GitHub Copilot Moves to Token Billing in June 2026
GitHub will begin charging Copilot customers according to real usage from June 1, 2026. This replaces the old system based on premium request limits. The change uses new GitHub AI Credits to measure tokens for input, output, and cached data. Costs follow each model's API rates.
Details of the New System
Subscription prices hold steady across plans. Copilot Pro costs $10 per month. Pro+ runs $39 per month. Business pricing sits at $19 per user per month. Enterprise comes in at $39 per user per month. Every plan supplies credits equal to its fee value. Code completions use no credits at all.
Business accounts gain bonus credits from June through August 2026. This helps smooth the move to the new model.
GitHub offers a preview invoice in early May 2026. Customers can review charges before they take effect.
Reasons Behind the Change
Mario Rodriguez, GitHub's Chief Product Officer, explained the update in a company blog post. He noted differences in compute expenses for various tasks. "Today, a short chat question can cost the user just as much as an autonomous coding session lasting several hours," Rodriguez wrote.
The shift addresses uneven costs from agentic features, where simple queries match long sessions in expense.
Additional GitHub Announcements
In March 2026, GitHub revealed plans to train AI models with data from Free, Pro, and Pro+ users. This starts April 24, 2026. Users must opt out if they do not want their interaction data used.
Background on GitHub Copilot
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GitHub, bought by Microsoft in 2018 for $7.5 billion, hosts millions of code repositories worldwide. It launched Copilot in technical preview back in 2021. The tool went general availability for individuals in 2022. Copilot suggests code lines and functions based on context. It powers up with models from OpenAI.
Plans serve different needs. Pro suits individuals. Pro+ adds advanced features. Business and Enterprise target teams with admin controls and security.
Token billing matches trends in AI services. Providers like OpenAI and Anthropic charge per token. Input tokens count prompts. Output tokens cover responses. Cached tokens speed repeats at lower cost.
GitHub positions Copilot as core to developer workflows. Over 1 million paid users subscribe as of recent reports. The service integrates into VS Code, Visual Studio, and GitHub's web editor.
Implications for Users
Developers face no price hikes on base plans. Credits cover typical use matching current spend. Heavy agentic users may see bills rise with long sessions. Light chat users stay unaffected.
Businesses benefit from transition credits. This covers summer 2026 fully for many. Opt-out for data training offers privacy choice.
Preview invoices let teams plan budgets. GitHub stresses transparency in the blog post.
Copilot evolved from early experiments. GitHub trained initial versions on public code with permissions. Partnerships with OpenAI drove growth. Microsoft integration boosted adoption.
The billing update aligns costs with backend expenses. Models vary in price per token. Advanced ones cost more for complex tasks.
Users track credits via dashboards soon. GitHub promises clear reporting.
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