Head to head / Harness
Gemini CLI vs GitHub Copilot CLI
Gemini CLI: Google's open-source terminal coding agent, with IDE integration and a free usage tier. GitHub Copilot CLI: GitHub's terminal coding agent, with plan mode, subagents, and MCP.
| Fact | Harness | Harness |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Harness | Harness |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Source | Open source | Closed source |
| License | Apache-2.0 | proprietary |
| Pricing | Freemium · Free · Google AI Pro $19.99/mo · Google AI Ultra (5x) $100/mo · Google AI Ultra (20x) $200/mo · API key Pay as you go | Freemium · Copilot Free Free · Copilot Pro $10/mo · Copilot Business $19/mo · Copilot Enterprise $39/mo · Copilot Pro+ $39/mo · Copilot Max $100/mo |
| Model access | Your subscription, Your API key, Vendor credits | Your subscription, Your API key, Local models |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS, Linux, Windows |
| Interfaces | CLI, IDE extension | CLI, TUI |
| Install | npm install -g @google/gemini-cli | npm install -g @github/copilot |
| GitHub | ★ 107k · checked 2026-10-18 | ★ 11.3k · checked 2026-10-18 |
| Last verified | 2026-10-18 | 2026-10-18 |
| Worktrees | ✓ | ? |
| Parallel agents | ? | ✓ |
| Subagents | ✓ | ✓ |
| MCP | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remote access | ? | ? |
| Cloud sandbox | ? | ✗ |
| Diff review | ? | ? |
| Plan mode | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ yes ✗ no ? not verified yet
How we check facts More head to heads