Tabnine vs GitHub Copilot vs Cody 2026: AI Code Completion Compared

AI code completion tools help developers write code faster and with fewer bugs. Tabnine, GitHub Copilot, and Sourcegraph Cody are the three leading IDE extensions that work within your existing development environment. Here is how they compare.

Related: Copilot vs Cursor, best AI for coding 2025, how to use GitHub Copilot.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Tabnine	GitHub Copilot	Cody
Type	IDE Extension	IDE Extension	IDE Extension
Completions	Good	Best	Good
AI Chat	Yes	Yes (Copilot Chat)	Yes (best context)
Privacy	Best (local option)	Cloud only	Good (self-host option)
Codebase Search	Basic	@workspace	Best (Sourcegraph)
Free Tier	Yes (basic)	Yes (limited)	Yes (generous)
Pro Price	$12/mo	$10/mo	$9/mo
IDE Support	VS Code, JetBrains, Vim	VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Xcode	VS Code, JetBrains

Tabnine: The Privacy Champion

Tabnine differentiates itself through privacy. Its AI models can run entirely on your machine, ensuring no code leaves your environment. This makes it the go-to for teams in regulated industries (finance, healthcare, defense).

Strengths

• Local AI — Run models on your machine with zero data leaving your environment.
• Private Training — Train on your codebase to get team-specific suggestions.
• 30+ Languages — Supports all major programming languages.
• Whole-Line Completions — Predicts and completes entire lines and functions.

Weaknesses

• Completion quality below Copilot on public code patterns
• Local models require significant RAM
• Chat capabilities less mature than competitors

GitHub Copilot: The Completion King

Copilot remains the most accurate code completion tool, powered by OpenAI models and trained on GitHub’s massive code repository. Its suggestions feel like having a senior developer pair programming with you.

Strengths

• Best Completions — Most accurate inline suggestions based on the largest training dataset.
• Copilot Chat — Ask coding questions, generate tests, explain code, and fix bugs.
• Workspace Context — @workspace command searches your entire project for context.
• Widest IDE Support — VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Xcode, and more.
• CLI Integration — AI-powered terminal suggestions.

Weaknesses

• All code processed in the cloud (no local option)
• Less control over AI model selection
• Free tier has strict limits

Cody: The Context Expert

Cody by Sourcegraph brings AI chat to Sourcegraph’s powerful code search. It understands your entire codebase across repositories and can answer questions about code architecture, patterns, and dependencies.

Strengths

• Deep Codebase Search — Searches across all your repositories with Sourcegraph’s indexing.
• Context Window — Pulls relevant code from across your codebase for more accurate responses.
• Multi-Model — Choose between Claude, GPT-4o, and other models.
• Free Tier — Generous free limits for individual developers.

Weaknesses

• Autocomplete less polished than Copilot
• Fewer IDE integrations (VS Code and JetBrains only)
• Enterprise features need Sourcegraph deployment

Which Should You Choose?

Copilot — Best overall for most developers. Widest IDE support, best completions, most features.

Tabnine — Best for privacy-focused teams in regulated industries who need local AI.

Cody — Best for teams that need deep codebase understanding across multiple repositories.

See also: Copilot vs Cursor vs Windsurf, best AI code review tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Tabnine better than Copilot?

Tabnine is better for privacy with local AI. Copilot produces more accurate completions. For most developers, Copilot is the better choice.

Is Cody free?

Yes with generous limits. Pro costs $9/month for additional features.

Which is best for privacy?

Tabnine with its local AI option ensures no code leaves your machine.

Final Verdict

GitHub Copilot wins for overall quality and features. Tabnine wins for privacy. Cody wins for codebase understanding. Many developers combine Copilot for completions with Cody for codebase search.