GitHub shifts Copilot to usage-based billing, signaling a new cost model for enterprise AI tools
GitHub is moving its Copilot coding assistant to a usage-based billing model, replacing fixed subscription pricing with consumption-based charges as demand for AI-driven development workloads increases. The change, announced in a company blog, will take effect on June 1 and will apply to Copilot Pro, Pro+, Business, and Enterprise plans. Under the new model, usage will be measured through “AI credits,” reflecting the compute resources consumed during interactions with the service. “Today, we are announcing that all GitHub Copilot plans will transition to usage-based billing on June 1, 2026,” Mario Rodriguez, GitHub’s Chief Product Officer, wrote in the blog post. “Instead of counting premium requests, every Copilot plan will include a monthly allotment of GitHub AI Credits, with the option for paid plans to purchase additional usage.” There will be no change to base subscription prices, and every plan will include a monthly allotment of credits matched to its price, and once that allot