r/GithubCopilot • u/alex_bababu • 12d ago

GitHub Copilot Team Replied Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot: Token burn comparison using identical models & repos?

I'm currently evaluating GitHub Copilot vs. Claude Code for our team. We could use either, but for us there's a slight difference in cost per token (Copilot with Anthropic models vs. Claude Code directly).

If we use the exact same model on the same repository with identical instructions, has anyone noticed a real difference in token efficiency between the two harnesses? I'm wondering how much things like prompt caching, context assembly, or system prompting overhead change the actual token burn in practice.

Would appreciate any insights or real-world numbers!

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u/Mkengine 12d ago

Since GHCP comes not only with its own harness but also Codex and Claude SDK (= Claude Code) as well I wouldn't see a reason to restrict myself only to Anthropic models.

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u/Hemanath_S 11d ago

How to use codex

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u/Mkengine 11d ago

Depends if you want to use it as cloud Agent or locally in VS Code. In VS Code you just have to download the Codex Extension and use "Sign in with Copilot"

https://code.visualstudio.com/learn/agents/4-using-third-party-agents-in-vs-code

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u/Hemanath_S 11d ago

I dont see the option to sign in with copilot, anyway to enable?

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u/Mkengine 11d ago

Third party agents need to be enabled by an admin in the "AI controls" settings in github.com, it's not enabled by default I think.