GitHub switches Copilot billing to flex models

GitHub is changing its billing model for Copilot once again. Starting June 1, all paid plans designed for individual developers will consist of two components: a fixed amount of tokens (the Base Credits) and a Flex allotment. GitHub intends to dynamically adjust the latter based on economic factors such as model costs.

GitHub had already announced at the end of April that it would remove free models from the Copilot plans. Now, further fine-tuning is following, which can be understood as a reaction to community feedback, as GitHub writes about the changes. The community was wondering whether the token quota included in the paid plans would be sufficient when the switch to usage-based billing occurs at the beginning of June.

Base Credits + Flex Allotment = AI Credits

GitHub answers the question about the Flex allotment as follows: "it is designed to adapt as the economics of AI evolve, including model pricing, new models, and improvements in efficiency." The Base Credits, which are directly tied to the subscription price, will remain constant, according to the provider.

The Flex allotment will apply from June 1 for the Pro and Pro+ plans. If developers have exhausted their Base Credits, they can draw further tokens from the Flex allotment. For the Pro plan, 1,000 Base Credits and a current Flex allotment of 500 Credits sum up to a total monthly amount of 1,500 AI Credits. For the Pro+ plan, this results in 7,000 AI Credits (3,900 Base + 3,100 Flex) accordingly.

The same billing scheme is also applied by the new Max plan, which also launches in June. It is aimed at those who use Copilot intensively, costs $100 per month, and includes 10,000 Base Credits as well as an equivalent Flex allotment of another 10,000 AI Credits.

Fallback to simpler models is eliminated

If the credit limit is exhausted, Copilot will block all requests requiring credits until the start of the next billing period. Previously, it was possible to automatically fall back to a cheaper model, but this option is being eliminated with the new pricing model. However, GitHub is leaving the Free plan untouched, with currently 50 premium requests and 2,000 code suggestions per month.

Users of the previous monthly plans do not need to do anything further; the change will happen automatically. Annual contracts will not be converted to the new model. They will continue to operate under the previous request-based pricing system until the end of the contract, but with higher multipliers for more expensive models.

(mro)