Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes, there is a free version. As of 2026-07, Copilot Free costs $0/month and includes 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests per month. Heavier use requires a paid plan starting at Pro for $10/month. Verified students, teachers, and popular open-source maintainers can get Copilot Pro for free.
Why — the first-principles explanation
GitHub offers a free tier for the same reason many software makers do: it is a funnel. A capped free version lets millions of developers try Copilot with zero risk, get hooked on the productivity boost, and then upgrade when they hit the ceiling. The limits are set generously enough to be useful but tight enough to nudge frequent users toward paying.
The free plan gives you 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests per month. A completion is one inline suggestion event; a chat request is one message to Copilot Chat. For a hobbyist coding a few evenings a week, that is often plenty. For a professional writing code all day, 2,000 completions can vanish in a couple of days, which is exactly the point where Pro's unlimited completions start to matter.
There is also a second, truly free path: GitHub Education. Because GitHub wants to build loyalty early, it gives verified students and teachers, plus maintainers of popular open-source projects, full Copilot Pro at no charge. This is not a trial — it renews as long as you stay eligible, rechecked roughly monthly.
So 'is it free?' has three honest answers: yes for light use (Free tier), yes and fully-featured if you qualify through Education, and no — expect $10/month or more — if you are a heavy daily user who needs unlimited completions and a real credit budget.
An example that makes it click
Think of a gym with a free day pass that lets you use the machines a set number of times each month. If you work out lightly, the free pass covers you forever. If you train hard every day, you'll burn through the free visits fast and need a full membership.
Copilot's free tier is that day pass — 2,000 completions and 50 chats a month. Students get something better: a full membership handed to them for free because the gym hopes they'll stay for life. Everyone else who trains hard pays $10 a month for unlimited visits.
How to do it
- Sign in at github.com with a free GitHub account.
- Visit github.com/features/copilot and start the Free plan ($0).
- Install the Copilot extension in your editor (for example, VS Code) and sign in.
- If you're a student or teacher, apply at github.com/settings/education/benefits to unlock Copilot Pro for free.
- Upgrade to Pro ($10/month) only if you exceed 2,000 completions or 50 chat requests in a month.
Key facts
- Copilot Free costs $0/month with 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests per month (as of 2026-07).
- Copilot Pro costs $10/month and removes the completion limit.
- Verified students and teachers can get Copilot Pro at no cost through GitHub Education.
- Maintainers of popular open-source repositories can also qualify for free Copilot Pro.
- The free tier requires only a standard, free GitHub account.
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Is GitHub Copilot free? Yes — there's a genuinely free version. As of 2026, Copilot Free costs zero dollars a month and gives you 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests. For a hobbyist coding a few nights a week, that's often all you need. But here's the catch: if you code all day, 2,000 completions can disappear in a couple of days. That's when you'd move to Copilot Pro at ten dollars a month for unlimited completions. Now, the best-kept secret: if you're a verified student or teacher, or you maintain a popular open-source project, GitHub gives you the full Pro plan for free — and it keeps renewing as long as you qualify. So the honest answer is: free for light use, totally free and fully featured if you're a student, and about ten dollars a month if you're a heavy daily user. Start with the free tier, and only pay when you actually hit the limits.
What authoritative sources say
People also ask
What do I get on the free plan?
2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests per month, using a standard free GitHub account.
Is the free plan a time-limited trial?
No. Copilot Free is ongoing, not a countdown trial. You keep the monthly allowance as long as you use the free plan.
How do students get it free?
Apply through GitHub Education at github.com/settings/education/benefits. Once verified, you receive Copilot Pro at no cost, rechecked about monthly.
When should I pay?
Upgrade to Pro ($10/month) if you regularly exceed 2,000 completions or 50 chat requests, or need bigger AI Credit budgets.