GitHub to Shift Copilot to Token-Based 'AI Credits' Usage Billing on June 1, 2026

GitHub said Monday that all GitHub Copilot plans will shift to usage-based billing on June 1, 2026, replacing the company’s current premium request units, or PRUs, with token-based “GitHub AI Credits” while keeping base subscription prices the same. In a GitHub Blog post published April 27, Mario Rodriguez wrote, “Today, we are announcing that all GitHub Copilot plans will transition to usage-based billing on June 1, 2026.”

Under the new system, Copilot usage will be measured by token consumption rather than by request. GitHub said billing will be based on input, output and cached tokens, using the published API rates for each model. “Starting June 1, your Copilot usage will consume GitHub AI Credits,” the company said. The change means heavier AI interactions will be charged according to how much computing they use, rather than being counted as a single request.

GitHub said sticker prices for Copilot subscriptions are not changing. Copilot Pro will remain $10 a month and include $10 in monthly AI Credits. Copilot Pro+ will remain $39 a month and include $39 in monthly AI Credits. Copilot Business will stay $19 per user, per month and include $19 in monthly AI Credits per user. Copilot Enterprise will remain $39 per user, per month and include $39 in monthly AI Credits per user.

For business customers, GitHub said it will temporarily provide higher included credits during the transition. Copilot Business customers will receive $30 in monthly AI Credits per user for June, July and August 2026, while Copilot Enterprise customers will receive $70 per user for those same months. GitHub is also adding pooled included usage for organizations, allowing unused included usage to be shared across a business. Administrators will get budget controls at the enterprise, cost-center and user levels, with options to allow additional spending after included credits are exhausted or to cap usage.

Some Copilot features will remain outside the metered system. GitHub said code completions and Next Edit suggestions will continue to be included in all plans and will not consume AI Credits. The fallback behavior that applied when users ran out of PRUs will be eliminated; under the new setup, usage will instead be governed by available AI Credits and any budgets set by administrators. GitHub also said Copilot code review will consume both GitHub AI Credits and GitHub Actions minutes, with Actions minutes billed at standard GitHub Actions rates.

The move marks GitHub’s second major Copilot billing overhaul in roughly a year, following the introduction of premium-request billing in mid-2025. GitHub said the change reflects how Copilot has evolved beyond simpler chat-style interactions into more “agentic” workflows that can run longer and use significantly more compute. “Copilot is not the same product it was a year ago,” the company said. GitHub said a preview billing experience will roll out in early May 2026 on the Billing Overview page to show projected costs. Annual Copilot Pro and Pro+ subscribers will remain on existing premium-request pricing until their term ends, though GitHub said model multipliers for those users will still increase on June 1. When those annual plans expire, users will move to Copilot Free unless they switch plans.