GitHub Copilot

The GitHub coding assistant, not Microsoft Copilot

by GitHub

Overview

GitHub Copilot is the assistant that made AI code completion normal. Announced in 2021 and sold by subscription since, it began with line and function completion in the editor and now covers chat, an agent mode that edits across files, code review and pull request summaries, a command line tool and a cloud agent that works on issues and pull requests.

It runs in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim and more, and which features and which models you get depends on the plan, the client and your organisation's policy - Free and Student accounts currently take the automatically selected model rather than choosing one. Billing on personal accounts moved to AI Credits on 1 June 2026, metered by token and model at 1 credit = $0.01 and resetting monthly without rollover: chat, agents and other AI interactions consume the included allowance, while code completions and next edit suggestions on paid plans are not billed as AI Credits, and extra use is a separate budget setting.

Free includes a monthly completion allowance with limited AI usage; Pro, Pro+ and Max are $10, $39 and $100 a month with 1,000, 3,900 and 10,000 credits plus a currently variable Flex allowance, so the totals in circulation today are 1,500, 7,000 and 20,000 rather than fixed extras; Business and Enterprise are $19 and $39 per seat a month with shared organisation pools. By default requests run through GitHub's hosted service, and a bring-your-own-key configuration is available for clients that support it, letting a local model or another provider do the work without a Copilot subscription - that is a client-side setup rather than a self-hostable GitHub service, and Enterprise BYOK still goes through the Copilot API with a licence and connectivity.

Training policy depends on the account type: for Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max, interactions and code context may be used to improve the models from 24 April 2026, with an opt-out in account settings, while Business and Enterprise do not use customer data for training without authorisation.

Editor's take

Worth considering when you want to keep the editors you already support and add completion, chat or agent workflows, with GitHub managing seats and the pull request side - availability differs by editor and plan rather than being uniform. Two things to budget rather than assume: AI interactions draw on the included credits, with extra use under a budget you set, and the plan is a usage allowance rather than unlimited agent work. Data terms also differ by account: personal plans may use interactions and code context for model improvement with an opt-out, while Business and Enterprise do not train on customer data without authorisation.

Our reading of who this suits, based on the sources above. Opinion, offered to help you decide - not a lab result.

Direct comparisons

Key Features

Code completion for lines, functions and next edit suggestions
Copilot Chat for questions about the code
Agent mode that edits across files, with a CLI and a cloud agent
Code review and pull request summaries
Editor and IDE support across VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs and Neovim
Plans from Free to Business and Enterprise, with shared organisation credit pools

Use Cases

Writing boilerplate faster
Reviewing pull requests
Learning new APIs and languages
Automating repetitive edits

Pros

✓In-editor experience that keeps the editor you already use
✓Wide language and IDE support, with a published feature matrix for the differences
✓Code review and pull requests sit in the same place as the code
✓Paid-plan code completions and next edit suggestions are not billed as AI Credits
✓A bring-your-own-key option exists for clients that support it

Cons

✕AI interactions - chat, agents and similar - consume the included credits, and extra use is a further budget
✕Which models you can choose and which features exist depend on the plan, the client and organisation policy, and Free or Student accounts do not choose models
✕Completion, chat and agent features are not identical across editors: Neovim has completion but no chat or agent mode
✕Personal accounts' interactions and code context may be used for model improvement with an opt-out, while Business and Enterprise are different - and neither is a zero-retention promise
✕Bring-your-own-key is a client-side setup with its own feature and IDE support to check, and Enterprise BYOK still uses the Copilot API

Frequently Asked Questions

Is GitHub Copilot free?

There is a free plan with 2,000 completions a month and limited AI usage, plus free access for verified students and popular open-source maintainers; Student is a separate eligibility plan. Pro is $10 a month. AI interactions on any plan draw on the included allowance, so the free plan is not unlimited chat.

How is it billed now?

Personal billing moved to AI Credits on 1 June 2026: 1 credit is $0.01, metered by token and model, resetting monthly without rollover, with extra use under a budget you control. Pro, Pro+ and Max are $10, $39 and $100 a month with 1,000, 3,900 and 10,000 credits plus a Flex allowance that currently brings the totals to 1,500, 7,000 and 20,000 - Flex is not a permanent fixed entitlement. Business and Enterprise are $19 and $39 per seat with shared pools. Existing annual Pro and Pro+ subscriptions keep their old rules until they expire, so the old annual prices are not current new-purchase prices.

Which editors and models are supported?

VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim and others, but not identically - GitHub publishes a feature matrix, and Neovim has completion without chat or agent mode. Model choice also depends on the plan, the client and organisation policy, and Free and Student accounts use the automatically selected model.

Is my code used for training?

It depends on the account. For Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max, interactions and code context may be used to improve the models from 24 April 2026, and there is an opt-out in account settings. Business and Enterprise do not use customer data for training without authorisation. Neither is a zero-retention statement: data may still be transmitted and processed to run the service.

