Introduction
GitHub has announced a significant shift in how its AI-powered coding assistant, Copilot, will be billed. Starting June 1, 2026, all Copilot plans will move from a premium request model to a usage-based system. This change aims to align costs more closely with actual usage, ensuring long-term sustainability and reliability. Developers and organizations should prepare for the new billing structure, which will use GitHub AI Credits based on token consumption.
What’s New: From Premium Requests to AI Credits
The current premium request unit (PRU) system will be replaced entirely by GitHub AI Credits on June 1, 2026. Instead of counting requests, every plan will include a monthly allotment of credits. Paid plans will have the option to purchase additional credits for overage. This adjustment reflects the evolving nature of how Copilot is used—from simple in-editor completions to complex, multi-step agentic tasks.
How Credits Are Calculated
Credits are consumed based on token usage, which includes input tokens, output tokens, and cached tokens. The token consumption will be billed according to the published API rates for each model. This ensures that heavier usage—such as long autonomous coding sessions—incurs higher costs, while quick queries remain inexpensive.
What Stays the Same
Key aspects of Copilot remain unchanged. Base plan pricing will not increase: Copilot Pro stays at $10 per month, Pro+ at $39, Business at $19 per user per month, and Enterprise at $39 per user per month. Additionally, code completions and Next Edit suggestions will continue to be included in all plans without consuming AI Credits. This means routine auto-completions remain free.
Why the Shift to Usage-Based Billing?
GitHub’s decision addresses the mismatch between usage and pricing in the old model. Copilot has matured from a simple assistant into an agentic platform that can run long, autonomous coding sessions using the latest models across entire repositories. Agentic usage is growing rapidly, and it brings significantly higher compute and inference demands.
The Evolution of Copilot
Under the premium request model, a quick chat question and a multi-hour autonomous coding session cost the same. GitHub had been absorbing the escalating inference costs, but that approach became unsustainable. Usage-based billing corrects this by pricing each token, so heavy users pay proportionally more, while light users benefit from lower costs.
Sustainability and Reliability
This new model helps GitHub maintain long-term service reliability. By linking costs directly to resource consumption, the company reduces the need to gate heavy users or impose arbitrary limits. It also creates a sustainable business model that can support continued investment in Copilot’s capabilities.
Details of the New Model
Several important details accompany this transition. Below are the key points developers and administrators need to know.
Pricing and Plan Impact
Base plan prices remain unchanged. However, because credits are now consumed per token, users will see variable monthly costs depending on their usage patterns. GitHub will provide tools to help monitor and forecast expenses. A preview bill experience launching in May 2026 will give visibility into projected costs.
Code Completions and Fallback Removal
While code completions remain free, the fallback experience will be eliminated. Today, when users exhaust their PRUs, Copilot automatically switches to a lower-cost model. Under the new system, once credits are consumed, usage stops unless additional credits are purchased or admin budgets allow it. Users must manage their credits carefully.
Copilot Code Review and Actions Minutes
Copilot code review will now also consume GitHub Actions minutes in addition to AI Credits. These minutes are billed at the same per-minute rates as other GitHub Actions workflows. This means users should factor in both token and actions costs when planning code reviews.
Preparing for the Transition
GitHub is helping customers prepare with a preview bill experience and temporary adjustments to plan limits.
Preview Bill Experience
In early May 2026, GitHub will launch a preview bill feature. Users and admins can access it from their Billing Overview page after logging in to github.com. This tool will display estimated costs based on current usage patterns, allowing teams to budget and adjust before the June 1 cutover.
Temporary Adjustments
Last week, GitHub implemented temporary changes to Copilot Individual plans—Free, Pro, Pro+, and Student—and paused self-serve purchases of Copilot Business plans. These are reliability and performance measures as the company prepares for the broader transition. Usage limits will be eased once the usage-based billing system is fully operational.
Conclusion
GitHub Copilot’s shift to usage-based billing represents a fundamental change in how developers consume AI-powered coding assistance. By replacing premium requests with token-based AI Credits, the new model aligns costs with actual resource usage, ensures long-term sustainability, and supports the platform’s evolution into an agentic coding assistant. Developers and organizations should start monitoring their usage patterns now and take advantage of the preview billing experience in May to avoid surprises when the new system takes effect on June 1, 2026.