What's the best free Copilot alternative?

Continue.dev with a local model like DeepSeek Coder or CodeLlama. Completely free after hardware cost.

Can local coding assistants match Copilot?

For autocomplete: 70-85%. For chat/explanation: 80-95% with larger models. DeepSeek Coder V2 comes closest.

What's the best option for company code?

Tabby or Continue.dev with local models. Your code never leaves your network.

What GPU do I need for local coding AI?

RTX 3060 12GB handles small models for autocomplete. RTX 4090 runs CodeLlama 34B for best quality.

Alternatives GuideUpdated December 2025

GitHub Copilot Alternatives

Free AI coding assistants that run locally

GitHub Copilot costs $10-19/month and sends your code to Microsoft. Here are powerful alternatives that run locally, keeping your code private.

What You're Replacing

GitHub Copilot

AI pair programmer by GitHub/Microsoft

$10/month individual, $19/month business

Limitations:

Monthly subscription required
Code sent to Microsoft servers
Privacy concerns for proprietary code
Internet required
Limited customization

Quick Comparison

Alternative	Type	VRAM Needed	Quality vs Original
Continue.dev + Local LLM	Runs Locally	8GB (for small models)	70-90% depending on model
Tabby	Runs Locally	8GB	75-85%
Cody by Sourcegraph	Hybrid	Cloud or local	85%
CodeLlama 34B	Runs Locally	24GB	80-85%
DeepSeek Coder V2	Runs Locally	16GB	85-90%
Cursor IDE	Cloud Only	Cloud	95-100%

Detailed Breakdown

Continue.dev + Local LLM

Runs Locally

Open-source copilot. Works with any local model.

VRAM: 8GB (for small models)Quality: 70-90% depending on model

Best For:

Full privacyVS Code usersCustom models

Setup Guide →View GPU →

Tabby

Runs Locally

Self-hosted coding assistant. Easy setup.

VRAM: 8GBQuality: 75-85%

Best For:

Self-hostingTeam deploymentIDE-agnostic

View GPU →

Cody by Sourcegraph

Hybrid

Context-aware assistant. Free tier available.

VRAM: Cloud or localQuality: 85%

Best For:

Large codebasesContext awareness

CodeLlama 34B

Runs Locally

Meta's coding model. Strong at generation.

VRAM: 24GBQuality: 80-85%

Best For:

Best local qualityCode generation

Setup Guide →View GPU →

DeepSeek Coder V2

Runs Locally

Excellent at code completion and generation.

VRAM: 16GBQuality: 85-90%

Best For:

Coding tasksMultiple languages

Setup Guide →View GPU →

Cursor IDE

Cloud Only

AI-native IDE with Claude/GPT integration.

VRAM: CloudQuality: 95-100%

Best For:

Best qualityWhen privacy is less critical

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Alternatives

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OpenAI Alternatives

Need Hardware for Local AI?

Check our GPU buying guides and setup tutorials.