GitHub Copilot is the most widely used AI coding assistant, and it now comes in more flavors than it used to, with a free tier at one end and enterprise plans at the other. Since the introduction of premium requests, working out what you will actually pay has gotten a little more involved. This guide breaks down every Copilot plan in 2026, explains how the premium request system works, and helps you pick the tier that fits.
Quick answer: Copilot has a free tier for light use, Pro at around $10 per month for most individual developers, Pro+ at around $39 per month for heavy users who want every model, Business at around $19 per user per month, and Enterprise at around $39 per user per month. The paid plans include a monthly pool of premium requests for the most powerful models.
GitHub Copilot pricing at a glance
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Light or occasional use |
| Pro | ~$10/month | Most individual developers |
| Pro+ | ~$39/month | Heavy users who want every model |
| Business | ~$19/user/month | Teams |
| Enterprise | ~$39/user/month | Large orgs with deep GitHub integration |
Prices are current at the time of writing and GitHub updates them periodically, so confirm on the official pricing page before subscribing. Students, teachers, and maintainers of popular open-source projects can often get Pro for free.
GitHub Copilot Free
The free tier is a genuine way to use Copilot without paying, introduced to get more developers in the door. It is capped rather than full-featured, but it is enough to decide whether Copilot earns a place in your workflow.
What you get
Free includes a limited number of code completions per month and a set number of chat messages, with access to a choice of capable models. For a student, a weekend coder, or someone who only occasionally wants AI help, it covers the basics. The limits reset monthly, so light users may never need to pay.
Where it runs out
If you write code daily, the monthly completion and chat caps disappear quickly, since Copilot becomes something you lean on constantly once it is good. That is the point at which Pro starts to make sense, and at $10 per month it is an easy step up.
GitHub Copilot Pro
Pro, at around $10 per month or roughly $100 per year, is the plan most individual developers settle on. It removes the free tier’s tight caps and is the cheapest entry point among the major AI coding tools.
What you get
Pro gives you unlimited standard code completions, full Copilot Chat in your editor and on GitHub, and a monthly allowance of premium requests for the more powerful frontier models. It works across the major editors including VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, and Visual Studio, and includes the Copilot agent features for multi-step edits. For most people it is the sweet spot on price and capability.
Premium requests
Pro includes a monthly pool of premium requests, which are what you spend when you use the most capable models rather than the default one. Routine completions do not touch this pool, so typical use stays within it, but heavy use of the top models can exhaust it, at which point you either wait for the reset or pay a small per-request fee. The section below explains this in full.
GitHub Copilot Pro+
Pro+, at around $39 per month, is the heavy-user individual plan. It exists for developers who kept running down their premium request allowance on Pro and want room to use the best models freely.
Who it is for
Pro+ bundles a much larger premium request allowance, around six times that of Pro, plus access to the full lineup of available models including the most powerful ones as they launch. It suits developers who use AI heavily throughout the day and want the strongest models on tap without watching a meter. For lighter or average use it is overkill, and Pro is the better value.
GitHub Copilot Business and Enterprise
The two team plans add the controls and integration that organizations need before rolling Copilot out widely.
Business
Business, at around $19 per user per month, adds centralized license management, policy controls, and a guarantee that your code is not used to train models. It is the standard choice for most companies adopting Copilot across a team.
Enterprise
Enterprise, at around $39 per user per month, builds on Business with deeper GitHub platform integration, the largest premium request allowance, and features like the ability to tailor Copilot to your organization’s codebase and knowledge. It is aimed at large engineering organizations already standardized on GitHub.
How premium requests work
The part of Copilot pricing that confuses people most is premium requests. Every paid plan includes a monthly budget of them, and they are consumed when you use the more advanced models or agent features rather than the standard completion model.
Ordinary autocomplete and chat against the default model do not draw down your premium budget, so most everyday coding never hits the limit. The pool gets used when you deliberately switch to a top-tier frontier model or run heavier agent tasks. Each tier comes with a different allowance, growing from Pro through Pro+ to Enterprise, and once you exhaust it you can enable pay-as-you-go premium requests at a small per-request rate or simply fall back to the standard model until the next reset. The practical takeaway is that your bill only grows beyond the flat fee if you actively push the premium models hard.
Is GitHub Copilot worth it?
For almost any developer who codes regularly, Pro at around $10 per month is the easiest yes in this whole category, since it is the cheapest of the major tools and Copilot’s editor integration is mature and broad. Pro+ is worth the jump only if you genuinely use the strongest models all day and kept exhausting Pro’s allowance. The team plans earn their price through the policy controls and code privacy that companies require rather than through extra AI power.
If you are weighing Copilot against the alternatives rather than just choosing a plan, our GitHub Copilot review covers the experience, and our Cursor vs GitHub Copilot and Copilot vs Codeium comparisons weigh it against the main rivals.
Copilot pricing vs the alternatives
Copilot is the cheapest core plan among the big AI coding tools, which is part of why it is so widely adopted.
| Tool | Core plan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot Pro | ~$10/mo | Cheapest, broadest editor support |
| Cursor Pro | ~$20/mo | Agent-first dedicated editor |
| Windsurf | ~$15/mo | Credit-based usage |
Price is only part of the decision, since the editor experience differs a lot between them. Our Cursor pricing guide breaks down the closest paid competitor, and the best AI coding assistants roundup compares the whole field.
Frequently asked questions
Is GitHub Copilot free? There is a free tier with limited monthly completions and chat messages. Students, teachers, and popular open-source maintainers can also get Copilot Pro at no cost.
How much is Copilot Pro? Around $10 per month or roughly $100 per year, which unlocks unlimited standard completions, full chat, and a monthly premium request allowance.
What are premium requests? A monthly budget, included with every paid plan, that you spend when using the most powerful models or agent features. Standard completions do not use it, so most everyday work stays within the allowance.
What is the difference between Pro and Pro+? Pro+ costs around $39 per month and includes roughly six times the premium request allowance plus access to every model. It suits heavy daily users; most developers are fine on Pro.
Does Copilot use my code for training? On the Business and Enterprise plans your code is contractually not used for training, which is a key reason companies choose those tiers.
The bottom line
Copilot’s pricing ladder is simple: a free tier to try it, Pro at around $10 per month for nearly every individual developer, Pro+ at around $39 per month only for heavy all-day users of the top models, and Business and Enterprise for teams that need controls and code privacy. Premium requests are the one wrinkle, but since standard completions do not touch them, most developers comfortably stay within the flat fee. At $10 per month, Pro remains the best-value entry point in AI-assisted coding.
