# GitHub Copilot AI credits, explained (2026) > One GitHub Copilot AI credit is $0.01 of model tokens. Pro has 1,500 a month, Pro+ 7,000, Max 20,000. Base credits go first, and all reset on the 1st. Source: https://shuriken.sh/guides/github-copilot-ai-credits-explained A GitHub Copilot AI credit is $0.01 of model tokens, priced per model. Pro ($10) includes 1,500 credits a month, Pro+ ($39) 7,000 and Max ($100) 20,000, split into fixed base credits, spent first, and a flex allotment that can change; all reset at 00:00 UTC on the 1st. By Shuriken Updated 27 October 2026 7 min read **Contents** GitHub Copilot AI credits are how Copilot meters your use since 1 June 2026: one credit is $0.01 of model tokens, priced by the model that served them. Copilot Pro ($10 a month) includes 1,500 credits, Pro+ ($39) 7,000 and Max ($100) 20,000. Base credits go first, then a flex allotment, and the pool resets at 00:00 UTC on the 1st of each month. ## What a GitHub Copilot AI credit is # Every Copilot request sends input tokens to a model and gets output tokens back; cached tokens are context the model reuses. GitHub prices each kind per model, adds them up and converts the total at a fixed rate: "1 AI credit = $0.01 USD" ([GitHub Docs](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing-and-usage/individuals/billing)). So a credit is not a request and not a message. It is a cent of tokens. The rates are on GitHub's [models and pricing page](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-billing/models-and-pricing), per million tokens. On 24 October 2026 it listed Claude Sonnet 5.5 at $2 input and $10 output, Claude Opus 5.5 at $4 and $20, and GPT-6 Astra at $10 and $50. A million output tokens from Sonnet 5.5 is therefore 1,000 credits, which is exactly Copilot Pro's base allowance. GitHub's own examples run from "a fraction of an AI credit" for a quick chat question on a light model to more credits for a long cloud agent session on a frontier model across several files. The same pool pays for Copilot Chat in your editor and on GitHub.com, Copilot CLI, the Copilot cloud agent, Copilot Spaces, Spark and third-party coding agents. Code completions and next edit suggestions are not billed in credits and stay unlimited on paid plans. ## How many AI credits each Copilot plan includes # Read from GitHub's docs on 24 October 2026, US dollars a month: | Plan | Price | Base credits | Flex allotment | Total a month | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Copilot Free | $0 | not stated | not stated | an allowance, auto model selection only | | Copilot Pro | $10 | 1,000 | 500 | 1,500 | | Copilot Pro+ | $39 | 3,900 | 3,100 | 7,000 | | Copilot Max | $100 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | | Copilot Business | $19 per seat | | | 1,900 per user, pooled | | Copilot Enterprise | $39 per seat | | | 3,900 per user, pooled | GitHub doesn't give a number for Free or Student: both have "an allowance of AI credits" and reach models only through auto model selection. Free also includes 2,000 code completions a month. Business and Enterprise give a total per user, and each seat adds it to one shared pool for the organisation or enterprise ([GitHub Docs](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing-and-usage/organizations-and-enterprises/billing)). ## Base vs flex credits: which ones go first # Your base credits are spent first. GitHub describes them as matching "your subscription price" and says "they never change": $10 of Pro buys 1,000 base credits, $39 of Pro+ buys 3,900. The flex allotment is the part on top. It is applied automatically once the base is gone, "at the same rates across your IDE, GitHub.com, and Copilot CLI", with nothing to set up. GitHub calls it "a variable part of your included usage" that is "designed to adapt as the economics of AI evolve, including model pricing, new models, and improvements in efficiency". Read that as: the 1,500, 7,000 and 20,000 totals are true today, and only the base part is promised. On Max, flex is half the total: 10,000 of 20,000. Nothing carries over. Unused credits are forfeited, and the allowance resets to the full amount at 00:00:00 UTC on the first day of each calendar month, whatever day your billing cycle starts. ## How AI credits replaced premium requests # Until 31 May 2026, Copilot counted premium requests: each model interaction cost one premium request unit, times a multiplier that grew with the model. On 27 April 2026 GitHub [announced](https://github.blog/news-insights/company-news/github-copilot-is-moving-to-usage-based-billing/) that "premium request units (PRUs) will be replaced by GitHub AI Credits" on 1 June, with credits "consumed based on token usage, including input, output, and cached tokens, according to the published API rates for each model". GitHub's reason, in the same post: "a quick chat question and a multi-hour autonomous coding session can cost the user the same amount" under requests. The [1 June changelog](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-06-01-updates-to-github-copilot-billing-and-plans/) confirmed it: "As of June 1, all Copilot plans bill based on GitHub AI Credits consumed." The same day, Copilot Max opened as an upgrade for existing Student, Pro and Pro+ subscribers, and Copilot code review started using GitHub Actions minutes as well as credits. One group still has premium requests. Annual Pro and Pro+ plans stay on request-based billing, with higher multipliers from 1 June, until they expire; then they drop to Copilot Free. GitHub's [legacy billing