Microsoft meters GitHub Copilot usage

GitHub said on April 27 that all GitHub Copilot plans will move to usage-based billing on June 1, 2026. (github.blog) Instead of counting “premium requests,” Copilot will meter usage through GitHub AI Credits tied to tokens sent to and generated by the model. (github.blog) (docs.github.com) GitHub’s billing math now counts three token buckets: input tokens, output tokens, and cached tokens, which are reused context. (docs.github.com) The company says each token is priced by model, then converted into AI credits, with 1 GitHub AI Credit set at $0.01. (docs.github.com) GitHub said monthly Copilot plan prices are not changing on June 1, but each plan will include a monthly allotment of AI Credits instead of request limits. (github.blog) Paid plans will be able to buy additional usage, and GitHub said a billing preview will appear in early May on the Billing Overview page. (github.blog) For organizations, GitHub’s documentation says Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise usage will be billed the same way: by model and total token consumption. (docs.github.com) GitHub framed the switch as a way to align pricing with actual usage and to build a “sustainable, reliable” Copilot business as demand rises. (github.blog) The change arrives as investors head into Microsoft’s fiscal third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, April 29, with analysts watching Azure growth and Copilot monetization. (microsoft.com) (finance.yahoo.com) That makes Copilot look less like a flat-fee software seat and more like a metered cloud service, with costs rising when customers use heavier models or longer interactions. (docs.github.com)