I Tried GitHub Copilot vs. ChatGPT for Coding: What I Realized

GitHub Copilot vs. ChatGPT selecting between them is like selecting a journey information vs. a GPS — each useful, however for various sorts of coders. GitHub Copilot is sort of a journey information already accustomed to the street and shortcuts. It is very best when you realize the place you’re going and need to pace issues up. 

However, ChatGPT is your GPS, providing you with clear instructions step-by-step and explaining the street forward.

As a no-coder and a productiveness geek, I spent weeks placing each instruments to the check. To see how two standard AI instruments stack up in real-life conditions, I devised seven coding duties: constructing a to-do listing net app, fixing a JavaScript logical error, creating a private portfolio touchdown web page, implementing a search algorithm, creating a climate dashboard, producing inspirational quotes, and designing a shade palette creator. 

These duties targeted on sensible coding challenges and inventive problem-solving. By placing them to the check throughout these duties, we’ll discover which instruments stand out because the greatest AI code era software program. 

To maintain issues honest, I gave each instruments the identical prompts, with no adjustments in any respect. My objective was easy: I wished to search out out which software does a greater job at what and who may profit from utilizing each.

Here’s what I discovered: GitHub Copilot shines at rushing up the coding course of by providing sensible autocomplete options straight throughout the IDE. In the meantime, ChatGPT excels at producing structured code and may train you the way and the place to make use of it whereas clarifying any doubts you may need.

Notice: Each GitHub (a Microsoft subsidiary) and OpenAI continuously roll out new updates to those AI coding assistants. The small print under replicate essentially the most present capabilities as of June 2025 however could change over time.

GitHub Copilot vs. ChatGPT: What’s totally different and what’s not?

GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT are each among the greatest AI coding assistants on the market, however they serve very totally different roles in the way you write, debug, and ship code. GitHub Copilot whispers options straight into your IDE, whereas ChatGPT is your brainstorming companion within the chat window.

Just lately, GitHub Copilot’s chatbot has expanded past OpenAI fashions to incorporate different AI fashions, making it much more highly effective. Let’s dig into how they examine and their shared strengths. 

GitHub Copilot vs. ChatGPT: The variations

GitHub Copilot is a targeted coding software inside your editor that means that you can full code as you sort. ChatGPT is a versatile AI assistant that helps with coding, planning, studying, and extra. GitHub Copilot speeds issues up, whereas ChatGPT explains and guides. Each are highly effective, however constructed for various sorts of workflows.

• Main use case:  GitHub Copilot is a specialised AI software targeted completely on code completion. It really works inside your code editor, suggesting and finishing code rapidly based mostly in your writing. This software is designed for builders who need to code quicker. However, ChatGPT is a flexible, general-purpose AI assistant designed to assist with numerous duties, together with coding, planning, debugging, studying, and documentation. It’s particularly invaluable for non-coders, solo builders, or anybody constructing initiatives who want detailed explanations, steering, or brainstorming alongside coding help. GitHub Copilot permits superior codex options just for paid customers, whereas ChatGPT provides free tiers with coding help and extra capabilities in its paid plans.
• Studying and explainability:  Copilot doesn’t clarify; it simply completes. It’s good should you already know what you might be doing. ChatGPT can clarify code line-by-line, generate tutorials, and even stroll you thru ideas with analogies.
• AI fashions and processing energy: Each instruments use superior OpenAI fashions, however in several methods. GitHub Copilot is a fine-tuned variant of GPT-4 and likewise helps different fashions like Claude and Google’s Gemini 2.5 professional. ChatGPT Plus, alternatively, offers you entry to GPT-4o, a multimodal agent able to advanced reasoning, debugging, and file evaluation.
• Context consciousness: GitHub Copilot can work inside your IDE and pulls real-time context from the file you are enhancing and close by code, making it sharper for inline options and stay coding assist. ChatGPT can progress massive chunks of code throughout a number of information or uploads, making it nice for deep debugging, structure critiques, and complete venture reasoning should you feed the inputs manually. So, whereas Copilot feels extra speedy and seamless throughout lively improvement, ChatGPT provides a broader context.

GitHub Copilot vs. ChatGPT: Key similarities

Regardless of their totally different types, these instruments have rather a lot in frequent, and when used collectively, they are often surprisingly complementary. 

• Contextual code completion: Each can generate strains, features, and code blocks that scale back guide typing and repetitive work.
• Multilingual programming help: Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, SQL, Go, and extra. They each deal with a variety of contemporary programming languages.
• Productiveness and studying: Whether or not you might be constructing or troubleshooting, each instruments allow you to write higher code quicker and study as you go.
• Powered by Codex: Each GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT make the most of OpenAI’s Codex. Which might carry out quite a lot of developer-focused duties for you, comparable to writing new options, answering questions on your codebase, fixing bugs, and even proposing pull requests for assessment. 

Disclaimer: AI responses could differ based mostly on phrasing, session historical past, and system updates for a similar prompts. These outcomes replicate the fashions’ capabilities on the time of testing.

I wished to construct a easy to-do listing net app to check how GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT dealt with on a regular basis coding duties.

GitHub Copilot shocked me with a glossy, minimal design. It mechanically cut up the code into separate HTML, CSS, and JS information, making issues a lot cleaner and simpler to handle. The structured format felt extra maintainable in the long term. 

ChatGPT returned a neat single-file demo with colourful buttons and a pleasant interface. Nonetheless, I felt ChatGPT’s response, having all of the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript bundled collectively, was a bit cluttered as soon as I considered extending the app later.