page](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-billing/request-based-billing-legacy/what-changed-with-billing) lists the other two options: cancel for a prorated refund, or move to a monthly plan and get prorated credits for the rest of the year. Shuriken runs Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and 64 more agents side by side, with your own sign-ins. [Download](https://shuriken.sh/download) ## What happens when Copilot credits run out # The old safety net is gone. Under premium requests, people who used them up could fall back to a cheaper model and carry on; GitHub's April post says "Fallback experiences will no longer be available" and that usage is now "governed by available credits and admin budget controls". On a personal plan, GitHub's docs give three ways forward once the included credits are spent: - Upgrade. Copilot prompts you as you get close. You pay only the difference between the two plans, and what you've used this month counts inside the bigger allowance, so the extra credits are there at once. - Pay for additional usage. Set a budget in dollars; credits draw it down at $0.01 each, so "a $10 budget covers 1,000 AI credits". GitHub warns that additional usage "may be capped", and that you have to pay off what you've already used to keep going. Its changelog says the cap for individuals depends on "usage patterns, billing history, and verification status", and recommends upgrading if you want to keep spending. - Wait for the 1st of the month. To set the budget: signed in to GitHub, open github.com/settings/billing, click Budgets and alerts, then New budget, and choose Bundled AI credits budget (every AI-credit SKU) or a SKU-level budget for Copilot AI credits alone. The same page has Receive alerts when my included usage reaches 90% and 100% for email warnings ([GitHub's budget steps](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/how-tos/set-up-budgets)). If you bought Pro, Pro+ or Max as an in-app purchase on iOS or Android, you can't turn on additional credits: GitHub's [mobile docs](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-on-github/chat-with-copilot/chat-in-mobile) say to cancel the mobile subscription and subscribe again on GitHub.com. On a Business or Enterprise seat, the choice isn't yours: GitHub shows a banner on GitHub.com that lets you ask your administrator for more budget. ## Copilot CLI out of credits # Copilot CLI spends from the same monthly pool as your editor, so a busy day in the IDE leaves less for the terminal, and the other way round. Inside a session, /usage shows per-model token totals and, on usage-billed accounts, each model's credits (for example 1 AIC). GitHub lists Copilot CLI 1.0.48 as the minimum version that shows usage-based billing correctly: older versions keep working but may display wrong prices, usage or old terms. When the pool is empty, the CLI has the same three ways forward as everywhere else: upgrade, a budget for additional usage, or the reset on the 1st. On a Business or Enterprise seat with a user-level budget, GitHub says access stops when that budget is used up, "regardless of whether the organization's pool still has capacity" ([GitHub Docs](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing-and-usage/organizations-and-enterprises/billing)). How this compares with the other agents: Claude plans meter in [5-hour windows and a weekly limit](https://shuriken.sh/guides/claude-5-hour-limit-explained) instead of a monthly pool, and Codex uses [five-hour and weekly windows from your ChatGPT plan](https://shuriken.sh/guides/codex-usage-limits). Copilot runs out once a month and says so in cents. For the price side by side, see [GitHub Copilot vs Claude Code](https://shuriken.sh/compare/github-copilot-vs-claude-code) and the [best AI coding subscription](https://shuriken.sh/compare/best-ai-coding-subscription) table. ## How Shuriken handles Copilot # Shuriken is a harness that runs coding agents on your own computers, and GitHub Copilot is one of its [agents](https://shuriken.sh/features/coding-agents). A Copilot chat in Shuriken runs GitHub's own Copilot CLI, so every turn spends AI credits from your plan exactly as it would in a terminal. Shuriken never bills model usage. Each GitHub account you add is a Copilot source: sign in through GitHub's device flow, or add a GitHub token. (Holding several accounts in Copilot CLI by hand, with /user switch, is covered in [switching GitHub accounts in Copilot CLI](https://shuriken.sh/guides/copilot-cli-switch-account).) Hot swapping (Shuriken moving your chats to another of your accounts or sources when one nears its limit) works differently for Copilot than for Claude Code or Codex. Shuriken doesn't read a Copilot credit percentage, so the 99% switch point doesn't apply. Instead, when Copilot refuses a turn with a quota or credit message Shuriken recognises, it marks that source as out and the chat carries on from another Copilot source with room. A line in the chat says the limit was reached and that the chat continues on its own; with no other Copilot source left, it waits and then picks up again. The mechanics are on the [source switching](https://shuriken.sh/features/source-switching) page. Add only accounts you own and are entitled to use. GitHub's [Terms of Service](https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/github-terms/github-terms-of-service) say one person or legal entity "may maintain no more than one free Account", and providers' terms may not allow sharing a subscription sign-in. To run Copilot next to Claude Code and Codex in one