The "golden age" of the Microsoft-owned GitHub Copilot platform seems to be coming to an end. The company has announced it is changing its billing system, moving from a fixed monthly subscription to a model based on token usage. This change could lead to a sharp increase in costs for small companies and independent developers. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports .
According to the new rules effective June 1st, users will pay based on the number of tokens consumed during their workflow rather than the number of requests. On social networks like Reddit and X, many developers are expressing their shock at this news. For example, one user wrote that while they currently pay $29 per month, their costs could rise to $750 under the new model.
Another user shared a screenshot showing their monthly bill jumping from $50 to nearly $3,000. Such a drastic price hike is forcing many to abandon the GitHub Copilot service. Developers believe that at these prices, using the AI assistant is not practically justifiable.
However, not everyone agrees with these criticisms. Some experts point out that if a developer uses the tool correctly, token consumption will not be that high. They argue that astronomical bills are mainly seen among users engaged in "vibe-coding," i.e., those who overload the AI with excessive and unnecessary iterations without understanding the code's content.
Analysts are also discussing how much money Microsoft has lost through this service until now. It appears the company has been subsidizing user costs for a long time. Now, Microsoft is facing backlash for suddenly raising prices after having conditioned users to use the chatbot indiscriminately.
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