GitHub Copilot offers three tiers: Free, Pro, and Enterprise. Each tier provides different levels of AI code completion, chat capabilities, and administrative controls. Many developers and organizations struggle to choose the right plan because the feature boundaries are not always clear. This article compares the three tiers across code completion, chat, security, and management features so you can select the correct plan for your team or personal use.
Key Takeaways: GitHub Copilot Free vs Pro vs Enterprise
- GitHub Copilot Free: Includes 2,000 code completions per month and 50 chat requests per month for individual developers on public repositories.
- GitHub Copilot Pro: Removes monthly limits, adds multi-model chat with GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and includes Copilot in the IDE, mobile, and pull requests.
- GitHub Copilot Enterprise: Adds organization-wide policy management, knowledge bases grounded in your codebase, and custom model fine-tuning for enterprise security and compliance.
GitHub Copilot Free, Pro, and Enterprise: Plan Overview
GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer that suggests code and entire functions in real time. It integrates with Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Neovim, and GitHub Codespaces. The Free tier launched in December 2024 as a limited offering for individual developers who work mainly on public repositories. The Pro tier is the standard paid plan for professional developers. The Enterprise tier targets organizations that need centralized billing, compliance controls, and custom AI models.
What Each Tier Includes
GitHub Copilot Free provides code completions and chat but caps usage at 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests per month. It supports only GPT-4o mini for chat. Pro removes all monthly caps, increases the chat model to GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and adds Copilot in pull requests, mobile, and docs. Enterprise includes everything in Pro plus organization-wide policy management, custom knowledge bases, and fine-tuned models that respect your codebase access controls.
Prerequisites
All tiers require a GitHub account. Free works with any public repository. Pro requires a paid subscription at $10 per month or $100 per year. Enterprise requires a GitHub Enterprise Cloud account and costs $39 per user per month. Enterprise also needs an admin to configure policies in the GitHub organization settings.
Feature Comparison: Code Completion, Chat, and Integrations
The core difference between the three plans is the scope of AI features and the level of administrative control. Code completion quality is similar across all tiers because the underlying model is the same for real-time suggestions. Chat capabilities differ significantly. Enterprise adds a knowledge base feature that lets Copilot answer questions using your private codebase, documentation, and internal wikis.
Code Completion
All tiers support real-time code completion in the IDE. Free users get a monthly quota of 2,000 completions. Pro and Enterprise users have unlimited completions. The completion model is the same across tiers. Free completions work only on public repositories. Pro and Enterprise work on both public and private repositories.
Chat in IDE and Mobile
Free users can chat in the IDE using GPT-4o mini with a limit of 50 requests per month. Pro and Enterprise users get GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet with unlimited requests. Enterprise chat can also reference a knowledge base created from your organization’s repositories.
Pull Request and Docs Integration
Free does not include Copilot in pull requests or docs. Pro adds Copilot in pull requests on GitHub.com and in GitHub Docs search. Enterprise includes the same features plus the ability to create custom knowledge bases that Copilot queries during pull request reviews.
Enterprise-Specific Features
GitHub Copilot Enterprise includes three features not available in Free or Pro: organization-wide policy management, custom knowledge bases, and model fine-tuning. Policy management lets admins control which repositories Copilot can access, set content exclusion rules, and enforce audit logging. Knowledge bases allow Copilot to ground responses in your private codebase. Fine-tuning lets you train the model on your team’s coding patterns for more relevant suggestions.
Administrative Controls
Enterprise admins can assign Copilot seats to specific users or teams, enforce IP allowlists, and require SSO authentication. Audit logs track every Copilot interaction for compliance. Free and Pro have no administrative controls beyond the user’s own GitHub settings.
Custom Knowledge Bases
Enterprise users can create knowledge bases by selecting repositories and documentation. Copilot then uses RAG retrieval-augmented generation to answer questions using that content. For example, a developer can ask Copilot about internal API endpoints and receive answers based on the actual codebase. Free and Pro do not support knowledge bases.
Common Misconceptions and Limitations
Many users assume Free includes all features of Pro but with a usage cap. In reality, Free also restricts the chat model to GPT-4o mini, while Pro and Enterprise use GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Another misconception is that Enterprise is only for large organizations. Any organization with a GitHub Enterprise Cloud account can purchase Enterprise, even small teams. A key limitation is that Free completions work only on public repositories. If you need private repository support, you must upgrade to Pro or Enterprise.
Copilot Free Does Not Include Copilot in Pull Requests
Free users cannot use Copilot to generate pull request descriptions or review code changes on GitHub.com. This feature is exclusive to Pro and Enterprise. If your workflow depends on automated pull request summaries, Free is not sufficient.
Enterprise Requires GitHub Enterprise Cloud
You cannot buy Copilot Enterprise without a GitHub Enterprise Cloud subscription. If your organization uses GitHub Enterprise Server on-premises, you must use Copilot Enterprise with GitHub Enterprise Cloud or consider the Business tier which is now deprecated. Migrating to GitHub Enterprise Cloud is required for Enterprise features.
GitHub Copilot Free vs Pro vs Enterprise: Feature Table
| Feature | Free | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $10/month or $100/year | $39/user/month |
| Code completions per month | 2,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Private repository support | No | Yes | Yes |
| Chat in IDE | 50 requests/month, GPT-4o mini | Unlimited, GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Unlimited, GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet |
| Copilot in pull requests | No | Yes | Yes |
| Copilot in docs | No | Yes | Yes |
| Custom knowledge bases | No | No | Yes |
| Organization policy management | No | No | Yes |
| Model fine-tuning | No | No | Yes |
| Audit logging | No | No | Yes |
The table shows that Enterprise is the only tier with administrative controls, knowledge bases, and fine-tuning. Free is suitable for learning and open-source contributions. Pro fits professional developers who need unlimited completions and multi-model chat. Enterprise serves organizations that require compliance, custom AI grounding, and centralized seat management.
You can now compare the three GitHub Copilot tiers based on your needs. If you work on public repositories only, start with Free. If you need private repository support and unlimited chat, upgrade to Pro. If your organization requires policy controls and custom knowledge bases, choose Enterprise. As an advanced tip, configure a knowledge base in Enterprise by navigating to your organization settings on GitHub.com and selecting Copilot then Knowledge Bases to ground responses in your team’s internal documentation.