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

GitHub Copilot vs. ChatGPT selecting between them is like choosing a journey information vs. a GPS — each useful, however for various sorts of coders. GitHub Copilot is sort of a journey information already conversant in the highway and shortcuts. It is preferrred when you already know the place you’re going and wish to velocity issues up. 

Then again, ChatGPT is your GPS, providing you with clear instructions step-by-step and explaining the highway forward.

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

These duties targeted on sensible coding challenges and artistic problem-solving. By placing them to the take a look at throughout these duties, we’ll discover which instruments stand out because the greatest AI code technology software program. 

To maintain issues honest, I gave each instruments the identical prompts, with no modifications in any respect. My aim was easy: I needed to seek out out which software does a greater job at what and who may profit from utilizing every one.

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

Observe: Each GitHub (a Microsoft subsidiary) and OpenAI ceaselessly roll out new updates to those AI coding assistants. The main points under replicate essentially the most present capabilities as of June 2025 however might change over time.

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

GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT are each a few of 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 solutions immediately into your IDE, whereas ChatGPT is your brainstorming companion within the chat window.

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.

• Major use case:  GitHub Copilot is a specialised AI software targeted solely on code completion. It really works inside your code editor, suggesting and finishing code rapidly primarily based in your writing. This software is designed for builders who wish to code quicker. Then again, 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, steerage, or brainstorming alongside coding help. GitHub Copilot permits superior codex options just for paid customers, whereas ChatGPT gives 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 for those who 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, then again, offers you entry to GPT-4o, a multimodal agent able to complicated reasoning, debugging, and file evaluation.
• Context consciousness: GitHub Copilot can work inside your IDE and pulls real-time context from the file you are modifying and close by code, making it sharper for inline solutions and reside coding assist. ChatGPT can progress massive chunks of code throughout a number of recordsdata or uploads, making it nice for deep debugging, structure critiques, and entire challenge reasoning for those who feed the inputs manually. So, whereas Copilot feels extra fast and seamless throughout energetic growth, ChatGPT gives a broader context.

GitHub Copilot vs. ChatGPT: Key similarities

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

• Contextual code completion: Each can generate strains, capabilities, 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 recent programming languages.
• Productiveness and studying: Whether or not you might be constructing or troubleshooting, each instruments assist you write higher code quicker and be taught as you go.
• Powered by Codex: Each GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT make the most of OpenAI’s Codex. Which may carry out a wide range of developer-focused duties for you, reminiscent of writing new options, answering questions on your codebase, fixing bugs, and even proposing pull requests for assessment. 

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

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

GitHub Copilot stunned me with a modern, minimal design. It routinely cut up the code into separate HTML, CSS, and JS recordsdata, 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. Nevertheless, I felt ChatGPT’s response, having all of the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript bundled collectively, was a bit cluttered as soon as I thought of extending the app later.

Winner: GitHub Copilot 

2. Private portfolio touchdown web page

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

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 vital options, like challenge playing cards and detailed navigation, parts that make a portfolio really showcase your work and have interaction guests.

ChatGPT’s resolution, then again, felt clean proper from the beginning. All the pieces got here out effectively, like displaying all sections, navigation, challenge playing cards, and the contact type — precisely as anticipated, with out errors. Having challenge playing cards included was significantly useful since portfolios usually want this function.

Winner: ChatGPT

3. JavaScript logical error

For this take a look at, I gave each instruments a standard JS bug, utilizing the project operator (=) as a substitute of the equality examine (===) inside a conditional assertion. This bug journeys up many freshmen, so I needed to see not simply if they may repair it but additionally how they defined the answer. 

GitHub Copilot’s repair was equally efficient in fixing the issue, but it surely 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 fallacious, however these minor distractions stood out.

ChatGPT’s correction felt clean 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 may comply with. ChatGPT gave me each the what and why with out overwhelming me.

ChatGPT’s extra exact rationalization and easy presentation made it really feel barely simpler to comply with, particularly for freshmen in search of a simple reply.

Winner: ChatGPT 

4. Search algorithm

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

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

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

In distinction, the ChatGPT resolution was additionally right and straightforward to comply with. The inline feedback had been useful, making the logic simple to know rapidly. Nevertheless, I felt the reason was overly in depth and created pointless scrolling after I simply needed a fast reference. 

Winner: GitHub Copilot

5. Climate dashboard

I needed to construct a small weather-themed UI as a newbie challenge, one thing easy, visible, and straightforward to customise later. I specified that the dashboard ought to present climate information for world areas, 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 recordsdata. It felt approach cleaner, particularly after I needed 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 type 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 respectable. 

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

6. Inspirational quote generator

This time, I simply needed the instruments to say good issues to me! Testing quote turbines seemed like a chill method to discover instruments. One nailed the vibe; the opposite one wanted a pep discuss.

GitHub Copilot regarded good with an orange gradient and powerful shadows. Clicking labored effectively 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 aren’t any lacking hyperlinks or clean screens; it really works instantly. I preferred the styling; it was clear, with gentle colours, spherical edges, and clean transitions. Additionally, there is no such thing as a repetition of quotes. 

Winner: ChatGPT

7. Coloration palette creator

After testing to-do lists, portfolios, and quote technology, I needed 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 relatively than a really random set. The background was additionally a relaxing 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 exhibiting a good friend. 

Winner: GitHub Copilot 

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

Whether or not you are debugging code or brainstorming product concepts, the fitting AI chatbot can remodel how you’re employed. Discover the perfect AI chatbots software program on G2!