Verdict

Is GitHub Copilot's free plan enough to try before paying $10 a month?

The Free plan lists 2,000 inline completions and 50 chat requests a month. Pro adds unlimited inline completions and $15 of monthly AI credits for $10 a month, and the same model list appears on every individual plan.

Who should consider it. Consider it if you work in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse or Xcode and want completions and chat in the editor.

Start here: first steps with GitHub Copilot

Editorial guidance based on the vendor details we recorded. We have not tested GitHub Copilot, and we do not describe its screens or settings.

Who should start with it: Developers who want AI completions and chat inside VS Code, JetBrains and GitHub.
Before you create an account: Pick one real job, for example "Get help coding", and prepare invented or non-sensitive input for the first try.
Read the vendor's data and privacy terms. Our privacy review checklist lists what to look for.
Commercial-use terms: we have not verified them. Read the vendor's terms for the plan you will use.
Which plan to start with: Start on the free plan. The limits we recorded: 2,000 inline completions and 50 chat requests a month; limited agent usage.
A first small task: Try a small version of a real case like this one: A solo developer who wants free completions to try before paying.
How to tell whether it helps: Time the job by hand first. Then record minutes taken, minutes of editing and credits or usage used. Use the trial scorecard.
Common first-week mistakes: Spending credits or usage on experiments without noting how much one job used.
Building a routine on a free limit that resets daily or never, without checking which.
Putting private or customer data in before reading how the vendor handles it.
When to consider another tool: Organisations that need IP indemnity or enterprise security: the page lists these as not included on individual plans and sells Business and Enterprise through sales.
Anyone who needs unlimited chat on a free plan: Free is limited to 50 chat requests a month.
Alternatives: Cursor, Devin. Reasons to switch.

What GitHub Copilot actually does

Suggests code as you type (inline completions) and answers questions in chat.
Offers agent mode in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse and Xcode.
Works in editors and IDEs, the CLI, and on GitHub.com and GitHub Mobile.
Gives access to models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI and others, with the same list across the individual plans.

Source: GitHub Copilot plans page (opens in a new tab).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Good fits

A solo developer who wants free completions to try before paying.
A developer who works across several IDEs and wants the same assistant in each.

Scenarios are illustrative, based on plan limits and documented features.

Consider alternatives if

Organisations that need IP indemnity or enterprise security: the page lists these as not included on individual plans and sells Business and Enterprise through sales.
Anyone who needs unlimited chat on a free plan: Free is limited to 50 chat requests a month.

Practical workflows

Illustrative: built from documented features, not from testing.

Add tests to an existing function

Outcome: A set of unit tests you have reviewed and run

Open the file in your editor with Copilot enabled.
Ask chat to write unit tests for a specific function and name the test framework.
Review the generated tests and run them.
Edit any test that asserts the wrong behaviour before committing.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths Vendor-documented

The Free plan's monthly limits are stated (2,000 completions, 50 chat requests)
The same model list is shown on all individual plans
Editors, CLI, GitHub.com and mobile are all listed as supported

Limitations and cautions Documented limits and editorial guidance

IP indemnity and enterprise security are not included on individual plans
GitHub may use interactions from Free, Pro and Pro+ to train models unless you opt out
Credit use varies by model and the per-model cost is not stated

Hands-on testing

Not tested by us yet, so this page describes what the vendor documents. How testing is recorded.

Pricing

Free

Free plan

2,000 inline completions and 50 chat requests a month; limited agent usage

Free trial

Not stated

The page does not describe a free trial.