Does everything go to the cloud?

The default flow is hosted: requests go through GitHub's service, and Enterprise bring-your-own-key still goes through the Copilot API with a licence and connectivity. A BYOK configuration in clients that support it can use a local model or another provider without a Copilot subscription, and that is a client-side setup whose feature and IDE support needs checking rather than a self-hosted GitHub service.

Key facts and where they come from

PriceNot established: GitHub's individual billing page explicitly lists Copilot Pro US$10/month, Pro+ US$39/month and Max US$100/month, plus variable Flex allowances. Currency and published monthly amounts are established, while the applicable regional checkout, tax and account-specific Flex allowance remain unestablished; these are not presented as a universal payable quote.Source: GitHub - AI Credits and usage for individuals · GitHub Copilot plans
AvailabilityNot established: GitHub's Copilot-specific trade policy allows export to most destinations but prohibits sale/export to listed embargoed destinations without authorization. This is not the same as the broader GitHub cloud exceptions for Iran or Cuba; a positive per-client, per-plan country distribution policy remains unestablished.Source: GitHub - billing cycles for organisations and enterprises · GitHub Copilot feature matrix
Commercial useNot established: Copilot's governing terms depend on the purchase route. GitHub does not claim output ownership, but output may require third-party copyright or open-source licences and users must assess them; a universal commercial-output licence across individual, direct-business and Microsoft-purchased plans remains unestablished.Source: GitHub - managing Copilot policies · GitHub Copilot feature matrix
Training on your dataDocumented: From 24 April 2026, interactions and code context on Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max may be used to improve the models, with an opt-out in account settings; Business and Enterprise do not use customer data for training without authorisation. This is a training choice rather than a zero-retention guarantee.Source: GitHub - managing Copilot policies
API billingNot established: AI Credits meter Copilot interactions, and BYOK has client-specific routes; neither establishes a public generation API price or universal API inclusion in a seat.Source: GitHub - AI Credits and usage for individuals · GitHub - bring your own key
Export formatsNot established: Editor and feature support are documented, but exported code/package formats and portable output artefacts are not established in these records.Source: GitHub Copilot feature matrix
Usage limitsDocumented: Free includes 2,000 completions a month and limited AI usage; Pro, Pro+ and Max are $10, $39 and $100 per user a month with 1,000, 3,900 and 10,000 AI Credits plus a currently variable Flex allowance; Business and Enterprise are $19 and $39 per seat with shared organisation pools, and Enterprise requires GitHub Enterprise Cloud.Source: GitHub Copilot plans

Official sources

The vendor pages we read for the claims on this page, what each one states, and the day we read it.

GitHub - AI Credits and usage for individuals ↗
Individual billing explicitly lists Copilot Pro US$10/month, Pro+ US$39/month and Max US$100/month; 1 AI credit is US$0.01. Base allowances match subscription price, Flex is variable, included credits do not carry over and reset at 00:00 UTC on the first calendar day of each month. These public figures do not verify a particular regional checkout, tax or account's current Flex allotment. Historical registered scope read on 2026-09-23, not rechecked in full on 2026-10-15: Personal billing moved to AI Credits on 1 June 2026, metered by token and model at 1 credit = $0.01, resetting monthly without rollover; chat, agents and other AI interactions consume the included allowance while paid-plan code completions and next edit suggestions are not billed as AI Credits, and extra use is governed by a budget setting.
Read on October 15, 2026
GitHub - bring your own key ↗
A BYOK configuration in supported clients can use a local model or an external provider, including isolated environments and without a Copilot subscription; it is not a self-hostable GitHub service, and Enterprise BYOK still goes through the Copilot API with a licence and connectivity.
Read on September 23, 2026
GitHub - managing Copilot policies ↗
From 24 April 2026, interactions and code context on Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max may be used to improve the models, with an opt-out in account settings; Business and Enterprise do not use customer data for training without authorisation. This is a training choice rather than a zero-retention guarantee.
Read on September 23, 2026
GitHub - billing cycles for organisations and enterprises ↗
Seats are billed per user with a shared organisation credit pool; Enterprise is available only on GitHub Enterprise Cloud, and GitHub Enterprise Server does not support Copilot.
Read on September 23, 2026
GitHub Copilot plans ↗
Free includes 2,000 completions a month and limited AI usage; Pro, Pro+ and Max are $10, $39 and $100 per user a month with 1,000, 3,900 and 10,000 AI Credits plus a currently variable Flex allowance; Business and Enterprise are $19 and $39 per seat with shared organisation pools, and Enterprise requires GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
Read on September 23, 2026
GitHub Copilot feature matrix ↗
Which Copilot features are available in which editor and on which plan.
Read on September 23, 2026

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