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The Stack / Coding
GitHub Copilot
03 CreationYes at $10 if you code in VS Code or JetBrains and want the lowest-friction AI assist — completions stay unlimited on every paid plan even after the June 2026 move to usage billing. For agent-heavy work, compare credit math against Cursor before committing.
The job in the stack
The completion seat: always-on code suggestions in your existing editor, plus agent work metered by AI credits.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | $10/mo | $15 in AI credits ($10 base + $5 flex allotment); inline suggestions unlimited |
| Pro+ | $39/mo | $70 in AI credits ($39 base + $31 flex) |
| Max | $100/mo | $200 in AI credits ($100 base + $100 flex); built for sustained agent use |
| Business | $19/user/mo | 1,900 AI credits/user/mo, pooled org-wide with admin spending controls |
| Enterprise | $39/user/mo | 3,900 AI credits/user/mo, pooled; adds github.com chat and codebase indexing |
Pricing verified 2026-10-09. Plans change — the source of truth is GitHub Copilot's own pricing page.
Models & versions
- Claude Sonnet 5.5 / Opus 5.5 / Haiku 5.5 Opus 5.5 entered the picker Sept 22, Sonnet 5.5 on Sept 28, and Haiku 5.5 on Oct 7, 2026. GitHub positions Haiku 5.5 for subagents, quick edits and terminal work, available on Pro and up and billed at provider list price. Business and Enterprise admins control new models through model policy, which enables them by default unless switched off
- Claude Sonnet 5 $2/M in, $10/M out ($0.20/M cached input) on Copilot's rate card. Anthropic made its launch rate permanent on Aug 11, 2026, so the scheduled Sept 1 increase to $3/$15 never happened.
- GPT-6 Sol / GPT-6 Luna / GPT-6.1 Sol GPT-6 Sol and Luna arrived Sept 22, GPT-6.1 Sol on Sept 29, 2026. GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna remain selectable and are the named replacements for retiring GPT-5.x models
- Grok 4.7 Added Sept 21, 2026
- Retirements Oct 2, 2026: Gemini 3.5/3.6 Flash, Kimi K2.7 Code and Claude Opus 4.7 removed (replacements: Gemini 3.8 Flash, Kimi K3, Claude Opus 5.5). Oct 19, 2026: GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4, GPT-5.4 mini, GPT-5 mini, Gemini 3.7 Flash and Grok 4.5 go (replacements: GPT-5.6 Sol/Luna, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Grok 4.6)
The honest read
What works
- + Unlimited completions on all paid plans — the core value is uncapped
- + Native to GitHub: PR summaries, code review, coding agent in issues
- + Cheapest serious entry point in AI coding at $10
What breaks
- − June 2026 usage-billing switch makes agent costs variable — 1 credit = $0.01
- − Editor experience trails Cursor for deep agentic sessions
- − Credit pricing differs per model — you need to actually read the rate card
- − Business and Enterprise seats are paid upfront: existing card and PayPal customers move to upfront seat charges on October 1, 2026, and access requires payment first
Use it for
- →Developers in stock VS Code or JetBrains who want zero setup change
- →GitHub-centric teams using PR and issue automation
- →Budget-conscious coders — $10 with credits included
Skip it if
- ×You want the deepest in-editor agent workflow — that's Cursor
- ×You don't use GitHub — half the integration value evaporates
Questions operators ask
?Did Copilot get more expensive with usage billing?
For completion-led users, no — completions stay unlimited and $10 Pro includes $15 of credits. For agent-heavy users, costs became variable: heavy months now bill like a utility.
?Can I use Claude models in Copilot?
Yes — Claude Sonnet 5 is available in Copilot at $2/M input and $10/M output. That was launched as an introductory rate, and Anthropic made it permanent on August 11, 2026, so the planned September 1 increase to $3/$15 did not happen. It only bites agent-heavy usage — completions stay unlimited on every paid plan either way.
What changed
- Freshness sweep. Prices unchanged on github.com/features/copilot/plans and GitHub Docs: Pro $10, Pro+ $39, Max $100, Business $19/seat (1,900 credits), Enterprise $39/seat (3,900 credits). Plan notes now show the base + flex credit split the page uses. Model list rewritten from GitHub's changelog: Grok 4.7 (Sept 21), Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Sol/Luna (Sept 22), Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Sept 28), GPT-6.1 Sol (Sept 29), Claude Haiku 5.5 (Oct 7). Retired Oct 2: Gemini 3.5/3.6 Flash, Kimi K2.7 Code, Claude Opus 4.7. Retiring Oct 19: GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4, GPT-5.4 mini, GPT-5 mini, Gemini 3.7 Flash, Grok 4.5, so the old 'GPT-5.5 still selectable' line is gone. Also shipped: HydraFusion multi-model routing (Sept 30) and computer use for desktop apps (Oct 1). Verdict unchanged.
- Freshness sweep — corrected a stale claim. This page said Claude Sonnet 5's $2/$10 rate would revert to $3/$15 on Sept 1 (a 50% jump). It didn't: Anthropic's pricing page and GitHub's model rate card both show $2/$10 as the standing price. Removed the Sept 1 con and rewrote the FAQ. Plan prices confirmed on github.com/features/copilot/plans: Pro $10 (+$15 credits), Pro+ $39 (+$70), Max $100 (+$200); unlimited completions unchanged. Also from GitHub's Aug 28 changelog: sign-ups reopened Sept 1 for new Business/Enterprise card and PayPal customers, list prices stay put, existing Business/Enterprise seats move to upfront charges Oct 1, and a unified Copilot experience (github.com chat, mobile, cloud agent) launches Sept 28.
- Closed a standing item: confirmed Claude Sonnet 5's introductory Copilot rate ($2/M in, $10/M out) expires August 31, 2026 and reverts to the standard $3/M in, $15/M out on September 1 — a 50% per-token increase for agent work drawing on that model. Completions remain unlimited on every paid plan regardless; plan prices and credit allotments unchanged.
- Re-verified — plan prices and included-credit amounts unchanged since the June 1 move to AI Credits. Model lineup updated: GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna entered the picker July 9, 2026, with Sol restricted to Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise. Completions confirmed still unlimited and credit-free on every paid plan.
- Re-verified — no changes since July 3. Pricing, credit allotments, and model lineup hold.
- Verified post-transition pricing: Pro $10 (+$15 credits), Pro+ $39 (+$70), Max $100 (+$200), Business $19/user, Enterprise $39/user.
- All plans moved to usage-based billing with monthly AI credit allotments. Completions remain unlimited on paid plans.
Give GitHub Copilot a job
The completion seat: always-on code suggestions in your existing editor, plus agent work metered by AI credits.
Try GitHub Copilot →Alternatives with different jobs
Cursor
03 CreationThe hands-on coding seat: an editor where AI agents write, refactor, and navigate the codebase with you.
Claude
02 DecisionsThe thinking seat: long documents, hard reasoning, code, and anything where the words have to be right the first time.