Cheapest paid plan

Pro

From $10/mo, billing frequency not stated

Show all 5 plans and limits

GitHub Copilot plans, prices and limits
Plan	Price and billing	Limits and inclusions
Free Free	Free	2,000 inline completions and 50 chat requests a month; limited agent usage
Pro	$10/mo, billing frequency not stated	Unlimited inline completions; $15 a month in AI credits ($10 base plus $5 flex); extra credits can be bought
Pro+	$39/mo, billing frequency not stated	Unlimited inline completions; $70 a month in AI credits ($39 base plus $31 flex)
Max	$100/mo, billing frequency not stated	Unlimited inline completions; $200 a month in AI credits ($100 base plus $100 flex)
Business and Enterprise	Custom pricing (contact sales)	Contact sales; admins set usage limits; Enterprise adds repository indexing and fine-tuned private models

How usage is counted

Free: 2,000 inline completions and 50 chat requests a month, per the vendor's FAQ.
Paid individual plans include unlimited inline completions plus monthly AI credits: $15 (Pro), $70 (Pro+) and $200 (Max). One AI credit equals $0.01.
Which model uses how many credits is not stated; usage varies by model. Extra credits can be bought on paid plans.

Pricing model: Flat tiers, Usage-based
Currency: USD (shown by the vendor for the region we checked)
Commercial use: Not verified
API: Not confirmed · The plans page lists a CLI and editor integrations; a general API is not described.
Pricing checked: 21 Oct 2026 · Vendor pricing page (opens in a new tab)

Prices are listed "per month". The page does not say whether an annual option exists.
Flex credit allotments may change over time, per the page.

Prices are shown as each vendor lists them. Where a vendor shows only a "$" sign, its page does not name the currency, and vendors may show a local currency or regional price. Confirm on the vendor's page before buying.

Alternatives

Cursor

Reason to consider it: An editor with plans listed from $8 to $200 a month that share a usage pool with other products; its free plan limits agent and chat requests.

Paid prices are in different, unnamed or not comparable currencies, so they are not compared here.

Compare GitHub Copilot with Cursor

Devin

Reason to consider it: Adds cloud agents (Devin Cloud) from the $20 Pro plan; its free plan lists unlimited inline edits and Tab completions.

API: Devin documented; GitHub Copilot not verified.
Paid prices are in different, unnamed or not comparable currencies, so they are not compared here.
Platforms documented for Devin but not for GitHub Copilot: desktop.

Compare GitHub Copilot with Devin

Claude

Reason to consider it: A general assistant with a free plan that can read and create files, if you want chat outside the editor.

API: Claude documented; GitHub Copilot not verified.
Paid prices are in different, unnamed or not comparable currencies, so they are not compared here.
Different category focus: Claude is also listed under ai-assistants.
Platforms documented for Claude but not for GitHub Copilot: desktop, browser-extension.

Compare GitHub Copilot with Claude

Compare GitHub Copilot with Cursor and Devin

Frequently asked questions

Does GitHub Copilot have a free plan?

Yes. The free plan lists: 2,000 inline completions and 50 chat requests a month; limited agent usage.

How much does GitHub Copilot cost?

The lowest-priced paid plan is Pro: from $10/mo, billing frequency not stated. Larger plans are quoted by the vendor. Annual-billing prices are shown per month but are paid yearly. Pricing was checked 21 Oct 2026.

Does GitHub Copilot have an API?

We could not confirm this from an official page. The plans page lists a CLI and editor integrations; a general API is not described.

Can I use GitHub Copilot output commercially?

We have not verified the commercial-use terms. That is a gap in our research, not a statement about the product. Read the vendor's terms before publishing output commercially.

Keep comparing

Sources and update history

Source	What it covered	Checked
GitHub Copilot plans page (opens in a new tab)	Plans, prices, credits, models, platforms, data-use and IP terms	21 Oct 2026

Not yet verified

These are gaps in our research, not claims about the product.

Annual pricing and any trial terms
Business and Enterprise prices
Whether Max interactions are used for training
Credits per model

Research note

Vendor-documented: prices, plan limits, features and terms are taken from the sources above on the dates shown.
Editorial interpretation: the verdict, good fits, tradeoffs and workflows are our reading of those facts. None of it comes from testing the tool.
Unverified: anything listed under "Not yet verified" is a gap in our research, not a claim about the product.

Update history

20 Oct 2026 · Added a sourced product overview; paid prices and hands-on performance remain unverified.
21 Oct 2026 · Re-researched from the vendor's official pages: pricing, limits, platform and API details.

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