The Copilot app from GitHub is now available for free

GitHub, owned by Microsoft, announced on Wednesday that its widely used AI-powered coding assistant, Copilot, will now be available for free, targeting occasional users. Previously, most developers needed to pay a subscription fee starting at $10 per month, with free access limited to verified students, educators, and open-source contributors. In addition, GitHub revealed that Copilot will now be integrated by default into Microsoft’s popular Visual Studio Code (VS Code) editor.

This move comes as GitHub’s developer community has grown significantly, reaching 150 million users, up from 100 million in early 2023. GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke shared insights on this shift, reflecting on the platform’s history of making its tools more accessible. In an exclusive interview, Dohmke shared, “My initial project at GitHub in 2018 was offering free private repositories, then we introduced free private organizations in 2020, followed by free Codespaces shortly thereafter. It felt like the right moment to make Copilot fully free.”

While the free Copilot version is designed for light use rather than extensive professional projects, it includes notable limitations. Users on the free plan are restricted to 2,000 code completions per month, with each AI-generated suggestion counting toward this cap, whether or not it’s accepted. Additionally, free users can only access Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet and OpenAI’s GPT-4o models, while paid plans offer additional options, such as Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro.

GitHub’s decision aligns with increasing competition in the AI coding tools market, where services like Tabnine, Qodo, and AWS also offer free tiers. By leveraging the widespread popularity of VS Code and adopting a freemium model, GitHub aims to expand Copilot’s reach. Dohmke emphasized the platform’s mission to empower a billion developers worldwide, especially in regions where subscription fees may be prohibitive.

Copilot Free is expected to appeal to aspiring developers in emerging markets and students, as it eliminates the need for additional verification steps. Dohmke described this initiative as a return to GitHub’s freemium roots, positioning AI as the key to achieving its vision of a billion-strong developer community. Six years after being acquired by Microsoft, GitHub remains committed to its mission of making software development more accessible globally.