Augment CodevsGitHub Copilot
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Augment Code
Augment Code · IDE extension
#32MCP
Panel
6.30 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.3
- Usefulness
- 7.0
- Cost
- 5.2
- Longevity
- 6.5
“Charges the model's list price plus a 40 percent service fee, which is at least a markup you can read without a lawyer.”
GitHub Copilot
GitHub (Microsoft) · IDE extension
#4MCP
Panel
7.07 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.8
- Usefulness
- 6.7
- Cost
- 7.0
- Longevity
- 7.5
“Ten dollars a month includes fifteen dollars of credits, and the agent is how you find out what a credit is.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Augment Code | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | IDE extension | IDE extension |
| Runs | local, cloud | local, cloud, sandbox |
| Platforms | macos, linux, windows | macos, linux, windows, web |
| Context window | not documented | Up to 1M tokens on select models in Copilot CLI |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | NoAuggie ships web-search and web-fetch tools only, so it can read pages but cannot drive a browser; browser automation requires adding a third-party MCP server. | YesThe Playwright MCP server is enabled by default for the cloud agent and code review, so it drives a real browser rather than only searching the web. |
| Sandboxed execution | YesCosmos cloud environments are built from a Docker base image you pick from any public registry and each session starts from a fresh isolated snapshot; the local Auggie CLI has no sandbox, and self-hosted daemons isolate only via per-session Git worktrees. | YesThe Copilot cloud agent gets its own ephemeral development environment powered by GitHub Actions; the IDE agent mode and Copilot CLI run unsandboxed on your machine. |
| Multi-agent orchestration | Yes | Yes |
| Headless / CI mode | Yes`auggie --print` runs non-interactively for scripts and CI, and Augment publishes GitHub Actions wrappers for PR descriptions and reviews. | Yes |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | Claude, GPT, Gemini, GLM, Kimi | OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft MAI, xAI Grok, Moonshot Kimi |
| Bring your own model | NoModel choice is limited to Augment's curated list via /model or --model; no custom base URL, LLM gateway, or Bedrock/Vertex/Azure deployment is documented. | Yes |
| Local models | NoNo local or OpenAI-compatible endpoint is documented; inference always runs through Augment. | Yes |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | mixed | mixed |
| Starts at | $20/mo | $10/mo |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Bring your own key | NoLLM usage is billed by Augment as provider cost plus a 40% service fee; supplying your own provider key or cloud account is not documented. | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | No | No |
| License | proprietary | proprietary |
| GitHub stars | 283 | 11,237 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Augment Code | GitHub Copilot | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 7.0 | 7.8 | GitHub Copilot — Not the strongest agent here and the easiest to start with; if your code already lives on GitHub, begin here and add a stronger tool where it falls short. |
| El Crítico | 6.0 | 6.5 | GitHub Copilot — The isolation is real but remote: the sandboxed cloud agent is the part you pay premium requests for, while local agent mode runs on your machine outside it. |
| El Profesor | 6.5 | 5.8 | Augment Code — Two benchmark claims, one an ensemble and one a controlled comparison on the vendor's own harness; neither should be read against the public leaderboards. |
| La Inversora | 7.0 | 9.3 | GitHub Copilot — Incumbency is the moat: inside the editor, inside the repository host, on invoices approved years ago, with Microsoft's balance sheet behind it. |
| La Jefa | 6.8 | 8.0 | GitHub Copilot — Already on the invoice, with the IP indemnity and policy controls legal asked for on Business and Enterprise; the premium-request meter needs an org-level cap. |
| El Hacker | 4.3 | 4.8 | GitHub Copilot — Closed source, but the CLI takes my own key and a local model, and MCP uses the standard servers JSON block; more than I expected, less than I want. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.