GitHub launches free tier for Copilot in VS Code, hits milestone of 150 million developers

GitHub, the world’s leading Copilot-powered developer platform, has announced a significant milestone, surpassing 150 million developers on its platform. Alongside this achievement, the company has introduced a free tier of its AI-powered tool, GitHub Copilot, in Visual Studio Code (VS Code).

“With GitHub Copilot Free in VS Code, India can accelerate the timeline forward to becoming the largest developer community in the world. But only if we make it happen,” said GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke. “Let us now empower every person in India to build and create code in natural language and to code with Copilot.”

The free version of GitHub Copilot is now seamlessly integrated into VS Code. All GitHub users can access up to 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month by signing in with a personal GitHub account.

Developers can choose between Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet and OpenAI’s GPT-4o models, enabling them to:

    •    Ask coding questions
    •    Debug or explain existing code
    •    Perform edits across multiple files
    •    Access or build third-party extensions through Copilot agents

Additionally, GitHub Copilot Chat is now available directly from the GitHub dashboard, ensuring developers can utilise these features immediately.

GitHub’s move aligns with its tradition of offering free products to lower the barriers to software development. From free private repositories to unlimited storage for GitHub Actions and Codespaces, the platform has consistently prioritised accessibility.

Educators, students, and open-source maintainers will continue to enjoy unlimited access to GitHub Copilot Pro accounts at no cost.