GitHub is making its AI programming Copilot free for VS Code developers

(Image credit: GitHub)

GitHub Copilot free tier now integrates directly into VS Code
Limits include 2,000 monthly code completions and 50 chats
GitHub now supports 150 million developers on its platform

Microsoft-owned developer platform GitHub has confirmed it will be offering a free version of its Copilot AI assistant for all developers using the VS Code IDE.

Until now, Copilot was only available for free to verified students, teachers and open-source maintainers, with developers who weren't eligible for free access having to pay a monthly subscription for one of three levels to access the tool.

Anyone familiar with the way the platform has operated won’t be surprised at the change. CEO Thomas Dohmke explained: “GitHub has a long history of offering free products and services to developers.”

GitHub Copilot now free for VS Code

Previous products and tools that have been made available for free include open source and public collaboration, private repos, minutes for GitHub Actions and GitHub Codespaces, and package and release storage.

GitHub Copilot free is now available directly within VS Code and includes access to 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month. Access to the AI tool requires users to sign in with their personal GitHub account.

Users will also be able to choice between OpenAI’s GPT-4o, which powers the version of ChatGPT that many developers use, or Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

GitHub Copilot free includes most of the functionalities that the Pro tier has, which is the version that’s free for students and teachers. The free version makes do without summaries for pull requests, issues and discussions, among a few other things.

Anybody who isn’t an open-source maintainer or in education will need to pay $10/month for Pro, which removes the code completion and message limitations entirely.

More broadly, Github Copilot is also available across other popular IDEs, like Visual Studio, JetBrains IDE, Neovim and Azure Data Studio. Despite the platform’s affiliation with Microsoft, you can also use the AI assistant in Apple’s Xcode.

At the same time, Dohmke announced a new milestone of 150 million developers on GitHub. The Microsoft-owned platform is now said to have an annual revenue run rate of $2 billion.

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With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!