Microsoft Copilot vs GitHub Copilot: Free vs Paid Pricing

If you searched “copilot pricing” or “is copilot free,” you may have landed on information about two completely different products. Microsoft Copilot is the general-purpose AI assistant built into Windows, Office, and the web at copilot.microsoft.com — it’s for writing emails, summarizing documents, and everyday chat. GitHub Copilot is a separate product aimed at software developers, built into code editors to autocomplete code and power an AI coding chat. Both are made by Microsoft (GitHub is a Microsoft subsidiary), both share the “Copilot” name, and both have free and paid tiers — but they solve different problems and are priced independently. Below is what’s actually free, what costs money, and how much, for each one.

Microsoft Copilot: Free Tier and Paid Plans

Microsoft Copilot’s free tier covers basic text conversation on the web version at no cost. Where it stops being free is inside Office apps: features like Copilot Chat embedded in Word/Excel/Outlook, the Researcher/Analyst agents, and image generation require a paid Microsoft 365 subscription.

There are two paid paths to those advanced features:

• Microsoft 365 Premium — US$19.99/month (or US$199.99/year billed annually). This is the top-tier individual plan and replaces the old standalone “Copilot Pro” subscription. It includes the advanced Copilot features (Researcher/Analyst agents, AI image generation) plus up to 6TB of cloud storage. As of the most recent check, Microsoft’s store was running a promotion offering a free first month, with no listed end date for the offer.
• Bundled into existing M365 subscriptions — US$0 additional. If you already pay for Microsoft 365 Personal (US$9.99/month) or Family (US$12.99/month), basic Copilot features are now included in those plans at no extra charge.

There was also a standalone “Copilot Pro” plan at US$20/month, but it has been discontinued — Microsoft’s official site no longer lists it as of the most recent verification, and existing subscribers can keep using it only until August 1, 2026, after which Microsoft 365 Premium takes over. Full details are on the Microsoft Copilot tool page.

GitHub Copilot: Free Tier and Paid Plans

GitHub Copilot’s free tier is quota-based rather than feature-limited: general users get 2,000 code completions plus 50 chat messages per month at no cost. Open-source maintainers and verified teachers can get a free upgrade to Pro. Students can also apply for a free plan — that application process had been paused, then reopened in stages as of a recent update — but as of the most recent verification, both the Free and Student tiers are restricted to “Auto” automatic model selection, with no manual model picking (paid plans above Free aren’t affected by that restriction).

Paid plans scale by usage and team size:

• Pro — US$10/month.
• Pro+ — US$39/month.
• Max — US$100/month, which includes roughly US$200/month worth of GitHub AI Credits.
• Business — US$19/month per seat. Seat cost equals the monthly AI Credits allowance (1,900 credits/seat standard). A time-limited promotion running through September 1, 2026 boosts this to 3,000 credits/seat for existing customers.
• Enterprise — US$39/month per seat. Standard allowance is 3,900 credits/seat, boosted to 7,000 credits/seat under the same promotion through September 1, 2026.

For the full plan breakdown, see the GitHub Copilot tool page.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Which One Should You Choose?

Pick Microsoft Copilot if you live in Office apps and want AI help with documents, email, and everyday tasks — and check whether you’re already covered before paying anything, since M365 Personal and Family subscribers get basic Copilot features included. Only step up to Microsoft 365 Premium (US$19.99/month) if you specifically need the advanced Researcher/Analyst agents or AI image generation inside Office.

Pick GitHub Copilot if you write code and want AI-assisted autocomplete and chat inside your editor. The free tier’s 2,000 completions and 50 chat messages a month is a reasonable way to try it before paying; students, teachers, and open-source maintainers should check their eligibility for a free upgrade before reaching for a card. For everyone else, Pro at US$10/month is the standard entry point, with Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise scaling up for heavier or team usage.

If your needs span both — Office productivity and software development — there’s no bundle between them; you’d subscribe to each separately based on which features you actually use.

Pricing checked against official sources. Microsoft Copilot data last verified 2026-08-07. GitHub Copilot data last verified 2026-08-07. Prices and promotions change — always confirm current pricing on the official sites linked above before subscribing.