GitHub turns Copilot metered June 1

GitHub said on April 27 that every Copilot plan will move to usage-based billing on June 1, 2026. (github.blog) The company will stop counting premium request units and start charging in GitHub AI Credits, a unit tied to token use across input, output, and cached context. GitHub’s docs say 1 AI Credit equals $0.01. (github.blog) (docs.github.com) Base subscription prices are staying the same: Copilot Pro at $10 a month, Pro+ at $39, Business at $19 per user, and Enterprise at $39 per user. Code completions and Next Edit Suggestions stay included and do not consume AI Credits. (github.blog) GitHub is making the change after tightening individual-plan limits on April 20 and pausing new self-serve signups for Pro, Pro+, and Student. The company said long-running agentic sessions now use far more compute than the original plan design expected. (github.blog) In plain terms, Copilot is moving closer to cloud pricing: a short chat on a cheaper model costs less than a long agent session that scans a repository and calls tools repeatedly. GitHub says the old flat request model let a quick question and a multi-hour coding run cost the same to the user. (docs.github.com) (github.blog) The pricing tables already show how sharply costs can vary by model. GitHub lists GPT-5 mini at $0.25 per million input tokens, while GPT-5.5 is listed at $5.00 per million input tokens and $30.00 per million output tokens. (docs.github.com) GitHub also said GPT-5.5 began rolling out to Copilot on April 24 with a 7.5× premium request multiplier under promotional pricing. The model is available to Pro+, Business, and Enterprise users, with admin opt-in required for Business and Enterprise. (github.blog) Another April 27 change hit the Student tier. GitHub removed GPT-5.3-Codex from the Student model picker, though it said the model remains available through automatic model selection. (github.blog) Copilot code review is also getting a second meter on June 1. GitHub said reviews on private repositories will consume both AI Credits and GitHub Actions minutes, while public repositories keep free Actions minutes. (github.blog) GitHub plans to show customers a billing preview in early May using April 2026 usage, with a side-by-side estimate of current charges versus the new credit system. By June 1, teams will have to decide more often when a stronger model is worth the extra spend. (docs.github.com)