GitHub Copilot AI credits, explained

Short answer (checked 2026-10-23): Since June 1, 2026 (GitHub changelog ↗), Copilot plans pay for chat and agent work in GitHub AI Credits; annual Pro and Pro+ plans stay on premium requests until they expire (GitHub blog ↗). One credit is $0.01. Copilot Pro ($10/month) includes 1,500 credits, Pro+ ($39) includes 7,000, and Max ($100) includes 20,000. Code completions and next edit suggestions don't use credits and stay unlimited on paid plans.

Credits by plan

GitHub Copilot AI credits by plan (per month)
Plan	Price	Base credits	Flex allotment	Total credits	Dollar value
Free	$0	An allowance of AI credits (amount not published); auto model selection only; 2,000 code completions/month			n/a
Pro	$10/mo	1,000	500	1,500	$15
Pro+	$39/mo	3,900	3,100	7,000	$70
Max	$100/mo	10,000	10,000	20,000	$200

Sources: GitHub Docs: usage-based billing for individuals ↗ · github.com/features/copilot/plans ↗ · checked 2026-10-23

What uses credits and what doesn't

Copilot Chat, Copilot CLI, the cloud agent, agent mode, code review, Copilot Spaces, Spark and third-party coding agents all use credits. Code review also uses GitHub Actions minutes (GitHub Docs ↗). Code completions and next edit suggestions don't use credits, so if you mostly tab-complete, credits last a long time.

How a request is priced

GitHub counts input, output and cached tokens, prices them at each model's per-million-token rate (models and pricing ↗), and converts the dollar total to credits. Worked example (our arithmetic from GitHub's listed rates, no caching): a request that sends 30,000 input tokens and gets 1,000 output tokens back, a normal size for an agent turn once files and tool definitions are included.

GPT-5.6 Luna, standard context up to 200K input tokens ($0.20 in / $1.20 out per 1M, GitHub rates ↗): about 0.7 credits.
GPT-5.6 Sol, standard context up to 272K input tokens ($4.00 in / $20.00 out per 1M, GitHub rates ↗): about 14 credits.

That's roughly a 19x gap on the same request, so model choice is the biggest lever on your credit burn. Longer prompts cost more: above those thresholds Luna is $0.40 / $1.80 and Sol is $8.00 / $30.00 per 1M (GitHub rates ↗). Auto model selection is discounted: 10% off model costs on paid plans, and Copilot Max gets 30% through October 28, 2026 (GitHub Docs ↗).

Base credits vs flex allotment

Base credits match your plan price and GitHub says they never change. The flex allotment sits on top and GitHub says it may change over time. Base credits are used first. The only guaranteed amount on Pro is 1,000 credits ($10); treat the other 500 as a bonus.

When credits reset

At 00:00 UTC on the first day of each calendar month: 5:00 PM Pacific on the last day of the month during daylight time, 4:00 PM in winter. It doesn't follow your billing date, and unused credits don't carry over (GitHub Docs ↗).

When you run out

Wait for the reset on the 1st.
Pay for more. Set a dollar budget and Copilot keeps working at $0.01 per credit; a $10 budget covers 1,000 credits. GitHub may cap additional usage on individual plans (GitHub changelog ↗).
Upgrade. You pay only the price difference, and credits already used count toward the bigger allowance. See Copilot Pro vs Pro+.

The old fallback to a cheaper model when you ran out is gone (GitHub blog ↗). If you subscribed through GitHub Mobile on iOS or Android you can't buy extra credits (GitHub Docs ↗).

Copilot vs Cursor and Claude Code

Copilot gives one monthly pool. Cursor's current plans use a weekly pool, and Claude Code uses a rolling 5-hour limit plus a weekly cap (Cursor usage limits ↗; Claude Code on Pro/Max ↗), so on Copilot you can spend the month in a day without a short lockout first. See Cursor vs Copilot and Cursor vs Claude Code vs Copilot.

More: GitHub Copilot pricing · Cheapest AI coding tools · Copilot for students · Models by plan · Cost calculator

FAQ

How much is one GitHub Copilot AI credit worth?

$0.01 USD.

How many credits does Copilot Pro include?

1,500 a month: 1,000 base credits plus a 500 flex allotment.

Do code completions use AI credits?

No. Code completions and next edit suggestions don't use AI credits and are unlimited on paid plans.

When do Copilot AI credits reset?

At 00:00 UTC on the first day of each calendar month, regardless of your billing date. Unused credits don't carry over.

Can I buy more credits?

Yes, by setting a dollar budget for additional usage (GitHub may cap it). Not if you subscribed through GitHub Mobile on iOS or Android.

Why did one prompt cost so many credits?

Cost depends on the model and every token sent, including context that agents and the CLI add. Powerful models cost far more per token than lightweight ones.