Microsoft's GitHub shifts to metered AI billing amid cost crisis
The Register ● Covered by 2 sources
GitHub is switching Copilot from request-based to usage-based token billing on June 1, 2026, after subsidizing expensive inference costs became unsustainable. Copilot Pro subscribers will receive 1,000 AI Credits per month at $0.01 per credit, with complex models like Anthropic's Opus seeing pricing multipliers increase from 7.5x to 27x. Customers will face variable costs based on token consumption and can define overflow budgets or wait for monthly resets, while subscription rates remain unchanged but more expensive model usage is now explicitly metered.
Why it matters
The all-you-can-eat AI buffet is coming to an end
