Guide
GitHub Copilot AI Credits Reset on the First Day of Each Month (UTC)
Copilot's included AI credits reset at 00:00 UTC on the first day of each calendar month. Seat billing can follow another date, creating a short first credit window for mid-month starts.
GitHub Copilot runs two clocks. Included GitHub AI Credits reset at 00:00:00 UTC on the first day of each calendar month. The subscription invoice can follow the date the account started paying. A mid-month start can therefore create a short first credit window before the next reset.
GitHub’s individual and organization billing pages, checked on 28 August 2026, also say unused included credits are forfeited. The reset date stays fixed regardless of the subscription billing date or the dates when organization licenses are added, removed, or billed.
This guide focuses on the calendar reset and a mid-month seat. The separate Copilot and Claude Code promotion-deadline guide covers the September allowance change. Microsoft 365 Copilot Credits use a separate product and billing system.
The two clocks
| Clock | What GitHub documents | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Included-credit clock | Full monthly allowance resets at 00:00:00 UTC on the first day of each calendar month; unused credits are forfeited | Plan Copilot workload by UTC calendar month |
| Subscription billing clock | A new personal billing cycle usually begins on signup day; an existing GitHub billing cycle receives a prorated initial Copilot charge | Plan cash and cancellation timing by the account’s billing date |
GitHub’s example says a personal account signing up on 3 September can have a monthly billing cycle running through 2 October. Its included credits still reset on 1 October.
Included amounts checked on 28 August 2026
One GitHub AI Credit equals $0.01 USD. Individual paid plans include base credits plus a flex allotment:
| Personal plan | Monthly price | Base credits | Flex allotment | Total included credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot Pro | $10 | 1,000 | 500 | 1,500 |
| Copilot Pro+ | $39 | 3,900 | 3,100 | 7,000 |
| Copilot Max | $100 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 |
GitHub uses base credits first. The flex allotment can change as model economics evolve. Code completions and next-edit suggestions stay unlimited on paid plans and do not consume AI credits. Chat, CLI, cloud agent, Spaces, Spark, and third-party coding agents consume them.
Organization and enterprise credits are pooled at the billing-entity level:
| Plan | Standard included credits per assigned user per month |
|---|---|
| Copilot Business | 1,900 |
| Copilot Enterprise | 3,900 |
For example, ten Business licenses produce a shared standard pool of 19,000 credits. Heavy users can draw more than one seat’s nominal contribution while lighter users preserve capacity for the pool.
Plan and seat changes keep the calendar reset
GitHub’s Copilot license-change guide states that paying, renewing, upgrading, downgrading, converting from a trial, or resuming after a lapse does not grant a fresh allowance. Its example exhausts credits on 28 May, upgrades on 30 May, and waits until 1 June for the scheduled reset.
An individual upgrade still makes the larger plan allowance available immediately after counting earlier usage against it. GitHub charges the price difference on a prorated basis. This is an increase in the current calendar month’s ceiling.
For organizations, adding a license mid-cycle increases the shared pool immediately and creates a prorated seat charge for the remaining billing cycle. GitHub also says included AI credits may be prorated. Read the pool delta in the usage dashboard instead of assuming a full per-seat addition.
Removing an organization license during a billing cycle leaves the pool unchanged until the next billing cycle. The reduced seat count then takes effect. An unassigned user normally retains access through cycle end; a revoked seat loses access immediately.
Worked example: a seat opened on 16 September
Freelancer on Copilot Pro
Assume Copilot is the account’s first paid GitHub product and the account starts on 16 September:
- Invoice: the first cycle generally runs from 16 September through 15 October.
- Credit reset: the next included-credit reset occurs on 1 October at 00:00:00 UTC.
- First window: the initial credit window lasts about 15 days.
- Opening amount: included credits may be prorated. The usage dashboard supplies the actual opening balance.
The same invoice cycle spans the September stub window and the start of the October credit month. Any unused September allowance expires at the 1 October reset.
Copilot Business seat added on 16 September
- The assigned user gains access immediately.
- The seat charge is prorated for the remainder of the current billing cycle.
- The pool grows immediately; the added included credits may also be prorated.
- The entire pool reaches its scheduled calendar reset on 1 October at 00:00:00 UTC.
Record the pool immediately before and after assignment. That delta is the reliable credit contribution for the stub window.
The September 2026 promotion ends at the reset boundary
GitHub documents higher included amounts for existing Copilot Business and Enterprise customers during the first three months of usage-based billing, 1 June–1 September 2026:
| Plan | Promotional amount | Standard amount after the promotion |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot Business | 3,000 per user | 1,900 per user |
| Copilot Enterprise | 7,000 per user | 3,900 per user |
At 00:00:00 UTC on 1 September, the ordinary monthly reset and the return to standard included amounts occur at the same boundary. Seat invoices can still arrive later in September.
Budget the calendar month
Put the first day of the month on the operating calendar. The credit window follows UTC. Convert the reset to the team’s local time and monitor the usage dashboard before that boundary.
Treat a mid-month start as a stub window. Size the initial workload from assignment time to the next first day. Read the dashboard for any proration.
Use an upgrade for a larger current allowance. Earlier usage counts against the upgraded plan. The scheduled monthly reset still occurs on the first day.
Set additional-usage controls before a heavy session. Individual users can set a U.S.-dollar budget. Business and Enterprise additional usage is enabled by default, so an administrator must disable the paid-usage policy to prevent overage. A $10 budget covers 1,000 AI credits at the published conversion rate.
Coordinate seat removal with the billing cycle. Organization seat reductions affect billing and pool size at the next billing-cycle boundary. Use revocation when access must stop immediately.
A 15-minute opening check
- Record today’s date, the next first day at 00:00 UTC, and the GitHub billing date.
- Capture the current included balance and additional-usage spend from the Copilot usage dashboard.
- For a new or upgraded seat, capture the post-change balance and calculate the actual delta.
- Size work through the next first day and set the additional-usage budget or policy.
- For Business or Enterprise after 1 September 2026, use the standard 1,900 or 3,900 credits per seat in forward pool forecasts.
Primary sources checked on 28 August 2026: individual usage-based billing, organization and enterprise usage-based billing, Copilot license changes, and GitHub billing cycles.