GitHub Copilot replaces premium request units with token-based AI Credits starting June 1, 2026, at published API rates.
Key Takeaways
All Copilot plans convert to AI Credits: Pro gets $10/month in credits, Pro+ $39, Business $19/user, Enterprise $39/user.
Token consumption covers input, output, and cached tokens at listed API rates per model – no flat-rate subsidized inference.
Code completions and Next Edit suggestions remain free; fallback to cheaper models on exhaustion is removed.
Business and Enterprise get promotional boosted credits for June-August ($30 and $70 respectively) plus new pooled usage and admin budget controls.
Annual Pro/Pro+ subscribers stay on PRU pricing until expiry, but model multipliers increase June 1; they must convert to monthly or drop to Free.
Hacker News Comment Review
Commenters broadly agree the subsidy era is over: heavy agentic users who burned $500+ of Opus on a $10/month plan via long planning sessions had an obviously unsustainable deal, and GitHub is now closing it.
The value proposition of the subscription is contested – at identical per-token rates to direct API providers, a monthly Copilot plan offers no discount and forces use-it-or-lose-it credits, making PAYG providers more attractive for irregular users.
Model multipliers drew sharp criticism: new tables show GPT-4o and Sonnet at 6x and Opus at 27x relative to base, leading several commenters to suggest OpenRouter as a cheaper alternative for heavy users.
Notable Comments
@theanonymousone: Points out API rates are identical to direct providers, so a monthly sub with expiring credits gives no incentive to stay over PAYG.
@4ndrewl: “The Porsche you rented at $200/mo is now a Honda. But the price hasn’t changed!” – on plan price staying flat while value delivered drops.
@nickjj: Draws an analogy to per-SMS billing but notes AI is worse – you pay per token even when the output is wrong or incomplete.
