GitHub, the Microsoft-owned developer platform, now offers a free version of its Copilot AI coding assistant, directly integrated into the widely used VS Code editor.
This marks a major expansion of access to Copilot, which, since its launch in 2021, was primarily available through paid subscriptions.
The introduction of the free tier coincides with GitHub surpassing 150 million developers on its platform, signaling a strategic move to further broaden its user base. Previously, free access was limited to verified students, teachers, and maintainers of open-source projects. The free tier for these groups continues unaffected.
The new Copilot Free tier provides users with up to 2,000 code completions and 50 chat interactions per month. Users can access these features by simply signing into their GitHub accounts.
It includes a choice of foundational AI models: Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet and OpenAI’s GPT-4o.
GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke explained that this offering aligns with the company’s history of providing developers with free resources: “We have free [GitHub] Actions entitlements. I think at my first Universe [conference] as CEO, we announced free Codespaces. And so it felt natural, at some point, to get to the point where we also have a completely free Copilot, not just one that is for students and open source maintainers.”
Details and Features of the Free Tier
Although tailored for occasional use, the free tier of Copilot retains access to essential features such as Copilot Chat and all Copilot Extensions. This makes it a valuable tool for hobbyists and those working on smaller projects.
Each Copilot code suggestion will count against the 2,000 code completion limit. Paid plans, including Copilot Pro, Business, and Enterprise, provide unlimited completions and access to additional models like Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro.
Microsoft’s Rhea Patel highlighted the benefits for developers, stating, “With Copilot Free, you’ll have AI-powered tools right at your fingertips — smarter debugging, AI generated commit messages, AI-breakpoint placement, and of course, direct access to Completions, Chat, and much more.”
| Copilot Free | Copilot Pro | Copilot Business | Copilot Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $10/month $100/year |
$19/seat/month | $39/seat/month |
| Code Completions | Up to 2,000/month | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Chat Requests | Up to 50/month | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Models | Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4o |
Gemini 1.5 Pro, o1-preview, -mini, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4o |
Gemini 1.5 Pro, o1-preview, -mini, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4o |
Gemini 1.5 Pro, o1-preview, -mini, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4o |
| Usage | Occasional users, small projects | Professional developers, larger projects | Organizations, multiple developers | Enterprises, extensive needs |
| Availability | VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, GitHub.com | VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, GitHub.com | VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, GitHub.com | VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, GitHub.com |
Market Dynamics and Competitive Landscape
The launch of a free Copilot tier occurs amid intensifying competition in the AI coding assistant market. Since its debut in 2021, Copilot has been a widely adopted tool for AI-assisted coding.
However, competitors like Supermaven/Cursor, Google and AWS offer similar products, many featuring their own free tiers. By directly integrating Copilot into VS Code, a highly popular code editor, GitHub is strategically positioned to retain and grow its user base.
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Dohmke pointed out the global implications of this move: “Our mission is to … enable a billion users to become a developer worldwide — and obviously, if you look around the world, whether it’s in Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, in India or Indonesia, in Pakistan, their ten dollars are much more relative to the average income.”
Freemium Strategy and Future Goals
GitHub’s CEO, Thomas Dohmke, characterizes the launch of Copilot Free as a return to the platform’s “freemium roots” and a step toward a future where AI is central to achieving a user base of one billion developers.
He further elaborated on this vision, stating, “With Copilot Free, we are returning to our freemium roots and are laying the groundwork for something far greater: AI represents our best path to enabling a GitHub with one billion developers. There should be no barrier to entry for experiencing the joy of creating software.”
