GitHub shifts to metered AI billing

GitHub said on April 27 that every GitHub Copilot plan will move to usage-based billing on June 1, replacing premium request units with GitHub AI Credits. (github.blog) Under the new system, Copilot usage will be measured by tokens — the chunks of text sent to and returned from an artificial intelligence model — including input, output, and cached tokens. GitHub says those tokens will be priced using published per-model rates and converted into credits. (github.blog) (docs.github.com) GitHub says 1 AI credit equals $0.01, and the base monthly prices are not changing: Copilot Pro stays at $10, Pro+ at $39, Business at $19 per user, and Enterprise at $39 per user. (docs.github.com) (github.blog) The company is changing the meter because Copilot now runs longer, multi-step “agentic” coding sessions that use more computing power than the older autocomplete-style product. GitHub said a quick chat question and a multi-hour autonomous coding session can cost the user the same amount under the current model. (github.blog) GitHub tightened individual-plan limits a week earlier, on April 20, pausing new self-serve sign-ups for Pro, Pro+, and Student plans and removing Opus models from the Pro tier. GitHub said those steps were meant to protect service quality for existing customers. (github.blog) The new billing model also removes a fallback many users had relied on. GitHub said that today, users who exhaust premium request units can drop to a lower-cost model and keep working, but after June 1 usage will be governed by available credits and admin budget controls. (github.blog) Some features will stay outside the meter. GitHub said code completions and Next Edit Suggestions remain included in all plans and do not consume AI Credits. (github.blog) (docs.github.com) Other features will count directly against spending. GitHub’s prep guide says Copilot Chat, Copilot Command Line Interface, Copilot cloud agent, Copilot Spaces, Spark, and third-party coding agents will consume AI credits. (docs.github.com) Copilot code review will get a second meter on June 1. GitHub said reviews on private repositories will consume GitHub Actions minutes as well as AI Credits, while public repositories will keep free Actions minutes. (github.blog) GitHub plans to show customers a billing preview in early May, with a side-by-side estimate based on April 2026 usage and a downloadable comma-separated values report. That gives teams a month to see what their current habits would cost under the new meter. (docs.github.com)