Winner: GitHub Copilot 

2. Private portfolio touchdown web page

Making a portfolio is frequent for newcomers who’re engaged on real-world initiatives. I’ve wished to construct a portfolio web site for myself, so this was an ideal alternative to place my abilities to the check. 

GitHub began sturdy, particularly with CSS separated into its file for simpler future updates. However in comparison with ChatGPT, Copilot’s design felt easier and lacked necessary options, like venture playing cards and detailed navigation, components that make a portfolio really showcase your work and have interaction guests.

ChatGPT’s resolution, alternatively, felt easy proper from the beginning. Every part got here out properly, like displaying all sections, navigation, venture playing cards, and the contact kind — precisely as anticipated, with out errors. Having venture playing cards included was notably useful since portfolios sometimes want this characteristic.

Winner: ChatGPT

3. JavaScript logical error

For this check, I gave each instruments a typical JS bug, utilizing the project operator (=) as a substitute of the equality verify (===) inside a conditional assertion. This bug journeys up many newcomers, so I wished to see not simply if they might repair it but additionally how they defined the answer. 

GitHub Copilot’s repair was equally efficient in fixing the issue, nevertheless it simply noticed the error and rectified it. I discovered the reason a bit repetitive. As a newbie, I nonetheless wouldn’t have understood why the error occurred with out extra context. 
So, in my case, I felt GitHub Copilot’s rationalization fell brief. There was nothing technically flawed, however these minor distractions stood out.

ChatGPT’s correction felt easy and concise. It rapidly pinpointed the error and clearly defined why the bug occurred, and instantly confirmed the corrected code. Then, it wrapped all the pieces up with a one-line abstract that even somebody new to coding might observe. ChatGPT gave me each the what and why with out overwhelming me.

ChatGPT’s extra exact rationalization and simple presentation made it really feel barely simpler to observe, particularly for newcomers on the lookout for an easy reply.

Winner: ChatGPT 

4. Search algorithm

I requested each GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT to check the implementation of the JavaScript binary search operate to see which felt simpler and extra sensible to make use of. Binary search is a kind of foundational algorithms that each coder runs into sooner or later.

It is a quick method to discover a particular merchandise in a sorted listing, one thing that comes up typically in technical interviews and real-world initiatives. I wished to see if they might write it appropriately and the way clearly they defined it.

GitHub Copilot supplied a concise and environment friendly tackle iterative binary search. The operate was well-structured, and its transient inline feedback conveyed its goal. I favored the way it delivered simply what was wanted, no additional content material or extended explanations.  

In distinction, the ChatGPT resolution was additionally appropriate and simple to observe. The inline feedback had been useful, making the logic simple to grasp rapidly. Nonetheless, I felt the reason was overly intensive and created pointless scrolling once I simply wished a fast reference. 

Winner: GitHub Copilot

5. Climate dashboard

I wished to construct a small weather-themed UI as a newbie venture, one thing easy, visible, and simple to customise later. I specified that the dashboard ought to present climate knowledge for international places, and requested for fundamental options like temperature, climate situation, and an icon representing the present climate.

Like all the opposite responses, GitHub Copilot put HTML, CSS, and JS in separate information. It felt means cleaner, particularly once I wished to vary colours or fonts. The design additionally has a gradient background, and climate emojis make it really feel extra polished.

ChatGPT felt like opening a snack pack — only one HTML file to repeat and open. It was simple to tweak, however discovering model guidelines buried within the HTML was difficult. Nonetheless, it labored out of the field and didn’t break. The design was good sufficient, with a pastel card format that, whereas fundamental, regarded first rate. 

Winner: Cut up; GitHub Copilot made future edits means simpler, whereas ChatGPT made it simple to arrange with only one code.

6. Inspirational quote generator

This time, I simply wished the instruments to say good issues to me! Testing quote mills appeared like a chill method to discover instruments. One nailed the vibe; the opposite one wanted a pep speak.

GitHub Copilot regarded good with an orange gradient and robust shadows. Clicking labored properly and added a pleasant fade impact, however generally, it repeated the precise quotes, which broke the expertise a bit. So, for a newbie, ChatGPT made me smile quicker.

ChatGPT was able to go the second I entered the immediate. There are not any lacking hyperlinks or clean screens; it really works instantly. I favored the styling; it was clear, with smooth colours, spherical edges, and easy transitions. Additionally, there isn’t any repetition of quotes. 

Winner: ChatGPT

7. Coloration palette creator

After testing to-do lists, portfolios, and quote era, I wished to finish with a bit extra enjoyable: a shade palette generator. I requested GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT to design a webpage that generates random aesthetic shade palettes. 

GitHub Copilot’s shade palette was extra monochrome than simply random colours. This gave its output a way of concord as if the colours belonged to a theme or model board quite than a very random set. The background was additionally a chilled inexperienced; the additional particulars made it really feel extra like a completed software than a demo.

ChatGPT’s 5 shade swatches regarded good. Every swatch had its HEX code clearly displayed, and clicking one immediately triggered a slick affirmation message — “#HEX copied!” — that appeared on the middle of the web page. It’s nice for fast use or displaying a buddy. 

Winner: GitHub Copilot 

Right here’s a desk displaying which chatbot received the duties.  

Whether or not you are debugging code or brainstorming product concepts, the proper AI chatbot can rework how you’re employed. Discover the very best AI chatbots software program on G2!