GitHub Copilot Free: Complete Guide to Copilot's Free Tier (2026)
Is GitHub Copilot free? Yes, for students and open source! Learn about Copilot free options, limitations, and how to earn while coding.
TL;DR
GitHub Copilot offers a free tier with limitations. Only for verified students, teachers, OSS maintainers. Want to make money while using GitHub Copilot? Install Idlen and earn passive income during AI wait times.
What you get with GitHub Copilot Free
Here's what's included in the free tier
Included Features
- Code completions in VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim
- Multi-language support
- Context-aware suggestions
- Whole-line and function completions
- Comment-to-code generation
Limitations
- Only for verified students, teachers, OSS maintainers
- Individual use only
- No Copilot Chat in IDE (basic tier)
- Standard suggestion speed
- Limited to specific IDEs
GitHub Copilot Free vs Paid
Compare free and paid plans to see what's best for you
| Plan | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|
Free | $0 |
|
| Copilot Individual | $10/month |
|
| Copilot Business | $19/user/month |
|
| Copilot Enterprise | $39/user/month |
|
Make GitHub Copilot Even More Free
Why just use GitHub Copilot for free when you can actually EARN money while using it? Install Idlen and get paid for the wait time during AI responses.
How to Get GitHub Copilot Free
Not everyone pays for Copilot. Here's who qualifies for free access.
Free Access Qualifications
Students & Educators
- Apply through GitHub Education
- Requires school email or documentation
- Renewed annually while eligible
Open Source Maintainers
- Maintain a popular OSS project
- Verified by GitHub automatically
- Continues while maintaining active projects
Best Practices for Free Users
- Verify eligibility - Apply early, verification can take time
- Link school email - Faster verification than uploading documents
- Contribute to OSS - Build eligibility through open source
🎁 Get GitHub Copilot for FREE with Idlen
Don't qualify for free Copilot? No problem. Idlen users earn €30-100/month — that's 3-10x the cost of Copilot Individual!
How it works:
- Install the free Idlen extension
- Ads display during AI thinking time
- Code normally — nothing changes
- Your earnings pay for Copilot (and more)
"I bought Copilot annual with one month of Idlen earnings. It literally paid for itself 12x over." — Developer experience
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