Short answer, then the detail.
For Heavy Google Workspace users; Multimodal and video generation work, Gemini is the more direct fit. For Professional developers writing code daily; Team code review, GitHub Copilot gets there with less fighting.
Both have free tiers, so cost only separates them once you hit the limits. Context limits aren't published for both, so treat this as untested until you hit the ceiling yourself.
| Dimension | Gemini | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | Google AI Pro $19.99/mo ($199.99/yr); Google AI Ultra $99.99/mo; Google AI Plus $7.99/mo (third-party figure) (checked 2026-10-29) | Free $0; Pro $10/mo; Pro+ $39/mo; Max $100/mo; Business $19/seat/mo; Enterprise $39/seat/mo (checked 2026-10-29) |
| Context window | 1M tokens (Gemini 4 Argon unified context; Pro models take 1M input and 64K output) (checked 2026-10-29) | not published |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | Web, IDE extensions (VS Code and others), CLI, iOS, Android |
| Best for | Heavy Google Workspace users; Multimodal and video generation work; Very long source material | Professional developers writing code daily; Team code review; Enterprise release pipelines |
| Availability | Personal accounts are not open in mainland China, where only Workspace accounts work, and there is no China edition (checked 2026-10-29). | Needs a GitHub account, and github.com is unreliable from mainland China without a proxy; there is no China edition (checked 2026-10-29). |
Heavy Google Workspace users; Multimodal and video generation work; Very long source material. Its strongest point: Cites source links you can open and check yourself. Watch out for: Plan names get renamed often enough to be hard to track.
Professional developers writing code daily; Team code review; Enterprise release pipelines. Its strongest point: Completion and edits happen in the editor, with no window switching. Watch out for: Usage is metered in AI Credits, which is hard to forecast.
Running both is not wasteful here: one earns its keep on retrieval and tool use, the other on long text you intend to keep.
Gemini if you want Heavy Google Workspace users. GitHub Copilot if Professional developers writing code daily. Neither has a learning curve worth worrying about past the first day.
Yes — both have free tiers, and the pair covers more ground than either alone.
Context limits aren't published for both, so treat this as untested until you hit the ceiling yourself.