GitHub Copilot gets a lot of criticism from developers who compared its chat feature to Claude or ChatGPT and found it lacking. That criticism is fair — the chat feature is not where Copilot competes. But focusing on chat misses what Copilot actually does better than any other tool: inline autocomplete that feels like having a senior developer completing your code as you type.
What Copilot Does Better Than Everyone
Inline autocomplete. When you start typing a function and Copilot completes the entire implementation — correctly, with proper TypeScript types, matching your existing code style — that is a different experience from any chatbox AI. It requires no context switching. You stay in your flow state. For experienced developers, this is genuinely valuable in a way that a chat interface is not.
Copilot vs Cursor — The Real Question
This is what most people actually want to know. If budget allows only one, which should it be?
Most professional developers end up with both. Copilot for inline autocomplete that keeps you in flow. Cursor for building features and multi-file refactoring. They solve different problems and complement each other well.
Pricing — Is $10/Month Justified?
Final Verdict
GitHub Copilot at $10/month is worth it for any developer who writes code professionally. The inline autocomplete alone justifies the price — the time saved on boilerplate, the reduced context switching, the function completions that just work. The chat feature is a bonus, not the main event.
If you can only afford one AI tool, choose between Copilot and Cursor based on your primary use case: inline autocomplete and editor ubiquity means Copilot; multi-file editing and codebase-aware chat means Cursor. If you can afford both — run both.
⚡ Bottom Line
- Yes, it is worth it — $10/month is easy to justify for professional developers
- The inline autocomplete is the best available — no other tool comes close
- The chat feature lags behind Cursor — do not buy Copilot for chat
- Works in every major IDE — zero workflow disruption on day one
- Enterprise plan is the only AI coding tool with a genuine security guarantee
- Best setup: Copilot for autocomplete + Cursor for feature building