Starting June 1, 2026, GitHub Copilot is moving from a premium-request model to a usage-based billing system. This change introduces GitHub AI Credits, which are consumed based on token usage across models. The shift aims to better align pricing with actual compute demands, especially as Copilot evolves into an agentic platform. In this Q&A, we break down what’s changing, why, and how you can prepare.
What exactly is changing with GitHub Copilot billing?
Beginning June 1, 2026, premium request units (PRUs) will be replaced by a new currency called GitHub AI Credits. Every Copilot plan—Free, Pro, Pro+, Business, and Enterprise—will receive a monthly allotment of these credits. Paid plan users can purchase additional credits if they exceed their allowance. Usage is calculated based on token consumption, including input, output, and cached tokens, using the published API rates for each model. For example, a long multi-step coding session will consume more credits than a quick chat question, making billing more proportional to actual resource usage. Code completions and Next Edit suggestions remain free and do not consume any credits.
Why is GitHub making this switch?
GitHub Copilot has evolved rapidly from a simple in-editor assistant into a powerful agentic platform. It can now run autonomous coding sessions spanning hours, iterate across entire repositories, and leverage the latest models. These advanced capabilities demand significantly more compute and inference resources. Under the old model, a short chat and a multi-hour session cost the same, forcing GitHub to absorb rising inference costs. This was not sustainable long-term. Usage-based billing fixes that by tying pricing directly to resource consumption. It ensures service reliability, reduces the need to throttle heavy users, and creates a fairer system where each user pays for what they actually use. As stated by GitHub, this change is “an important step toward a sustainable, reliable Copilot business.”
What pricing elements remain the same?
Despite the billing overhaul, base plan prices are unchanged. Copilot Pro remains $10/month, Pro+ at $39/month, Business at $19/user/month, and Enterprise at $39/user/month. Most importantly, code completions and Next Edit suggestions (the inline autocomplete features) are still included in all plans and do not consume any AI Credits. This means the core coding assistant experience that developers rely on daily continues without direct usage charges. Additionally, GitHub is rolling out a preview bill experience in early May 2026 on the Billing Overview page, giving users and admins a clear look at projected costs before the June 1 transition. This transparency aims to help teams budget and adjust usage patterns ahead of time.
What is the preview bill experience and when does it launch?
In early May 2026, GitHub will introduce a preview bill feature on the Billing Overview page (accessible via github.com). This tool will show users and administrators an estimate of their Copilot usage and projected costs under the new model, giving them several weeks to understand and adapt before the transition on June 1. The preview will display token consumption across models, current credit balance, and likely costs based on recent activity. This proactive measure helps prevent billing surprises and allows teams to set budget controls or adjust workflows. GitHub encourages all users to review this preview as soon as it becomes available, especially heavy users who may need to plan for additional credit purchases or implement admin budget limits.
What happens if a user runs out of AI Credits?
Under the old system, users who exhausted premium requests could fall back to a lower-cost model and continue working. That fallback experience will no longer be available after June 1, 2026. Instead, usage will be strictly governed by the remaining AI Credits and any admin-imposed budget controls. Paid plan users can purchase additional GitHub AI Credits directly if they need more capacity. For organizations, administrators have the ability to set spending limits and monitor usage through the billing dashboard. If credits are exhausted and no additional purchases are configured, Copilot will stop processing requests until the next billing cycle or until more credits are added. GitHub recommends that heavy users enable auto-purchase of credits or set appropriate budgets to avoid interruptions. The preview bill experience in May will help estimate needs ahead of time.
How does Copilot code review billing change?
Copilot code review—the feature that analyzes pull requests and suggests improvements—will now consume both GitHub AI Credits and GitHub Actions minutes. The AI Credits cover the token-based inference cost, while the Actions minutes account for the compute time required to run review workflows. These minutes are billed at the same per-minute rates as other GitHub Actions workflows. This dual-cost model reflects the fact that code review is both an AI inference operation and a compute-intensive process. Teams should factor in both types of usage when estimating their total monthly Copilot costs. As with other features, code completions and Next Edit suggestions remain free and unaffected.
What temporary changes were announced for Copilot plans?
In preparation for the usage-based billing transition, GitHub implemented temporary measures last week. For individual plans (Free, Pro, Pro+, and Student), usage limits were adjusted to improve reliability and performance. Additionally, self-serve purchases of Copilot Business plans were paused to ensure a smooth migration to the new billing system. These changes are meant to stabilize the platform and prevent overload as GitHub finalizes the credit-based model. Once usage-based billing is fully implemented, GitHub plans to loosen these temporary usage caps. Users on affected plans may experience slight limits on premium request counts until the June 1 transition, but core features like code completions remain available. GitHub advises enterprises to contact their sales team for Business plan access during this temporary pause.