Copilot Strengthens Token-Based Billing and Usage Limits

Microsoft plans to switch GitHub Copilot's billing model from the existing 'request'-based approach to a 'token-based billing' approach based on actual usage.

According to internal documents, this decision became urgent as Copilot's operating costs have surged nearly twofold on a weekly basis since earlier this year. This is in line with a broader trend among other AI companies, such as Anthropic, introducing token-based billing for enterprise users to reduce the burden of computing costs.

Key changes are as follows:

• Billing structure change: Introduction of a payment method based on the amount of tokens users input/output.
• Sign-up suspension: Possible temporary suspension of new sign-ups for student and paid individual plans.
• Model access restrictions: Removal of Anthropic's Opus model family from the lower-priced plan ($10/month).
• Stricter rate limits: More stringent usage limits applied across personal, business, and enterprise accounts.

These changes suggest that the 'subsidy era,' in which AI companies have been subsidizing computing costs higher than subscription fees, is coming to an end.