Mastering GitHub Copilot’s Updated Plans: A Step-by-Step Guide

Overview

GitHub Copilot has recently introduced significant changes to its Individual plans to ensure service reliability and a predictable experience for existing subscribers. These changes include pausing new sign-ups for Pro, Pro+, and Student plans, tightening usage limits, and adjusting model availability. This guide explains why these updates were necessary, what they mean for you, and how to navigate them effectively. Whether you’re a current user trying to understand the new limits or a prospective user affected by the sign-up pause, you’ll find clear, actionable steps here.

The core reason for these changes is the rapid growth of agentic workflows. These long-running, parallelized sessions consume far more compute resources than the original plan structure anticipated. Without intervention, service quality would degrade for everyone. By reading this guide, you’ll learn how to check your usage, upgrade your plan if needed, and avoid common pitfalls.

Prerequisites

Before diving in, ensure you have the following:

• An active GitHub Copilot Individual subscription (Pro, Pro+, or Student).
• Access to Visual Studio Code with the Copilot extension installed (version 1.85 or later recommended).
• Familiarity with basic Copilot commands (e.g., inline suggestions, chat).
• Optional: Copilot CLI installed for command-line usage monitoring.
• Your GitHub account with billing permissions to view or modify subscriptions.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Understanding the Changes

GitHub Copilot now has two distinct usage limits: session limits and weekly (7 day) limits.

Session limits prevent overload during peak usage times. They are set so that most users won’t notice any impact. If you hit a session limit, you must wait until the usage window resets (usually a few minutes) to continue.

Weekly limits cap the total number of tokens you can consume over a rolling seven-day period. These were introduced specifically to control the high costs of parallelized, long-running agentic requests. Like session limits, they are designed to affect only a small minority of power users.

The key plan-specific changes include:

• New sign-ups paused: Pro, Pro+, and Student plans are no longer accepting new subscribers. Existing users can keep their plans.
• Tightened usage limits: Pro+ accounts now offer more than 5 times the limits of Pro. If you’re on Pro and need higher capacity, you can upgrade to Pro+.
• Model adjustments: Opus models (Opus 4.5, 4.6, and 4.7) are no longer available in the Pro plan. Pro+ retains Opus 4.7, but Opus 4.5 and 4.6 will be removed from Pro+ as well.

2. Checking Your Usage Limits

To avoid unexpected interruptions, regularly monitor your usage. GitHub Copilot now displays usage limits directly in VS Code and the Copilot CLI.

In VS Code:

• Open the Copilot chat panel.
• Look for the usage indicator in the bottom-right corner of the chat window (a small bar showing remaining session tokens and weekly tokens).
• Hover over the indicator to see precise numbers and reset times.

In Copilot CLI:

• Run gh copilot usage to view your current token consumption and limits.
• Use gh copilot usage --weekly for weekly limit details.

If you see that your weekly limit is nearly reached, consider upgrading your plan or spacing out your requests.

3. Upgrading Your Plan (If Needed)

If you’re on the Pro plan and frequently hit usage limits, upgrading to Pro+ might be the right move. Pro+ offers more than 5 times the limits of Pro.

To upgrade:

1. Go to your GitHub Billing settings.
2. Under “Copilot”, click “Change plan” next to your current subscription.
3. Select “GitHub Copilot Pro+” and confirm the upgrade.
4. Your new limits take effect immediately.

If the changes don’t work for you, you can cancel your subscription before May 20 and receive a refund for the remaining days. Visit the same Billing page and follow the cancellation instructions.

4. Managing Model Availability

With Opus models no longer available in Pro, you’ll need to adjust your model preferences if you relied on them. Here’s what you can do:

• If you’re on Pro, switch to using GPT-4 or Claude 3.5 Sonnet (both available). These models offer strong performance for most tasks.
• If you require Opus capabilities, upgrade to Pro+ where Opus 4.7 remains available. Note that Opus 4.5 and 4.6 will be removed from Pro+ soon, so you’ll be limited to the 4.7 version.
• Review GitHub’s changelog for future model updates.

5. Handling the Sign-Up Pause

If you’re not yet a Copilot Individual user and are affected by the pause, here are alternatives:

• Consider GitHub Copilot for Business or Enterprise plans, which are still open for new sign-ups.
• Wait for the pause to be lifted (GitHub has not announced a timeline, but it may reopen after infrastructure adjustments).
• If you’re a student, check if your institution offers Copilot through GitHub Education – some accounts may still be eligible.

Common Mistakes

Avoid these pitfalls to ensure a smooth experience:

• Ignoring usage indicators: Many users hit weekly limits without realizing it. Check the VS Code indicator or run gh copilot usage regularly.
• Assuming all models are equal: Pro users often try to force Opus usage, which now fails. Verify your plan’s model list before making requests.
• Not upgrading when needed: If you consistently run out of tokens, upgrading to Pro+ is cheaper than multiple plan switches later.
• Waiting until the last minute to cancel: The refund policy is generous, but you must cancel before May 20 to get a refund. Mark your calendar.
• Confusing session and weekly limits: Session limits reset quickly (minutes), while weekly limits reset after 7 days. Keep both in mind.

Summary

GitHub Copilot’s Individual plan changes—pausing new sign-ups, tightening usage limits, and adjusting model availability—are designed to protect service quality for existing users. By understanding the new session and weekly limits, monitoring your usage in VS Code or CLI, and upgrading to Pro+ if necessary, you can maintain a seamless experience. Remember that Opus models are now exclusive to Pro+, and refunds are available until May 20 if the changes disrupt your workflow. Stay informed by checking GitHub’s changelog and your billing settings regularly.