:

• Broad AI capabilities including chat, code suggestions, documentation, explanation, and test generation

• Context-aware assistance understanding project structure with conversation history maintenance

• Privacy-focused design ensuring generated code is not saved for user confidentiality

• Multi-model support providing access to various LLMs including Gemini, Claude, and GPT-4o

Cons:

• Long response times causing delays that hinder development workflow fluidity

• Inconsistent code quality often requiring manual corrections and gap-filling for complex segments

Pricing:

Premium ($149.99/year, 500 AI credits monthly), Ultimate ($349.99/year, 1500 AI credits monthly)

Tip to use:

Leverage context-aware features for quick code explanations and documentation, but be prepared to iteratively refine output for accuracy and completeness.

17. Sourcegraph Cody

AI coding assistant with over 685,000 VS Code installs, designed to work with any programming language using broad LLM training data. Known for deep codebase context understanding across multiple files, enabling project-wide insights and intelligent assistance. Offers comprehensive AI features including agentic chat, autocomplete, inline editing, and customizable Prompt Library for tailored workflows.

Pros:

• Deep codebase context understanding enabling highly relevant AI assistance for complex projects

• Multi-model support allowing users to select preferred LLMs including Claude Sonnet 4 and GPT-4o

• Comprehensive AI feature suite with agentic chat, autocomplete, inline editing, and custom prompts

• Enterprise-ready with flexible deployment options and support for large-scale security requirements

Cons:

• Performance issues including slow code generation and inconsistent suggestion quality

• Integration is perceived as less seamless compared to GitHub Copilot due to underlying API limitations

Pricing:

Enterprise starter - $19/month/user, Enterprise Search - $49/month/user.

Tip to use:

Leverage deep codebase context understanding for large multi-file projects to obtain relevant AI suggestions and accelerate code reviews.

Choosing the Right GitHub Copilot Alternative | Takeaway

In 2025, there’s no shortage of GitHub Copilot alternatives and AI coding tools. From Codeium’s unlimited free completions to Tabnine’s privacy-first approach, Cursor’s deep codebase understanding, and specialised security-focused tools like Snyk Code, every option brings its own strengths.

Almost all of them offer free plans or trials, see which ones fit your coding style, and build a stack that accelerates your workflow without compromising privacy or security. The best AI coding assistant is simply the one that makes your day easier and your code better.

And while you’re speeding up coding with these tools, remember that faster coding means more pull requests to review. That’s where CodeAnt.ai steps in. For more, get yourself a 14-day free trial today!!