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GitHub Copilot Pricing 2026: Plans and AI Credits
GitHub Copilot has a free plan, then Pro at $10 a month, Pro+ at $39 and Max at $100, all per user. Inline code suggestions are unlimited on the paid plans, while chat and agent work draw on a monthly allowance of AI credits worth one US cent each. Older guides talk about "premium requests"; the GitHub pages opened for this guide use AI credits instead.
Prices and features checked on 7 November 2026.
This guide is for owners and marketers of local businesses who wonder whether a coding assistant is worth paying for. It covers what each plan costs, what the credits are, what happens when they run out, and where the tool fits. Every number comes from GitHub's own pages, listed in Sources.
Copilot plan prices
$0→
Free plan per month
2,000 completions a month
$10→
Pro plan per month
1,500 AI credits a month
$39→
Pro+ plan per month
7,000 AI credits a month
$100→
Max plan per month
20,000 AI credits a month
Source: GitHub Copilot plans page and GitHub Docs, opened 7 November 2026
How Much Does GitHub Copilot Cost?
GitHub's plans page lists four individual plans, all with monthly prices only. No annual price appeared on the page.
| Plan | Price | Monthly AI credits (GitHub Docs) | What the plans page adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | An allowance, amount not stated | 2,000 completions a month, entry-level models, agent mode and Copilot CLI included |
| Pro | $10 per user a month | 1,000 base + 500 flex = 1,500 | Unlimited inline suggestions, Copilot in the cloud, code review, model selection |
| Pro+ | $39 per user a month | 3,900 base + 3,100 flex = 7,000 | Everything in Pro, premium models including Opus, audit logs, "4x+ included usage than Pro" |
| Max | $100 per user a month | 10,000 base + 10,000 flex = 20,000 | Everything in Pro+, priority access to new models, "2.9x+ included usage than Pro+" |
A Student plan is free for verified students, with an allowance of credits and auto model selection only. Verified teachers and maintainers of popular open-source projects may also qualify for free Pro access. Business and Enterprise plans exist for organizations and are not covered here.
1 credit = $0.01
GitHub counts Copilot usage in AI credits worth one US cent each, so the $10 Pro plan carries $15 of total credits
The flex part of the allowance is described as able to change as AI costs change. Code completions and next edit suggestions do not use credits.
GitHub Copilot plans page and GitHub Docs, opened 7 November 2026
What Are AI Credits and What Happens When They Run Out?
GitHub Docs says the cost of a request depends on the model and the number of tokens used. Longer conversations, agentic features and more capable models use more credits. Base credits are used first, then the flex allotment. Unused credits are forfeited: the allowance resets at 00:00 UTC on the first day of each calendar month, whatever the billing date.
Credits apply to Copilot Chat, Copilot CLI, the cloud agent, Spaces, Spark and third-party coding agents. Completions and next edit suggestions are not billed in credits.
When an individual's allowance is used up, there are three routes:
- Upgrade. Pay only the price difference to the next tier. Usage earlier in the cycle counts toward the new allowance.
- Set an extra-usage budget. Pay by the dollar for more credits. The page notes this may be capped.
- Wait. The allowance returns next month.
Extra usage "is billed after it occurs". Usage from the last days before cancelling must still be paid. The same page says paid plans get 10% off model costs when using auto model selection in Copilot Chat or the cloud agent.
What Is GitHub Copilot and How Does It Work?
GitHub Docs describes Copilot as "an AI assistant that helps you write, understand, and ship software." It has an assistive side, which suggests code and answers questions while you work, and an agentic side, where you describe a goal and Copilot works through several steps. The docs also describe an agent that can research a repository, make changes and prepare a pull request for your review.
That last point matters for non-developers. Copilot lives where code lives: inside a code editor or on GitHub. The pages opened did not describe a chat-to-website builder, so a person with no GitHub account or editor will find it less direct than the app builders in this batch, such as Lovable or Bolt.new.
Which Models Does Copilot Offer?
The plans page lists the same 35 models on every plan, including Free, from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI, Microsoft and others. Examples shown include Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Opus 5.5, GPT-6.1 Sol, Gemini 4 Argon and Grok 4.7. The Free plan note says access is to entry-level models, and the Docs add that Free and Student use auto model selection only.
Model names move quickly, and a name on a list does not mean every plan can use it without limit. Credits are spent faster on bigger models. Check the live list when signing up.
What Can a Small Business Use It For?
These are possibilities, not results. Copilot helps with code and text files, so the jobs are small ones that touch a website or a spreadsheet:
- Editing the text, opening hours or prices in a simple site's files.
- Explaining what a snippet from a booking widget or tracking tag does.
- Drafting a small script that tidies a list of customer records or merges two spreadsheets.
- Asking for a plain-language summary of a code change a freelancer made.
Someone still has to read and test the output before it goes live. If the real goal is a quick landing page without an editor, the Cursor walkthrough shows a similar editor-based route, and the AI automation guide covers non-code options.
