Looking for a GitHub Copilot alternative in 2026? You are not alone, and the reason is unusual: GitHub itself paused new sign-ups for Copilot Pro, Pro+, and Max on April 20, 2026. Existing subscribers keep working, but the front door for new paid accounts is closed until further notice, according to GitHub's official plans documentation.
TL;DR
- GitHub menghentikan sementara pendaftaran baru untuk Copilot Pro, Pro+, dan Max sejak 20 April 2026, sementara pelanggan lama tetap bisa digunakan.
- GLM Coding Plan dari Z.ai memberi akses ke model GLM-5.3 yang bisa dipasang ke tools seperti Claude Code, Cline, Roo Code, OpenCode, Cursor, dan Zed lewat endpoint yang kompatibel dengan Anthropic.
- GLM Coding Plan Lite mulai sekitar $18 per bulan, sedangkan Copilot Pro berharga $10 per bulan dan Copilot Pro+ $39 per bulan dengan biaya overage AI credit $0,01 per credit.
- Copilot memakai sistem AI credit bulanan yang bisa membuat tagihan berfluktuasi, sedangkan GLM Coding Plan memakai kuota berbasis jendela waktu, misalnya jatah baru setiap 5 jam di tier Lite, tanpa biaya kejutan.
- Z.ai menyediakan panduan setup untuk lebih dari 16 tools, dan Copilot masih membuka pendaftaran untuk tier Free.
This comparison was checked against both vendors' official pricing pages today (September 9, 2026). No recycled 2024 numbers.
The Two Candidates
GitHub Copilot is the first-party AI assistant from GitHub/Microsoft: one subscription covering editor integration, models, and interface, deeply wired into VS Code and the GitHub platform.
GLM Coding Plan (from Z.ai) takes the opposite approach: you subscribe to access to the GLM model family (currently GLM-5.3), then plug it into the coding tools you already use, including Claude Code, Cline, Roo Code, OpenCode, Cursor, and Zed, through an Anthropic-compatible endpoint. Your workflow stays; the model and the bill change.
Pricing Compared
| Aspect | GLM Coding Plan | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Entry tier | Lite, from ~$18/month | Free tier (limited) |
| Mid tier | Pro | Pro, $10/month (standard price) |
| Top tier | Max | Pro+ $39/month, Max higher |
| Overages | None, plan quota | AI credits at $0.01/credit after the allowance runs out |
| New sign-ups | Open | Paused for paid tiers (since April 20, 2026) |
Copilot's standard prices occasionally run promotions, so check the official page at checkout.
Quotas: Credits vs Flat Windows
This difference matters more than most reviews admit.
Copilot uses AI credits. Each plan includes a monthly allowance, premium models consume credits faster, and you top up when it runs dry. Flexible, but your monthly bill can swing depending on which models you lean on.
GLM Coding Plan uses time-windowed quotas (for example, a fresh allowance every 5 hours on the Lite tier) with no surprise charges. For long debugging sessions, large refactors, or a 48-hour hackathon sprint, flat is far easier to budget. You know the maximum spend before you start.
Supported Tools and Integration Depth
Copilot's moat is integration depth: VS Code, GitHub PR summaries, Copilot CLI, and the whole GitHub ecosystem. If your team lives inside GitHub issues and pull requests all day, this remains a genuine advantage.
GLM Coding Plan is tool-agnostic. Because it exposes OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible endpoints, it works with anything that speaks those protocols, and Z.ai maintains setup guides for 16+ tools. If you already use Claude Code or Cline and just want cheaper model access, nothing about your workflow needs to change. Our full GLM Coding Plan review walks through per-tool configuration.
Model Quality: Test It Yourself
GLM-5.3 is an open-weight model positioned in the coding-reasoning class. We will not claim it beats every proprietary model at everything; that claim would not survive contact with a real benchmark suite. What we can say from daily usage: for everyday coding tasks (refactoring, writing tests, explaining code, scaffolding), it is productive at a cost far below premium AI tool subscriptions.
