GitHub Copilot, the AI coding assistant from Microsoft-managed GitHub, could soon become more expensive for some users.
Last Friday, GitHub announced so-called premium requests for GitHub Copilot, as reported by TechCruch. This involves a new system that sets limits when users switch to AI models other than the basic model, for tasks such as agentic coding or multi-file edits.
Limited number of tasks and actions
Although GitHub Copilot subscribers can still perform an unlimited number of actions with the basic model (GPT-4o from OpenAI), tasks and actions with newer models, such as Sonnet 3.7 from Anthropic, will be limited.
According to GitHub in a blog post, customers with the Copilot Pro subscription ($20 per month) will receive 300 premium requests per month starting May 5 of this year. For Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise users, 300 and 1,000 premium requests per month will be made available, respectively. This change will take effect between May 12 and May 19.
Customers with one of these subscriptions can purchase additional premium requests for $0.04 each or upgrade to the new Copilot Pro+ subscription. This new plan, which starts at $39 per month, offers 1,500 premium requests and, as reported, access to the best models, including GPT-4.5 from OpenAI, according to GitHub.
Higher computing costs
The price increase for Copilot’s more powerful models comes precisely one day after AI coding platform Devin raised rates for some users. The new price probably reflects the higher computational costs of these models. After all, reasoning models such as Sonnet 3.7 take more time to check their answers, which makes the applications more reliable but also more intensive in terms of processing.
Copilot is certainly not a money-losing service. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated last August that Copilot would be responsible for more than 40% of GitHub’s revenue growth by 2024, and is already a larger company than GitHub was when it was acquired by Microsoft some seven years ago.