GitHub Shifts Copilot to Usage-Based Billing Model
What happened
Between the Apr 27, 2026 and May 4, 2026 captures of GitHub's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: GitHub added a 'Pricing update coming soon' banner to their pricing page, linking to an announcement that Copilot is moving to usage-based billing. Pulse files it as a product change (positioning) with a neutral direction. Pulse's latest capture (Oct 19, 2026) lists Team at $4, Enterprise at $21, GitHub Codespaces at $0.18 per core hour compute + $0.07 per GB storage and Git Large File Storage at $5.
GitHub's previous recorded change was "GitHub Renames Protected Branches to Repository Rules with Expanded Scope and Corrects Git LFS Pricing to $5/month for 50 GB" (Q3 2025). Before that Pulse recorded "GitHub Removes Advanced Security from Enterprise Plan, Now Only Available as Add-on" (Q2 2025), "GitHub Introduces Free Tier for Copilot Add-On: Up to 2,000 Completions and 50 Chat Requests Monthly" (Q1 2025) and "GitHub Restructures Enterprise Pricing to Variable Model, Introducing Tiered Options Starting at $21/user/month" (Q4 2024). GitHub has been tracked since 2023-11-14.
In the same window GitLab also changed their Software Development & Testing pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- — · PositioningAdded
BeforeNot listed
After'Pricing update coming soon' banner
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Positioning | Not listed | 'Pricing update coming soon' banner | Added |
Values as written on GitHub's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of GitHub's pricing page (github.com) from Apr 27, 2026 and May 4, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where 'Pricing update coming soon' banner now appears.
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GitHub, pricing history
Full history- Oct 17, 2026improvedGitHub adds usage-based AI detection for push protection to Secret Protection
- Jun 8, 2026packagingGitHub adds cloud sandbox for Copilot agent workflows
- Jun 1, 2026packagingGitHub Copilot free tier loses 50 monthly chat requests
- May 4, 2026packagingGitHub Shifts Copilot to Usage-Based Billing Model · this change
- Q3 2025packagingGitHub Renames Protected Branches to Repository Rules with Expanded Scope and Corrects Git LFS Pricing to $5/month for 50 GB
- Q2 2025packagingGitHub Removes Advanced Security from Enterprise Plan, Now Only Available as Add-on
- Q1 2025packagingGitHub Introduces Free Tier for Copilot Add-On: Up to 2,000 Completions and 50 Chat Requests Monthly
- Q4 2024improvedGitHub Restructures Enterprise Pricing to Variable Model, Introducing Tiered Options Starting at $21/user/month
- Q2 2024packagingGitHub Removes First-Year Promotional Discount for Team and Enterprise Plans, Increasing Costs for New Users
Across Software Development & Testing in the same window
All Software Development & Testing changes- GitLabApr 9GitLab streamlines add-ons pricing with unified section layout
- GitLabApr 6GitLab drops three Premium AI features, adds Advanced CI/CD
- GitLabApr 3GitLab replaces Duo add-ons with credit-based AI Agent Platform
- GitLabMar 26GitLab removes Duo Pro and Duo Enterprise add-ons from pricing page
- GitLabMar 3GitLab adds Claude Code and Codex to Duo Agent Platform
Questions about this change
Did GitHub raise prices in May 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Apr 27, 2026 and May 4, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a product change: positioning.
What changed on GitHub's pricing page between Apr 27, 2026 and May 4, 2026?
Positioning: Not listed → 'Pricing update coming soon' banner, added. Pulse compared the captures it took on Apr 27, 2026 and May 4, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does GitHub change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 0 other pricing-page changes for GitHub in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "GitHub Renames Protected Branches to Repository Rules with Expanded Scope and Corrects Git LFS Pricing to $5/month for 50 GB" in Q3 2025; GitHub has been tracked since 2023-11-14.