GitHub Copilot price (October 2026) and how to cancel or downgrade

Copilot's pricing changed shape in 2026. Code completions stay unlimited on every paid plan, but chat, agent mode, code review and the Copilot CLI now consume AI Credits whose cost depends on the model you choose. That means two people on the same $10 plan can end the month with very different bills. Before cancelling, it's worth knowing which part of the bill you actually want to stop.

GitHub Copilot plans and prices (October 2026)

Cancel, downgrade or cap Copilot

Cancel Copilot Pro, Pro+ or Max (billed by GitHub)

1. Sign in at github.com, click your profile photo > Settings.
2. In the Access section of the sidebar, click Billing & licensing, then Licensing (on the original billing platform: Plans and usage).
3. In the GitHub Copilot section, open the Manage subscription dropdown and click Cancel subscription (or pick the downgrade option).
4. Select Cancel Copilot Pro / Pro+ / Max to confirm. Paid features continue until the end of the billing cycle, then your account moves to Copilot Free.

Cap AI Credit spending without cancelling

1. Go to Settings > Billing and licensing > Budgets and alerts.
2. Set the Copilot / AI Credits budget to $0, or a small fixed amount.
3. Turn on stop usage when the budget is reached. GitHub also sends alerts at 75%, 90% and 100% of a budget.

Remove Copilot Business or Enterprise seats (organisation owners)

1. Open your organisation > Settings > Copilot > Access.
2. Remove seats for specific members, or set access to Disabled for the organisation.
3. Check Billing and licensing for when the seat charge stops.

Bought through GitHub Mobile on iPhone

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad and tap your name at the top.
2. Tap Subscriptions.
3. Tap GitHub.
4. Tap Cancel Subscription (or Cancel Free Trial), then confirm.

Which exit is right for you

Cancelling isn't always the cheapest move. Pick the row that matches why you want out:

Our take: watch the meter, not the sticker

For most individual developers the $10 Pro price isn't the risk - an uncapped AI Credits budget is. GitHub's own example is simple: credits draw down at $0.01 each, so a $10 budget covers 1,000 credits, and a long agent session on a frontier model uses far more than a quick question to a lightweight model.

If you've been surprised by a Copilot charge, set the budget to $0 first. That stops the bleeding immediately, and you can then decide calmly whether the plan itself is worth keeping. Switching your default chat model to a lighter one stretches the included allowance further.

What changes after you cancel

• Repositories and code are untouched. Only Copilot access changes.
• Copilot Free becomes your plan, with its monthly limits on completions and chat.
• Unused AI Credits don't carry over; the allowance resets each month.
• Data training setting: GitHub says Free, Pro and Pro+ interaction data may be used to train models unless you opt out at github.com/settings/copilot/features. That setting stays with your account whether you cancel or not, so review it either way.
• Org seats follow your organisation's settings, not your personal billing.

Find out what is using your AI Credits

Before deciding between cancelling, capping or changing plans, look at where the credits went:

• Usage page: Settings > Billing and licensing > Usage (or the Copilot settings page) shows consumption for the current cycle and the reset date.
• Model choice matters most. GitHub says a quick question to a lightweight model costs a fraction of a credit, while a long agent session on a frontier model across many files costs much more. If your default model in VS Code or JetBrains is a frontier model, switching it for everyday questions is the single biggest saving.
• Agents and CLI count; completions don't. Chat, agent mode, code review, the cloud agent and Copilot CLI consume credits. Inline code completions and next-edit suggestions don't use credits on paid plans.
• Code review in organisations can be billed to the organisation for contributors without a seat if an admin enables it - that charge lands on the org, not on your personal account.

If almost all your usage is inline completions, Pro with a $0 overage budget is likely all you need. If agent sessions dominate, compare the plan steps against what metered credits are costing you each month.

Our warning: you may not be able to come back

In an April 20, 2026 changelog post, GitHub said it was pausing new sign-ups for the Student, Pro and Pro+ plans, while existing users could still move between plans. If that pause is still in effect when you read this, cancelling Pro means you might not be able to buy it again later. For many people the safer move is to downgrade or cap AI Credits rather than cancel outright. Check the plans page and that changelog for current availability before you confirm - GitHub can reopen or extend the pause without updating every guide that cites it.

Refunds

GitHub's documentation on license changes says cancellations and downgrades take effect at the end of the billing cycle with no refund for unused time - you keep the plan until the cycle ends. GitHub Docs also notes one exception: if you're assigned a Copilot Business or Enterprise seat while paying for a personal plan, the personal plan is cancelled automatically with a prorated refund. If you were charged for a trial you forgot, or charged after cancelling, contact GitHub Support from the billing page promptly with the date and amount. In-app purchases on iPhone are refunded only by Apple; our refund guide walks through Apple's request page.

Other AI tools people compare

If you're consolidating AI subscriptions, compare what you actually use: ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro cover coding help in chat, Google One AI / Gemini bundles storage, and some Microsoft 365 plans include Copilot features for Office apps - a different product from GitHub Copilot.