Complete GitHub Copilot Price Guide 2026: Comparison of measured costs for each package after charging based on usage

Core conclusion

Starting June 1, 2026, GitHub Copilot will fully transition to usage-based billing. The old Premium Request Units (PRU) are replaced by GitHub AI Credits, which are billed based on actual token consumption. This means that the cost for heavy Agent users may increase significantly, but if you only use it for code completion, the price of the basic package will remain unchanged.

After reading this article you will know:

• Comparison table of old and new prices for each package
• How much will the monthly fee increase based on your current usage habits (including calculator logic)
• How corporate teams set budget caps
• Are there any cheaper alternatives?

Copilot New and old pricing comparison table

Key Rules:

• Code completion and Next Edit recommendations continue for free (does not consume Credits)
• Agent sessions, code reviews, Copilot Chat advanced features Consume Credits
• Deactivate directly after overage unless additional Credits are purchased.

Calculation of monthly fees under different usage habits

Light user (daily writing code + occasionally asking questions)

Conclusion: The Pro package ($10/ months) is completely sufficient.

Moderate user (heavy use of Agent every day)

Conclusion: Pro may not be enough, you need to upgrade to Pro+ ($39/ months) or control Agent usage.

Heavy users (full stack AI development, full Agent)

Conclusion: Pro+ is not enough either. Requires purchasing additional Credits packs or considering alternatives.

Notes for corporate customers

Enterprise customers have special discounts during the June-August transition period:

• Business: Extra $30/ months of Credits
• Enterprise: Extra $70/ months of CreditsTeam Management Tips:

1. After the "Preview Bill" is launched in May, you can check the estimated charges as soon as possible.
2. Set a budget limit for Credits for each team member
3. Use the free quota given from June to August for usage baseline testing
4. Evaluate whether multiple tools can be mixed (for example, use DeepSeek V4 to run Claude Code for daily coding, and Copilot only for code completion)

If Copilot is too expensive: Three alternative routes

Route 1: Claude Code + DeepSeek V4

# ，1/10
claude --settings ~/.claude-deepseek.json --model sonnet

API fees range from Copilot Pro+ $39/ months → DeepSeek V4 Pro ~$5-15/ months.

Route 2: Codex CLI (OpenAI native)

Codex CLI is OpenAI’s free programming agent that runs directly in the terminal. Suitable for individual developers who don’t want to spend money.

Route Three: Mixed Mode

• Code completion → Copilot Pro ($10/ month, completion is free)
• Agent Coding → Claude Code + DeepSeek V4 (cheap)
• Code Review → Codex (Free)

Total monthly fee: $10 + ~$10 = $20/ month, half cheaper than using Copilot Pro+ alone.

Tool entry

GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, DeepSeek, Codex, and OpenAI that appear in the text are all tool entries maintained by this platform.

Next action

1. Open GitHub Copilot settings and view the May preview bill
2. Use the calculation logic in this article to estimate your actual monthly fee
3. If the forecast is excessive, configure alternative tools in advance

Related reading

• How to use DeepSeek V4 to replace Claude Code and save 90%

• Independent developers use DeepSeek V4 to build micro-SaaS and earn monthly income $8,500

• Codex CLI complete usage tutorial

• DeepSeek V4 vs Claude Code: 90% Cheaper, Same Quality

• Claude Code + DeepSeek V4 Building Tutorial: API Fees Dropped by 90% (15 Minutes)

• Claude Code automated writing practice: build an AI content production pipeline in 30 minutes

• How to turn off signature in VS Code Copilot AI: remove Co-Authored-by with one line of command