Copilot AI Credits Ran Out: What Changed and What to Do
On June 1, 2026, GitHub replaced Copilot's premium requests with token-metered AI credits: 1 credit = $0.01, and Pro ($10/mo) includes $15 of credits, Pro+ ($39) about $70, Max ($100) about $200. Code completions stay unlimited on paid plans, but chat, agent mode and CLI now meter per token, and agent mode is why credits vanish: every tool call and file read in an agent session burns credits. Your options when they run out: enable pay-as-you-go overage at $0.01/credit, upgrade a tier, or move agent-mode work to a flat-rate provider and keep Copilot for completions.
What exactly changed
- Before: a monthly count of 'premium requests' per plan. After June 1, 2026: a dollar-denominated credit balance metered by actual token use.
- Completions are still unlimited on every paid plan; the change hits chat, agent mode and CLI.
- Model choice sets the burn rate: heavier models consume credits several times faster than the efficient default.
- Business ($19/user) and Enterprise ($39/user) get per-seat credit allowances; legacy annual subs kept premium requests.
Why agent mode drains credits so fast
An agent-mode session is not one request. It is a loop of requests. Reading files, running tools, verifying results: each round trip meters tokens, and a session can pass tens of thousands of tokens of context per step. Users report normal agent-mode workloads consuming double-digit percentages of a month's credits in hours. This is not a Copilot bug; it is what agentic workloads do to any per-use meter.
Your options, cheapest first
- Use the efficient default model for routine agent work; the burn-rate difference is severalfold.
- Keep completions (unlimited) as your main Copilot value; be deliberate about when agent mode is worth metered credits.
- Enable overage only with a spending cap set. Open-ended $0.01/credit overage on agent workloads is how surprise bills happen.
- Upgrade to Pro+ or Max if your metered use is consistently 2–3x your plan's credits.
- Split the workload: completions and quick chat on Copilot, sustained agent work on a flat-rate provider where the loop burns budget, not credits. Planning next year for a team? See how much to budget per developer in 2027.
The catch
The credits system is honest metering, and that is exactly the problem for agent users: agentic work is the most meter-hostile workload in software. A fixed 'requests' count was survivable; a token meter prices every loop iteration. If agent mode is your main Copilot use, the economics now push you toward either the $100 tier or a different backend for agent work.
Where Standard Compute fits
Copilot Chat in VS Code can itself run on a flat plan: add Standard Compute as a Custom Endpoint model (Manage Language Models > Add Models > Custom Endpoint, URL https://api.stdcmpt.com/v1/chat/completions) and agent sessions draw on a monthly compute budget from $19 instead of AI Credits, while completions stay on your Copilot plan. The same key runs OpenCode, Codex CLI, Cline and Claude Code. Setup and limits: /github-copilot-custom-endpoint.
FAQ
How fast do Copilot credits run out?
Completions never touch them. Chat use is modest. Agent mode is the drain: community reports show double-digit percentages of a monthly allowance consumed in single sessions on heavier models. If you live in agent mode, expect Pro's $15 of credits to last days, not weeks.
What happens when credits hit zero?
Metered features stop (or bill overage at $0.01/credit if you enabled pay-as-you-go); unlimited completions continue. Check the usage dashboard to see the burn breakdown by feature and model before deciding whether to upgrade.
Is Copilot still worth it after the credits change?
For completions-first users, absolutely: $10/mo for unlimited completions remains one of the best deals in the category. For agent-mode-first users, run the math: your real price is the credit burn, and a flat-rate agent backend plus base Copilot often beats the $100 Max tier.
Copilot agent pricing changed twice this year and our finance team is done re-forecasting it. They asked me to find 'the fixed-price version of this'. Does the BYOK ecosystem deliver that?
Not by itself. Copilot's bring-your-own-key options (Custom Endpoint models in VS Code, provider variables in the Copilot CLI, Enterprise BYOK in public preview) move chat and agent requests off AI Credits, but most keys you plug in bill per token, so the variable cost just lands on another invoice. The fixed price comes from what the key points at. On Standard Compute each developer gets a company key with its own monthly plan from $19 to $249, approved by an admin and invoiced to the company; the router sends each step to the cheapest model that can do it, and providers are vetted for price, uptime and speed with automatic fallback. At the budget a key stops with HTTP 402 instead of adding a charge, so the forecast is seats times plan: Copilot Business at $19 plus a Standard key at $89 is $108 per developer a month. Two catches: on Business and Enterprise an admin must enable the Bring Your Own Language Model Key policy first, and Copilot's cloud agent always runs on AI Credits.