Why are some developers ditching GitHub Copilot for other AI coding tools?

Some developers are moving away from GitHub Copilot because they find it makes too many incorrect suggestions in large, complex codebases, and cheaper or more specialized alternatives often fit their workflow better. Copilot was the first tool to really nail AI-assisted coding, but it's not perfect. The main complaint I hear is about context. Copilot is great at finishing a line or writing a small function. But when you're working across multiple files with a custom framework, its suggestions can be wildly off-base. It guesses, and guessing wrong breaks your flow. A concrete example: a developer working on a Python data pipeline with custom libraries found Copilot kept hallucinating function names that didn't exist. They switched to Cursor, which indexes the entire project, and saw far fewer errors. Other tools like Amazon CodeWhisperer are free for individual use and deeply integrated with AWS services, which is a no-brainer if you're already in that ecosystem. Then there's the pricing. GitHub Copilot costs $10/month for individuals. For a junior dev or a student, that adds up, especially when free options like Codeium offer similar line-completion features. The shift isn't about one tool being 'bad.' It's about developers realizing that AI coding tools are not interchangeable. The best one depends on your stack, your project size, and how much you're willing to pay for context awareness. **Related**: Is Cursor better than GitHub Copilot for Python? | What are the best free AI coding assistants in 2025?