Pricing · 2026
GitHub Copilot pricing (2026): Free, Pro, Pro+, Max, Business — and the credit meter
Pro is $10. Pro+ is $39. Business is $19 a seat. Completions stay unlimited on paid plans. Chat and agents draw GitHub AI Credits. The expensive mistake is treating $10 as unlimited Claude — or buying Word Copilot by accident.
Gregory Greenstein, Aiacent
- Published
- Updated
- Pricing verified
- 14 min read
- How we rank
GitHub Copilot
8.2/10Best in-editor coding default
The in-editor default — completions, chat, and agents where the repo already lives.
GitHub Copilot is still the coding assistant most teams already half-own. Completions and next-edit in VS Code, JetBrains, and neovim. Chat and agents in the editor and on github.com. If the leak is 'type less in the file I am already in,' start here. If the leak is 'an agent should own a branch,' you are on the Cursor page.
- Best for
- Teams that will not leave VS Code, JetBrains, or GitHub and needed the assistant that sits there.
- Skip if
- You wanted an AI-native editor, a terminal agent, or Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word.
Why it ranks
- Lives in the editor and the GitHub PR you already open
- Cheapest serious coding seat if completions are the leak
- Business and Enterprise are the path legal will actually sign
Watch-outs
- As an agent workspace, Cursor still feels like the product was built around the model
- 2026 usage credits mean chat and agents are not a flat 'unlimited' story
- Easy to confuse with Microsoft 365 Copilot — different product, different meeting
Product look
GitHub Copilot
Figure slot. No vendor screenshot until we have a rights-cleared file.
People search 'GitHub Copilot pricing' because they want the $10 number, or because finance asked why an agent workspace is $20 and this seat is $10. Those are different tickets. If you do not name whether you needed Tab in the IDE you will not leave, or an agent that owns a branch, you will buy Pro as a cheaper Cursor and still paste from ChatGPT, or sign Business because someone said Copilot and meant Word.
This is a cost page, not a model bake-off. Public list prices below were checked against GitHub's Copilot plans docs on 19 September 2026. They change. Flex allotments are designed to move. We do not invent a SWE-bench lab, an unpublished Max contract, or a partner URL. The full review is /tools/github-copilot. GitHub Copilot alternatives is the leave-the-seat guide. The coding ranking is the scored table. This is not Microsoft 365 Copilot.
GitHub Copilot cost in 2026, at a glance
| Plan | Public price | Included AI credits | What you are actually buying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | A limited allowance; 2,000 completions / month; auto model only | A taste of Tab. You will hit the wall. |
| Student / OSS / teachers | $0 if you qualify | An allowance (Student); some users get Pro free | Verified students, popular OSS maintainers, some teachers — not a loophole for the company laptop |
| Pro | $10 / month | 1,000 base + 500 flex = 1,500 / month | The honest individual Tab-and-chat seat |
| Pro+ | $39 / month | 3,900 base + 3,100 flex = 7,000 / month | Premium models and a heavier personal agent habit |
| Max | $100 / month | 10,000 base + 10,000 flex = 20,000 / month | Sustained high-volume individual use — not a default upgrade |
| Business | $19 / granted seat / month | 1,900 / user / month, pooled | Org policy, indemnity path, a shared credit pool |
| Enterprise | $39 / granted seat / month | 3,900 / user / month, pooled | GitHub Enterprise Cloud extras, larger pool, priority models |
- Base credits match the subscription and do not move. Flex is extra included usage GitHub says will adapt as model economics change. Read the current total before you promise 'unlimited chat.'
- Org promotional allowances (Business 3,000 / Enterprise 7,000) ran 1 June–1 September 2026. After that, the standard 1,900 / 3,900 pool is the plan. Do not budget the promo.
- Overage is $0.01 per credit once a budget is set. No budget, no silent surprise — usage stops or waits on the admin setting. We will not invent your org's cap.
- A personal Pro / Pro+ / Max seat cancels if you are assigned Business or Enterprise. GitHub prorates the leftover personal month.
- Copilot is not on GitHub Enterprise Server. If that is your host, this page is not your buyer guide.