project, [download Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/download). Share [X](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fguides%2Fgithub-copilot-ai-credits-explained&text=GitHub%20Copilot%20AI%20credits%2C%20explained%20(2026))[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fguides%2Fgithub-copilot-ai-credits-explained)[Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitlink?u=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fguides%2Fgithub-copilot-ai-credits-explained&t=GitHub%20Copilot%20AI%20credits%2C%20explained%20(2026))[Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fguides%2Fgithub-copilot-ai-credits-explained&title=GitHub%20Copilot%20AI%20credits%2C%20explained%20(2026))[E-mail](mailto:?subject=GitHub%20Copilot%20AI%20credits%2C%20explained%20(2026)&body=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fguides%2Fgithub-copilot-ai-credits-explained) ## Sources - [GitHub Docs: Usage-based billing for individuals](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing-and-usage/individuals/billing) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Docs: Usage-based billing for organizations and enterprises](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing-and-usage/organizations-and-enterprises/billing) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Docs: Plans for GitHub Copilot](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/get-started/plans) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Docs: Models and pricing for GitHub Copilot](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-billing/models-and-pricing) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Blog: GitHub Copilot is moving to usage-based billing (27 April 2026)](https://github.blog/news-insights/company-news/github-copilot-is-moving-to-usage-based-billing/) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Changelog: Updates to GitHub Copilot billing and plans (1 June 2026)](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-06-01-updates-to-github-copilot-billing-and-plans/) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Docs: What changed with Copilot billing (legacy)](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-billing/request-based-billing-legacy/what-changed-with-billing) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Docs: Setting up budgets to control spending on metered products](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/how-tos/set-up-budgets) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Docs: GitHub Copilot CLI command reference](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-cli-reference/cli-command-reference) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Docs: Asking GitHub Copilot questions in GitHub Mobile](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-on-github/chat-with-copilot/chat-in-mobile) (accessed 24 October 2026) - [GitHub Terms of Service](https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/github-terms/github-terms-of-service) (accessed 24 October 2026) ## Frequently asked questions **How many AI credits does Copilot Pro include?** 1,500 a month, as of 24 October 2026: 1,000 base credits, which match the $10 price, and a flex allotment of 500. Pro+ ($39) has 7,000 and Max ($100) has 20,000. **What is the difference between base and flex credits?** Base credits equal your plan's price in cents and GitHub says they never change. The flex allotment sits on top, is spent after the base, and GitHub says it may change as model prices and efficiency change. **Do Copilot code completions use AI credits?** No. GitHub says code completions and next edit suggestions are not billed in AI credits and stay unlimited on every paid plan. Copilot Free includes 2,000 completions a month. **Do unused AI credits roll over?** No. Included credits are forfeited at the end of the month, and the allowance resets to the full amount at 00:00 UTC on the 1st, whatever day you pay. **I'm on an annual Copilot Pro plan. Do I have AI credits?** Not while that plan runs. Existing annual Pro and Pro+ plans stay on premium requests with model multipliers until they end, then move to Copilot Free. You can switch to a monthly plan earlier and get prorated credits for what's left. Every coding agent 67 coding agents, one harness. Run Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and the rest on your own computers, with the sign-ins you already have. [Download](https://shuriken.sh/download) [Other platforms](https://shuriken.sh/download#main) ## Keep reading - [Claude Max vs Cursor Ultra: which $200 plan for coding?: Comparison 27 Oct 2026 5 min read Claude Max 20x and Cursor Ultra both cost $200 a month. One buys Claude Code usage in time windows, the other a weekly pool where Claude costs extra.](https://shuriken.sh/compare/claude-max-vs-cursor-ultra) - [Cursor vs Claude Code: editor or terminal agent?: Comparison 27 Oct 2026 10 min read Cursor is an editor with an agent and a weekly usage pool; Claude Code is Anthropic's agent on 5-hour and weekly limits. Models, rules, MCP, cloud.](https://shuriken.sh/compare/cursor-vs-claude-code) - [How to choose an app for your coding agents: Guide 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Picking an app to run Claude Code, Codex and other agents? Eight questions that separate them: where agents run, your plans, worktrees, limits and privacy.](https://shuriken.sh/guides/choose-a-coding-agent-app) ## Free tools - [Claude limit reset tracker](https://shuriken.sh/tools/limit-resets/claude) - [Codex limit reset tracker](https://shuriken.sh/tools/limit-resets/codex)