What Would It Cost? A Worked Example
This is an assumption using only published prices. A salon owner tests Copilot for three months to adjust a small website.
| Line | Assumption | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | One month to try it | $0 |
| Pro plan | Two months at $10 | $20 |
| Pro+ plan | One month at $39 if the credits run out | $39 |
| Total | $59 |
The pages opened give no number of tasks per credit, so how far 1,500 credits go cannot be stated. Because unused credits are forfeited each month, it is cheaper to start small and upgrade only after hitting the limit.
What Are the Risks and Limits?
- Allowance, not unlimited. Chat and agent work is metered in credits, and the Free allowance amount is not stated.
- Extra usage bills later. Spending above the allowance is billed after it occurs, so set a budget.
- Features by plan. The plans page lists cloud agent, code review and assigning work to Copilot as not included on Free.
- Not on individual plans. Enterprise security, IP indemnity, SAML single sign-on, usage metrics and user management on github.com are listed as not included on individual plans.
- Review. GitHub's own wording is that Copilot prepares changes "for your review". Treat them as drafts.
This guide did not open GitHub's data and privacy terms for individual plans, so what is stored or used for training is not stated here. Read them before pasting customer data into chat.
How Does Copilot Compare With the Other AI Tools?
Only facts confirmed on each vendor's own page on 7 November 2026 are shown. "Not confirmed" means the page did not open or did not state it.
| Tool | Free option | Lowest paid price confirmed | Kind | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Not included on Free plan | Pro $20 a month ($17 on annual billing) | Coding agent: terminal, editors, desktop app, web | Claude Code guide |
| OpenAI Codex | Free plan with quick coding tasks | Go $8 a month, Plus $20 a month | Coding agent: desktop app, web, CLI, IDE extension | Codex guide |
| Meta Muse Code | None listed on the pages opened | Everyday Usage $5 a month | Coding agent: terminal and CI | Muse Code guide |
| Grok Build | Not confirmed | Not confirmed (x.ai pricing page returned an error) | Coding agent: terminal; web and mobile per xAI post | Grok Build guide |
| Google Antigravity | Individuals plan at $0 | Google AI Pro, $19.99 a month per Google's plan page calculator | Coding agent: desktop app | Antigravity guide |
| Cursor | Free, limited usage | Plus $8 a month | AI code editor | Cursor guide |
| GitHub Copilot | Free: 2,000 completions a month | Pro $10 a month | Assistant inside editors and GitHub | Copilot guide |
| Windsurf (Devin Desktop) | Free, $0, light agent quota | Pro $20 a month | AI code editor | Windsurf guide |
| Replit Agent | Starter, free, daily Agent credits with a monthly cap | Core $20 a month ($18 billed annually) | App builder from chat, with publishing | Replit guide |
| Lovable | Free: 5 daily credits, up to 30 a month | Pro from $25 a month ($21 billed annually) | App builder from chat, Git sync | Lovable guide |
| Bolt.new | Free: 1M tokens a month, 300K a day | Pro $25 a month | App builder from chat, built-in hosting | Bolt.new guide |
Copilot's $10 Pro plan sits between Cursor Plus at $8 and the $20 entry plans of Claude Code and Windsurf. Pro+ and Max are the tiers for heavy agent use. The other tool in this batch that sells credits directly is Replit Agent, and Windsurf is the closest editor rival.
FAQ
Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes, there is a Free plan at $0. GitHub's page says it is limited to 2,000 completions and entry-level models per month, and it includes agent mode and Copilot CLI. It has an allowance of AI credits whose size is not stated. Verified students can use the free Student plan.
How much does GitHub Copilot cost per month?
Pro is $10 per user, Pro+ is $39 and Max is $100. The plans page shows monthly prices only. Business and Enterprise plans are separate and priced per organization.
What are premium requests in Copilot?
Older guides use that term. The GitHub pages opened on 7 November 2026 describe AI credits instead, where one credit equals $0.01, and do not mention premium requests. Pro includes 1,500 credits a month, Pro+ 7,000 and Max 20,000.
What happens when Copilot credits run out?
You can upgrade and pay the price difference, set a dollar budget for additional usage, or wait until the allowance resets on the first of the month at 00:00 UTC. Unused credits do not carry over.
Is GitHub Copilot worth it for a small business?
It depends on who edits the site. It suits an owner or freelancer who already works in a code editor. Without that, a chat-based builder may be simpler. The Free plan costs nothing, so test there first.
Sources
Opened on 7 November 2026:
- GitHub Copilot plans, github.com/features/copilot/plans
- Plans for GitHub Copilot, docs.github.com
- Usage-based billing for individuals, docs.github.com
- What is GitHub Copilot, docs.github.com
- Cursor pricing, cursor.com/pricing (comparison row)
Vendor pages for the other tools in the table are listed in their own guides. Third-party reviews were used only as leads and are not cited. The cost example is an assumption.
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Nataliia Rumiantsewa
Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.
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