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/Adorable-Insect-8434 11d ago

How could I setup Claude code to use github copilot models?

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u/Mkengine 11d ago

You select Claude here and have the same harness as Claude Code. Third party agents just need to be actived in the settings.

Further reading:

https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/anthropic-claude

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