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GitHub Copilot Free Limits (2026): What the Free Plan Really Gives You
GitHub Copilot Free limits in 2026: completions per month, chat and agent caps, which models you get, when the limit resets and what happens when you hit it.
7 min read
Free plan limits, reset time and at-the-limit options checked Oct 28, 2026 on GitHub Copilot plans, the Copilot plans docs and the Copilot billing docs. The VS Code FAQ was checked Oct 23, 2026. This page has no affiliate links (how we work).
The GitHub Copilot free limits, in GitHub’s own words (checked Oct 28, 2026): “GitHub Copilot Free users are limited to 2,000 completions and access to entry level models per month.” On top of that, Free gets an allowance of GitHub AI Credits for chat, the CLI and agent mode, which the plans page calls “Limited chat and agent usage”. You can’t pick your model; Free runs on auto model selection only. Everything resets at 00:00 UTC on the 1st of each month.
The one number GitHub won’t give you is the size of that AI-credit allowance. And the old “50 chat requests” line is gone. It’s not on the plans page anywhere.
We haven’t measured how far the Free allowance stretches. Everything below comes from GitHub’s and VS Code’s own pages.
GitHub Copilot free limits (exact numbers)
| Limit | Free plan | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Completions | 2,000/month | Plans page + docs |
| Chat and agent | Limited (AI credits) | Plans page |
| Credit allowance | Not published | Billing docs |
| Models | Auto selection only | Plans docs |
| Extra credits | Not offered | Plans page |
| Reset | 1st, 00:00 UTC | Billing docs |
Sources: Copilot plans, Copilot plans docs and Copilot billing docs, all verified Oct 28, 2026.
What sits behind each row:
- 2,000 completions a month. The docs say “Limited to 2000 completions per month on Copilot Free.” These are the inline suggestions in your editor.
- Chat and agents run on AI credits. “Copilot Free and Copilot Student both have an allowance of AI credits and access to models through auto model selection only.” Chat, the CLI, cloud agent, Spaces, Spark and third-party agents all draw on AI credits. The plans page also says “Free plan supports CLI and agent mode.”
- Models: “entry level”, picked for you. The plans FAQ says “entry level models”; the docs say “auto model selection only”. Same idea from two pages: Copilot chooses the model, and you don’t get the model picker. GitHub doesn’t list which models count as “entry level”.
- A few features are off. Copilot Chat skills in IDEs are “Not available in Copilot Free”, and code review on Free is “Only ‘Review selection’ in VS Code”.
GitHub swapping “50 chat requests” for “entry level models” is very Pierce Hawthorne trying to make “streets ahead” happen. It sounds like it means something. Nobody can tell you exactly what.
Does Copilot Free have a credit limit?
Yes, but it has no number on it. On Free, auto selection picks the model, so you can’t steer toward cheaper ones to stretch it. The plans page lists Free’s AI credits as “Limited chat and agent usage”, while every paid plan gets an exact figure: Pro 1,500 credits a month, Pro+ 7,000, Max 20,000 (1 credit = $0.01). Free’s allowance is a J.J. Abrams mystery box. GitHub knows what’s inside. You find out when it runs out.
When does the Copilot Free limit reset?
On the 1st of every month, at the same moment for everyone. GitHub’s wording: “Included AI credits do not carry over between months. Unused credits are forfeited, and your allowance resets to the full monthly amount at 00:00:00 UTC on the first day of each calendar month. This reset date is fixed and does not change based on your subscription billing date.”
So:
- Time: 00:00 UTC on the 1st, whatever day you signed up.
- No rollover: a quiet month doesn’t bank anything.
- Where to check: GitHub says you can “track your usage and reset date in your Copilot settings.”
The 2,000-completion cap is described per month too (“per month” on the plans page). GitHub doesn’t give a separate reset time for completions, so we won’t guess one.
Copilot Free limit reached: what happens
The two limits work separately. From the VS Code Copilot FAQ (verified Oct 23, 2026): “If you’ve only reached the AI credits limit, you can still use inline suggestions. Similarly, if you’ve reached the limit for inline suggestions, you can still use chat.”
So running out of credits mid-month doesn’t kill Copilot entirely. Chat and agent mode stop, and completions keep going until you’ve used 2,000. Hit both and it’s the Soup Nazi: no soup for you until the 1st.
Your options on Free:
- Wait for the 1st. The FAQ says you can “wait until the next month”.
