GitHub Copilot Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
GitHub Copilot costs Free to $100 per user/month as of November 2026, with 6 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Free (free), Pro at $10/user/month, Pro+ at $39/user/month, Max at $100/user/month, Business at $19/user/month, and Enterprise at $39/user/month. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
GitHub Copilot offers 6 pricing tiers: Free, Pro, Pro+, Max, Business, Enterprise. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Pro at $10/user/month, Pro+ at $39/user/month, Max at $100/user/month. The Pro plan is individual professional developers doing everyday coding with agents.
Yes, GitHub Copilot offers a forever free plan as of November 2026. The free tier lists 6 features. Limits apply to completions and chat_agent. Paid plans start at $10/user/month (Pro). Pricing verified from 4 sources by CostBench.
GitHub Copilot's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- 2,000 code completions per month
- Access to Haiku 4.5, GPT-5 mini, and more
- Copilot CLI
- Agent mode in supported editors
- MCP server integration
- Community support
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- Unlimited code completions and next edit suggestions
- Cloud agent and code review access
- Access to 3rd-party agents (Claude Code and Codex)
- Model selection across all supported models
- $15/month GitHub AI Credits (base $10 + $5 flex allotment)
- Copilot CLI with agent delegation
- App modernization for Java and .NET
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Free Plan |
|---|---|
| Completions | 2000 |
| Chat_agent | limited (credit-based) |
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You need more than the free plan's completions limit (2000)
- You need more than the free plan's chat_agent limit (limited (credit-based))
- You need Unlimited code completions and next edit suggestions or Cloud agent and code review access
Free vs Pro Plan Comparison
| Free $0 | Pro $10/user/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Developers getting started with AI coding assistance | Individual professional developers doing everyday coding with agents |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes, GitHub Copilot offers a forever free plan. It includes 2,000 code completions per month, access to Haiku 4.5, GPT-5 mini, and more, copilot CLI, and more. Key limits: Completions: 2000, Chat_agent: limited (credit-based).
02 What's included in GitHub Copilot's free plan?
GitHub Copilot's free plan includes: 2,000 code completions per month, Access to Haiku 4.5, GPT-5 mini, and more, Copilot CLI, Agent mode in supported editors, MCP server integration, and 1 more features. Key limits: Completions: 2000, Chat_agent: limited (credit-based).
03 What's NOT included in GitHub Copilot's free plan?
Paid-only: Unlimited code completions and next edit suggestions, Cloud agent and code review access, Access to 3rd-party agents (Claude Code and Codex), Model selection across all supported models, $15/month GitHub AI Credits (base $10 + $5 flex allotment).
04 When should I upgrade from GitHub Copilot's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you need more than the free plan's completions limit (2000); you need more than the free plan's chat_agent limit (limited (credit-based)); you need Unlimited code completions and next edit suggestions or Cloud agent and code review access. The cheapest paid plan starts at $10/user/month.
05 Is GitHub Copilot's free plan really free forever?
Yes, GitHub Copilot's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.
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