GitHub Copilot sets new limits and will start charging for 'premium' AI models.

GitHub, the software development platform owned by Microsoft, has recently announced changes to its AI-based coding assistant, GitHub Copilot, which could result in increased costs for some of its users. In a statement, the new "premium requests" system was introduced, which sets limits on the number of allowed uses when users choose AI models other than the base model for complex tasks, such as "agenetic" coding and edits across multiple files.

GitHub Copilot subscribers will still be able to perform unlimited actions with the base model, which uses OpenAI's GPT-4o. However, actions with more advanced models, such as Anthropic's 3.7 Sonnet, will be subject to restrictions. Starting May 5, users of the Copilot Pro plan, which costs $20 per month, will be entitled to 300 premium requests per month. Users of Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise will receive 300 and 1,000 premium requests per month, respectively, starting between May 12 and May 19. Customers on any plan will be able to purchase additional requests at a cost of $0.04 each or upgrade to the new Copilot Pro+ plan, which starts at $39 per month and offers 1,500 premium requests and access to more advanced models, including OpenAI's GPT-4.5.

This pricing adjustment for the more advanced models seems to respond to the higher computing costs associated with their use, especially since models like the 3.7 Sonnet require more time to verify their responses, which improves reliability but also increases the demand for computing resources. However, despite these costs, GitHub Copilot is not a loss-making business. According to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, Copilot accounted for more than 40% of GitHub's revenue growth in 2024 and has already surpassed the total size of GitHub's business at the time of its acquisition by Microsoft about seven years ago.