AI tools compared – Coding: Auto-complete & IDE integration

Welcome back to our AI article series!

Following on from the previous chapters in our AI article series – including basics, research, text generation, image generation, video generation, and language processing – we now turn our attention to a particularly exciting field: AI-supported software development. In this sub-series, we highlight how AI tools are changing everyday programming, accelerating development processes, and making it easier to get started with coding.

To make the diversity of applications more tangible, we have divided the AI & Coding section into four compact individual articles.

• Auto-completion & IDE integration (this is what we will be discussing in this article)
• Web- and cloud-based coding environments
• Dialog-based wizards for programming
• Pair programming & explanatory AI

In this first article, we introduce AI tools that integrate directly into classic development environments – i.e., IDE editors such as VS Code, JetBrains, Eclipse, or browser-based editors. The main function of these tools is to offer intelligent code completion, recognize context, suggest useful lines of code, and, in some cases, generate entire functions. This not only saves time but also helps to avoid errors early on.

We are deliberately focusing here on the leading tools in this category – GitHub Copilot, Amazon Q Developer (formerly CodeWhisperer), Tabnine (formerly Codota), and Windsurf Plugin (formerly Codeium) – and comparing them in terms of functionality, integration, licensing model, and use cases. This makes it easier to find out which tool best suits your own workflows.

Who is GitHub Copilot suitable for?

GitHub Copilot is suitable for developers of all experience levels, especially those using VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, or Neovim. It supports individuals and teams in writing, testing, and refactoring code, and is particularly helpful for frequent programmers and developers working with large codebases.

Terms of use & tips

Copilot works best in common programming languages such as JavaScript, Python, TypeScript, or Go. The completions adapt to existing code contexts. To get the most out of Copilot, you should write precise function names and comments. The integrated chat also provides explanations, test ideas, or code translations.

Legal aspects & data protection

Code is sent to OpenAI for analysis and, according to GitHub, is not used for model training. Companies with high data protection requirements should use Copilot Enterprise, which runs on Azure servers and does not store user queries. Open source code from public repositories may appear in suggestions – its use in sensitive projects should be reviewed.

Summary of the advantages and disadvantages of GitHub Copilot
 

Who is Amazon Q Developer suitable for?

Amazon Q Developer is aimed at developers who regularly work with AWS services or value code suggestions with security and license checks. Particularly suitable for cloud development, DevOps, and larger engineering teams in the AWS context.

Terms of use & tips

The tool can be integrated into Visual Studio Code or JetBrains IDEs via an extension and supports multiple languages such as Python, Java, JavaScript, and TypeScript. In addition to code completion, it also offers analysis functions, a conversation view (“Q Chat”), and access to AWS documentation and error explanations directly in the IDE.

Legal aspects & data protection

Since Amazon Q Developer is operated via the AWS infrastructure, the data protection guidelines of Amazon Web Services apply. Users should note that entered content may be analyzed to improve suggestions, depending on the settings. For data-sensitive projects, we recommend using the Pro version, which offers more granular control.

Advantages and disadvantages of Amazon Q Developer summarized
 

Who is Tabnine suitable for?

Tabnine is aimed at developers who need a powerful AI assistant with strong control over data protection and context. It is ideal for individuals, teams, and organizations with compliance requirements, especially in corporate environments connected to Jira or repository systems.

Terms of use & tips

We recommend IDE integration via plugins in VS Code, IntelliJ, Eclipse, Neovim, etc. Clear project structuring and commenting leads to better suggestions. In the Enterprise model, private deployments including IP indemnification are possible. AI chat and agents will be available in all plans in the future.

Data protection & legal aspects

Tabnine does not store user-related code by default – even enterprise users can benefit from enterprise instances. Models are trained with open source license code, and Tabnine provides attribution and license referencing for suggestions.

Advantages and disadvantages of Tabnine summarized
 

Who is Windsurf Plugin suitable for?

The plugin is aimed at developers who want powerful AI support without a subscription and want to stay in their familiar IDE. For teams with compliance or security requirements, we recommend Windsurf Editor or Enterprise access, as these offer features such as Cascade, Flows, and on-premise hosting.

Terms of use & tips

The plugin can be used in VS Code, JetBrains, Vim/Neovim, and others. Clearly commented context improves suggestions. The plugin lacks certain agent functions (e.g., Cascade) that are available in the standalone Windsurf Editor. The editor offers terminal features, deployment via prompt, intelligent chat flows, and an AI-native environment.

Rechtliche Aspekte & Datenschutz

Plugin use sends code to Windsurf servers for processing; storage is anonymous and temporary. In enterprise scenarios, the Enterprise Plan enables on-premise deployment and complete control over code analysis. License-like suggestions are flagged. Detailed guidelines are available on the Windsurf homepage.

Advantages and disadvantages of Windsurf Plugin summarized
 

AI-based autocomplete tools and IDE integration are permanently changing everyday programming. They provide support for code completion, debugging, documentation, and even test generation – directly in the editor and often in real time. While GitHub Copilot relies on GPT-4 and seamless GitHub and Microsoft integration for particularly intuitive operation and broad language comprehension, Amazon Q Developer (formerly CodeWhisperer) combines auto-completion with extensive help functions and a strong focus on cloud-based workflows in AWS development.

Tabnine, on the other hand, is specifically aimed at companies with data protection requirements and offers locally operable solutions, SSO, governance options, and team workflows with its own model control. Windsurf Plugin (formerly Codeium) scores with a particularly wide range of features, including access to GPT-4o, Claude, or Mistral, a variety of supported languages, inline chat in the editor, and free use without hard limits. For many users, Windsurf is an attractive alternative to paid tools, even beyond the open-source community.
 

These are our recommendations

• for everyday development with GitHub or VS Code: GitHub Copilot – powerful, established, well integrated

• for cloud-native developers with a focus on AWS: Amazon Q Developer – particularly helpful for infrastructure issues and cloud-specific workflows

• for teams with data protection, compliance, or governance needs: Tabnine – locally operable, customizable, with enterprise features

• for developers who want as many features and free model selection as possible: Windsurf Plugin – powerful functionality without a subscription requirement

Outlook

In the next article in our AI coding series, we will take a look at web- and cloud-based development environments: Tools such as Replit Ghostwriter and Gemini Code Assist enable AI-assisted programming directly in the browser – flexible, location-independent, and increasingly team-oriented.