Stay on Free if Tab is a curiosity
Free is real: limited completions (2,000 a month), a credit allowance, auto model selection, a thin agent story. It is how you find out whether you glance at the ghost text. It is not a work plan. If the wall is the completion cap and you still want this IDE, you are shopping Pro. If the wall is 'the agent should own the branch,' you are shopping Cursor — Copilot alternatives names that fork.
Buy Pro if completions in this IDE are the leak
Pro is the honest individual seat. Ten dollars. Unlimited completions and next-edit on paid. Chat and agents on 1,500 credits. A selection of models. That is enough for an engineer who lives in VS Code or JetBrains and wanted Tab without a new keymap.
Buy it when the file you are already in is the job. Skip Pro if you will live in an agent workspace — Cursor Pro is $20 and still the product that was built around the model. Skip it if you wanted a terminal agent on a messy repo (Claude Code). Skip it if someone said Copilot and meant Word (Microsoft 365, productivity ranking). Skip it if 1,500 credits will die in week one on premium-model chat — that is the Pro+ conversation, not a reason to pretend $10 is Max.
- Best for: individuals who will not leave VS Code, JetBrains, or neovim and needed Tab plus light chat
- Skip if: the agent is the workflow, the repo is a terminal job, or you meant Microsoft 365
- Honest watch-out: 1,500 credits is not 'unlimited everything.' Daily agent users should read the meter before they defend the $10 story in a staff meeting.
Pro+ and Max are power-user bills
Pro+ is $39 — the same band as Copilot Business, for one person, with 7,000 credits and premium-model access. Buy it when Pro's meter is the weekly complaint and you can show the wall. Do not buy it because a blog said 'serious developers get Pro+.'
Max is $100 and 20,000 credits. GitHub positions it as sustained high-volume individual use and priority premium models. If you are asking whether Pro is enough, you are not a Max buyer. Prove the Pro or Pro+ wall first. Cursor and Claude Max exist; this is not the only way to spend $100 on an agent.
Business and Enterprise are the company seats
Business is $19 a granted seat: policy, content exclusion, audit-shaped controls, a 1,900-credit pool per user, premium models. This is the path legal will actually sign. Buy it when several people Tab in the org IDE and someone has to set the rules. Do not buy it because Pro felt lonely and a deck said 'scale.'
Enterprise is $39 a seat on GitHub Enterprise Cloud: larger pool (3,900), priority models, the extras that ride the enterprise host. It is not a darker Business you pick because $19 felt cheap. If you are not on Enterprise Cloud, you are not in this row.
Copilot cost versus the seats people actually mean
Versus Cursor (Pro about $20): Cursor wins when the editor is the agent. Copilot wins Tab in the IDE you will not leave, at half the sticker, with a GitHub-native PR loop. Daily agent users should not assume $10 is cheaper than $20 — credits and Cursor's usage pools both exist. The coding ranking is the scored version.
Versus Claude Code (rides Claude Pro / Max / Team): Claude Code wins a careful agent on a messy repo from the terminal. Copilot wins completions while you type. Treating Claude Code as Copilot-but-Anthropic is how you buy Max and still miss Tab.
Versus ChatGPT Plus ($20): Plus is a snippet tab. Copilot is in the file. Buying only Plus because $10 felt like a fad is how you keep pasting. Many people keep both.
What we are not pricing
- A coding-bench lab. We did not run 400-repo bake-offs or invent a review count.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot. Word, Outlook, Teams. Different product, different invoice, productivity ranking.
- A fake Impact or PartnerStack URL. Until a real partner link is set, the CTA goes to GitHub.
- Per-model credit rates as a frozen table. They move. GitHub's usage docs are the source of truth.
Most 'what does Copilot cost' tickets are a Pro ticket, a Business ticket, or a Cursor ticket. The pricing page is doing too much work if you have not named the IDE job.— Aiacent pricing, 2026
Verdict
Tab in the IDE you will not leave: Pro, then Business when policy is the job. Premium-model chat that kills Pro's meter: Pro+ after you can show the wall. Sustained individual volume: Max is a $100 decision, not a vibe. Enterprise Cloud extras: Enterprise. The agent is the workflow: do not stretch Pro — Cursor is the seat. The repo is a terminal pile: Claude Code. Someone said Copilot and meant Word: Microsoft 365. Then read GitHub Copilot alternatives if you are trying not to buy it, and the coding ranking if you want the scores next to Cursor and Claude Code.