Completely open-source and free (Apache 2.0), with no subscription model; uses local models (such as Ollama) at zero cost; API call fees depend on the chosen LLM provider
Cheapest paid plan: API pay-as-you-go (usage-based)
The general user free tier includes 2,000 completions and 50 chats per month. Open-source maintainers and teachers can upgrade to Pro for free. The free student plan has reopened for new applications since 2026-06-17, after being suspended since 2026-04-20 for 58 days. As of 2026-07-27, the model selection for Free and Student plans has been limited to only Auto, and manual model specification is no longer available, while Pro and above plans are not affected.
Aider itself is free, the cost of LLM API is determined by the provider chosen by the user, usually ranging from US$10-30 per month (light usage) to US$50-200+ per month (heavy usage)
GitHub Copilot
Plan
Price
What you get
Pro
US$10 / mo
Pro+
US$39 / mo
Max
US$100 / mo
New plan, including approximately US$200/month GitHub AI Credits
Business
US$19 / user / mo（5 user ≈ US$95/mo）
Each seat/month, new plan added; seat fee equivalent to monthly AI Credits quota (1:1, standard 1,900 points/seat); 10/25/50 seats have 5%/10%/15% bulk discounts (third-party source); promotion: official docs.github.com confirms that existing customers will automatically receive 3,000 points/seat AI Credits (originally standard 1,900 points) during the transition period from 2026-06-01 to 2026-09-01, with the deadline corrected from previously only knowing "August" to the specific date 2026-09-01, and was still in effect as of 2026-07-27.
Enterprise
US$39 / user / mo（5 user ≈ US$195/mo）
Per seat/month, a new plan is added; the seat fee is equivalent to the monthly AI Credits quota (1:1, standard 3,900 points/seat); promotion: according to the official docs.github.com, during the transition period from 2026-06-01 to 2026-09-01, existing customers automatically receive 7,000 points/seat AI Credits (originally standard 3,900 points), the deadline has been corrected from previously only knowing "August" to the specific date 2026-09-01, and was still in effect as of 2026-07-27
Which one should you pick?
Both offer a free plan. Compare paid tiers against your needs.
aider has no public paid plan; GitHub Copilot starts at about US$10 / mo.
FAQ
Is there a free version of aider?
Yes. Completely open-source and free (Apache 2.0), with no subscription model; uses local models (such as Ollama) at zero cost; API call fees depend on the chosen LLM provider
How much does aider cost?
The cheapest is the plan from aider named API cost (self-selected provider), at about Official quote (upon inquiry).
Does aider support Chinese?
aider only partially supports Chinese.
Is there a free version of GitHub Copilot?
Yes. The general user free tier includes 2,000 completions and 50 chats per month. Open-source maintainers and teachers can upgrade to Pro for free. The free student plan has reopened for new applications since 2026-06-17, after being suspended since 2026-04-20 for 58 days. As of 2026-07-27, the model selection for Free and Student plans has been limited to only Auto, and manual model specification is no longer available, while Pro and above plans are not affected.
How much does GitHub Copilot cost?
The cheapest is the plan from GitHub Copilot named Pro, at about US$10 / mo.
Does GitHub Copilot support Chinese?
GitHub Copilot has no Chinese interface at this time.
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