GitHub announces Copilot Free tier for VS Code users

GitHub has announced that its user base has exceeded 150 million developers and introduced a new free tier for its GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code (VS Code).

With the launch of GitHub Copilot Free, developers using VS Code can now utilise up to 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month at no cost. The service is integrated directly within VS Code, requiring users only to sign in with their GitHub account.

Copilot Free allows developers the flexibility to choose between Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet or OpenAI's GPT-4o models. These tools can assist users by providing solutions to coding queries, explaining existing code, or identifying bugs. Moreover, it supports multi-file editing, referred to as Copilot Edits in VS Code, and allows for the use of Copilot Extensions, including agents like @github and @workspace.

GitHub Copilot Free also offers enhanced integration by making Copilot Chat accessible directly from the GitHub dashboard. This feature aims to make coding tools more accessible to a broader community of developers who can start using it immediately.

The introduction of Copilot Free builds on GitHub's strategy of providing developers with free resources to develop software. The company has a track record of offering free features, beginning with open source and public collaboration, followed by free private repositories, GitHub Actions minutes, Codespaces, and package and release storage.

Additionally, students, educators, and open source maintainers will retain unlimited access to their Copilot Pro accounts without charge, continuing GitHub's commitment to supporting these communities.

GitHub has established itself as a widely used platform among developers worldwide, with over 150 million users and adoption by over 77,000 organisations, including upwards of 90% of Fortune 100 companies.