One of the promises of GenAI is that it would revolutionize how professionals tackle more complex task, such as coding. And, with the advent of instant code generation and AI developer assistance, in many ways, it did.
Now, Microsoft-owned GitHub has announced the launch of a free plan for GitHub Copilot, incorporated into the Visual Studio Code (VS Code) integrated developer environment (IDE).
“We’re excited to announce an all new free plan for GitHub Copilot, available for everyone today in VS Code,” said Burke Holland, principal developer advocate, Microsoft. “All you need is a GitHub account. No trial. No subscription. No credit card required.”
Growing User Base
Already a popular tool for developers on GitHub, the world’s largest developer platform that recently surpassed 150 million users, GitHub Copilot was launched in June 2021. Now, the launch of GitHub Copilot Free comes after the company made Copilot Pro free to certain users including students, educators, and open-source maintainers.
While this new free tier includes limited access to certain features of Copilot, it is a significant offering and users can do a lot without shelling out any additional capital. “With GitHub Copilot Free you get 2, 000 code completions/month,” said Holland.
“That’s about 80 per working day — which is a lot. You also get 50 chat requests/month, as well as access to both GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet models.
“With this announcement, GitHub Copilot becomes a core part of the VS Code experience.”
In recent months, GitHub has released a series of updates related to Copilot. One significant feature, Copilot Edits, allows users to perform multi-file editing through a convenient chat sidebar. Additionally, the new custom instruction feature enables users to specify how GitHub Copilot should complete tasks.
GitHub Copilot is now contextually aware of projects, with a broader understanding of the entire codebase to provide better support. Using the free VS Code Speech extension, GitHub users can communicate with Copilot via voice commands. Furthermore, every VS Code extension can connect to GitHub Copilot APIs, allowing for a personalized experience.
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Closing Thoughts
Over the years, Microsoft has acquired hundreds of companies. In many cases, these companies provide Microsoft with essential capabilities that are absorbed into the organization’s infrastructure. In other instances, such as with GitHub, these organizations continue to operate with relative autonomy.
However, as we’ve seen, the Microsoft brand carries weight wherever it is involved. While GitHub Copilot, which operates in specific developer environments, is markedly different from Microsoft Copilot, built for the Microsoft 365 suite, the name and association with Microsoft lend credibility to it.
Users will undoubtedly connect the two technologies. This has a knock-on effect, demonstrating to the business technology community how far and popular the Copilot brand has become. And, let’s not forget, the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of users, that are about to embark on a simplified, more efficient development experience.
AI Agent & Copilot Summit is an AI-first event to define opportunities, impact, and outcomes with Microsoft Copilot and agents. Building on its 2025 success, the 2026 event takes place March 17-19 in San Diego. Get more details.
