Price terms as published
Each line is the vendor’s own wording, split from the price capture checked on 2026-10-19. Nothing here is rounded, converted or re-worded — the full sentences stay in the review below. Lines that carry only a price continue the plan named on the line above, in the vendor’s own order.
| # | Plan / term | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Free | 2026-10-19 |
| 2 | Pro $10/mo | 2026-10-19 |
| 3 | Pro+ $39/mo | 2026-10-19 |
| 4 | Max $100/mo | 2026-10-19 |
What changed, and why it matters more than the price list
On June 1, 2026, GitHub moved Copilot’s individual monthly plans to usage-based billing built on “AI Credits.” Base prices did not move — Pro is still $10/month, Pro+ $39, Business $19/seat, Enterprise $39/seat — but what you buy changed shape: each plan now bundles a defined credit allowance, and beyond it you pay for consumption.
That distinction is the whole story for anyone comparing Copilot to Cursor or Windsurf in 2026: the sticker prices look stable, and the economics underneath are not.
The 2026 plan ladder (GitHub’s own table, August 2026)
| Plan | Price | AI Credits | Models / agents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot Free | $0 | Small allowance | Limited chat and agent, auto model selection only |
| Copilot Student | $0 | Allowance | Auto model selection; excludes third-party agents |
| Copilot Pro | $10/mo | Base: 1,000 | A selection of models |
| Copilot Pro+ | $39/mo | Base: 3,900 | Premium model access |
| Copilot Max | $100/mo | Base: 10,000 | Priority access to premium models |
| Copilot Business | $19/user/mo | 1,900 per user | Premium models, org management |
| Copilot Enterprise | $39/user/mo | 3,900 per user | Everything in Business + codebase indexing, priority models |
Flex allotment (official docs, re-read 2026-10-19): the same table splits each allowance into a base pool plus a flex allotment, and prints the total. Pro = 1,000 base + 500 flex = 1,500 monthly AI credits; Pro+ = 3,900 + 3,100 = 7,000; Max = 10,000 + 10,000 = 20,000. Business and Enterprise are printed as totals (1,900 and 3,900 per user per month). Base prices on that page are unchanged from the figures above.
Max is the newcomer — the $100 tier sits above Pro+ and exists because agent workloads proved hungrier than anyone priced for. Community threads the day it launched were blunt about the arithmetic: roughly 2.9x Pro+ capacity, which a commenter translated as “it lasts 7 hours of work instead of 2.5.”
A number that confused many trackers is now resolved by GitHub’s own pages (re-checked 2026-09-02 and again 2026-09-29): the features page shows Pro’s total monthly credits as $15/month while the docs price the subscription at $10. These are the same reality — 1,000 base credits plus a 500-credit “flex allotment” (docs confirm: Pro 1,000+500=1,500; Pro+ 3,900+3,100=7,000; Max 10,000+10,000=20,000; overage billed at $0.01/credit). GitHub warns flex allotments “may change over time,” so treat the base column as the durable number.
What does not consume credits
This is the line GitHub drew carefully, and it’s the answer to most “did my Copilot bill go up?” confusion:
- Code completions and Next Edit suggestions remain unlimited on paid plans and do not touch AI Credits.
- Credits are burned by chat, premium model selection, and agent runs — the things that look like one keystroke but cost real inference.
So if you use Copilot as it was used in 2024 — autocomplete in VS Code — the June 2026 change is largely invisible. If you use it as an agent, it’s the entire bill.
The self-serve pause nobody should ignore
GitHub’s own plan documentation notes that on April 22, 2026, new self-serve purchases of Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise were temporarily paused. Small teams looking to roll out seats may need to go through sales or wait. Plan before you count on immediate self-serve signup for org tiers.
Copilot vs Cursor on price, in one paragraph
Cursor Pro is $20/month; Copilot Pro is $10/month — and Copilot has a genuine free tier plus a free Student plan that Cursor discontinued to new signups in June 2026. Where Copilot looks cheaper per dollar, Cursor’s counter is its Auto mode: unlimited on its own models, which keeps a disciplined user inside the subscription. Neither is objectively better; the variable is whether you let the tool drive (agent hours) or drive it yourself (completions and occasional chat).
Verdict
We are not the right reviewer for a recommendation here, so we’ll say it plainly: nobody on this site uses Copilot. What you’re getting is the pricing and policy picture verified against GitHub’s own documentation, not an opinion dressed up as one.
Two conclusions we do feel safe drawing from the paperwork. First, the June 2026 credit switch means the $10 sticker hides a real question: if you only use completions, nothing changed and Copilot remains the cheapest serious option in the category; if you lean on agents, compare plans on credits, not dollars. Second, the April 2026 pause on self-serve Business/Enterprise purchases is a procurement risk a team should check before building a rollout around instant signup.
If a Copilot-vs-alternatives hands-on test lands on our roadmap, this verdict will be updated with a date. Until then, “verified, not used” is the honest label.
Sources
- GitHub Docs — Plans for GitHub Copilot (plan comparison table, credits; base/flex credit table re-checked 2026-10-12 and again 2026-10-15 — Pro 1,000+500, Pro+ 3,900+3,100, Max 10,000+10,000, no change; headline prices still Free $0 / Pro $10 / Pro+ $39 / Max $100)
- GitHub Blog — “GitHub Copilot is moving to usage-based billing” (June 1, 2026 migration)
- GitHub Community Discussion #192948 — usage-based billing Q&A
- nocode.mba / TechJack Solutions — 2026 Copilot pricing trackers (cross-check)