Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot: what developers actually say
Based on 3,685 opinions on Hacker News from developers who discussed these two, most of them first-hand users.
Claude Code comes out ahead overall. It has 54% approval versus 42% for Copilot and 3,026 opinions versus 659, with a positive code-quality balance (240 positive, 189 negative) against Copilot's negative one (38 positive, 93 negative). Autonomy (280 positive, 88 negative) and speed (125 positive, 44 negative) also favor it, while reliability is its weakest aspect (107 positive, 296 negative). Copilot is the better pick for IDE integration, GitHub PR workflow, and budget predictability; 18 commenters chose it over Claude Code, often citing Claude's session limits and lower Copilot prices, though 40 chose Claude Code over Copilot.
When developers explicitly said they prefer one or switched: 40 picked Claude Code, 18 picked GitHub Copilot.
Choose Claude Code if
- Want a terminal agent with strong code quality and autonomy
- Will accept higher cost and tighter limits for better results
- Want the tool 40 commenters chose over Copilot
Choose GitHub Copilot if
- Want cheap IDE autocomplete and GitHub PR workflows
- Need looser usage limits and predictable monthly pricing
- Already standardize on GitHub and VS Code
Where each one wins and loses
Why developers switched
Picked Claude Code
Picked GitHub Copilot
Summaries are paraphrased. Each links to the original comment.