- Upgrade. Free users can “sign up for a paid plan directly from VS Code”, or upgrade “through your Copilot settings page”.
- Buying extra credits isn’t one of them. That’s a paid-plan thing. On Pro and up, you set a dollar budget and keep going (“a $10 budget covers 1,000 credits”).
Copilot Free vs Pro
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $10/mo |
| Completions | 2,000/mo | Unlimited |
| AI credits | Not published | 1,500/mo |
| Models | Auto only | Model picker |
| Extra credits | Not offered | Budget, $0.01 each |
| Reset | 1st, 00:00 UTC | 1st, 00:00 UTC |
Sources: Copilot plans, plans docs and billing docs, verified Oct 28, 2026. Pro’s 1,500 credits are 1,000 base plus 500 flex, and GitHub says “Flex allotments may change over time.”
On paid plans, completions and next edit suggestions “don’t use credits. They remain unlimited with every paid plan.” A credit is worth $0.01, so Pro’s allowance is $15 of usage on a $10 plan. The rest of the ladder is in our GitHub Copilot cost breakdown, and Copilot Pro vs Pro+ covers which paid tier fits. If you’re in school, skip all of this and read Copilot for students: Copilot Student is free with unlimited completions.
Is Copilot Free enough for daily coding?
For autocomplete-heavy work, often yes. 2,000 completions a month is roughly 90-ish a working day across 22 days (our arithmetic, not GitHub’s), and running out of chat credits doesn’t stop them.
For daily agent mode or long chat sessions, probably not, and you won’t know your exact runway because the allowance is unsized. The upgrade signal is simple: if credits run dry in the first week or two, you’re a Pro user who hasn’t paid yet.
Here’s what I’d do
Start on Free. It costs nothing and the completions alone are useful. Watch when the AI credits run out: if it’s the last few days of the month, wait for the 1st. If it’s the first week, $10 for unlimited completions plus $15 of credits is a fair deal.
Want a second free option to rotate in? Read Is Cursor free? and Is Claude Code free?. If you’re already eyeing the top tier, Copilot Max vs Claude Max has the $100 plans side by side, and AI coding tools compared has everything else.
Our one gripe hasn’t changed since we first wrote this page: GitHub went from a clear “50 chats” to an unsized “allowance” on Free while publishing exact numbers for every plan you pay for. Fine for selling upgrades. Bad for anyone trying to plan a month.
Comparing free IDE assistants? Is Gemini Code Assist free? covers Google’s free tier for individuals.
Wondering how premium requests are counted and when they reset? Copilot premium requests explained covers allowances, multipliers and overage cost.
If Copilot says “Sorry, you’ve exceeded your rate limits”, see the Copilot rate-limit error before you upgrade.
Hoping to try Pro before paying? GitHub Copilot Pro free trial covers trial status, card rules and how to cancel.
Free plan users who see “Language model unavailable” in VS Code can check the Copilot language model unavailable fix.
FAQ
What are the GitHub Copilot free limits? GitHub says Copilot Free is limited to 2,000 completions and entry-level models per month, plus a limited AI-credit allowance for chat and agents (checked Oct 28, 2026).
Does Copilot Free have a credit limit? Yes, Free has an AI-credit allowance for chat, CLI and agent mode, but GitHub doesn’t publish its size.
When does the Copilot Free limit reset? The allowance resets at 00:00 UTC on the 1st of each calendar month, regardless of signup date, and unused credits don’t carry over.
What happens when I reach the Copilot Free limit? If only credits run out, completions keep working (and vice versa); otherwise wait for the 1st or upgrade to a paid plan.
Is Copilot Free enough for daily coding? It’s enough for light, autocomplete-heavy use, but daily agent mode or long chats will likely hit the unpublished credit cap.
Does Copilot Free still include 50 chat requests? No, the plans page no longer mentions 50 chat requests; Free now has an AI-credit allowance whose size GitHub doesn’t publish.
Sources
- GitHub Copilot plans (Free limits FAQ, AI credits, at-the-limit options): https://github.com/features/copilot/plans (verified 2026-10-28)
- GitHub Docs, Plans for GitHub Copilot (Free features, models, completions cap): https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/get-started/plans (verified 2026-10-28)
- GitHub Docs, Usage-based billing for individuals (reset time, rollover, upgrades): https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing-and-usage/individuals/billing (verified 2026-10-28)
- VS Code Copilot FAQ (separate limits, options on Free): https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/agent-troubleshooting/faq (verified 2026-10-23)