The most honest way to decide: take one real bug from your own codebase, run it through both services in parallel (Copilot Free is still open for sign-up), and count the revision rounds each one needs. Ten minutes of that beats any benchmark table.
Which One Should You Pick?
Choose the GLM Coding Plan if you:
- Want to keep using Claude Code, Cline, or Cursor without expensive API bills
- Prefer flat, predictable costs for budgeting
- Do not have a paid Copilot seat and cannot get one right now
- Need OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible endpoints for your own projects and agents
Stick with GitHub Copilot if you:
- Already had a paid account before April 2026 (it continues to work normally)
- Live in GitHub PR and issue automation workflows
- Need a vendor with Microsoft's enterprise compliance stack
FAQ
Is the GLM Coding Plan made by Anthropic or GitHub? No. It is a product from Z.ai, a separate company. It provides endpoints that are compatible with those tools, including Claude Code, but it is not affiliated with either vendor.
When will Copilot paid sign-ups reopen? GitHub says "temporarily paused" with no end date. Watch the official docs page.
Is GLM-5.3 open weight? Yes, the latest GLM family is open weight, and the Coding Plan gives you API access to it without self-hosting.
Can I try before paying? Copilot has a Free tier. The GLM Coding Plan sometimes runs first-order promotions (a 10% discount with a limited claim window appeared recently); check the terms at checkout.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 comparison is not about which model is smarter. It is about access and cost structure. With paid Copilot sign-ups paused for new accounts, the GLM Coding Plan is the most practical way in for developers who want to start today, at a lower and more predictable monthly cost. Existing Copilot subscribers with heavy GitHub workflows? Stay where you are; the integration depth is real.
Want the quota details per tier and per-tool setup steps? Read the complete GLM Coding Plan review.
This article contains affiliate links. If you subscribe through links in the GLM Coding Plan review, Toolkuy earns a commission at no extra cost to you. All pricing figures are quoted from the vendors' official pages.
Rekomendasi Tools & Layanan
Mau langsung nyobain AI yang dibahas di artikel ini tanpa setup ribet? AI token plan Alibaba Cloud ngasih akses ke Qwen, DeepSeek, dan model lain lewat satu API — dan platform Qwen buat build agent sendiri. Free tier-nya cukup buat eksperimen pertama.
FAQ
Apakah GLM Coding Plan dibuat oleh Anthropic atau GitHub?
Bukan, GLM Coding Plan adalah produk dari Z.ai, perusahaan terpisah yang tidak berafiliasi dengan Anthropic maupun GitHub. Z.ai hanya menyediakan endpoint yang kompatibel dengan tools seperti Claude Code.
Kapan pendaftaran Copilot berbayar dibuka kembali?
GitHub hanya menyatakan pendaftaran 'dijeda sementara' tanpa tanggal berakhir yang jelas. Status terbaru bisa dipantau lewat halaman dokumentasi resmi GitHub tentang plans.
Apakah model GLM-5.3 bersifat open weight?
Ya, keluarga model GLM terbaru bersifat open weight. Melalui GLM Coding Plan, kamu mendapatkan akses API ke model tersebut tanpa perlu self-hosting.
Bisakah saya mencoba kedua layanan ini sebelum berlangganan?
Copilot masih membuka pendaftaran untuk tier Free, jadi kamu bisa mencobanya tanpa biaya. GLM Coding Plan kadang menjalankan promosi pesanan pertama, seperti diskon 10% dengan jendela klaim terbatas, jadi cek syaratnya saat checkout.
Sistem kuota apa yang dipakai GLM Coding Plan dibanding Copilot?
GLM Coding Plan memakai kuota berbasis jendela waktu, misalnya jatah baru setiap 5 jam pada tier Lite, tanpa biaya tambahan yang mengejutkan. Copilot memakai AI credit bulanan di mana model premium menghabiskan credit lebih cepat dan overage dikenai $0,01 per credit.
Sumber & Referensi
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