GitHub Copilot Student Plan Is Free for Verified Students

Is GitHub Copilot Free for Students?

GitHub Copilot is free for verified students under a standalone plan named Copilot Student, but GitHub paused new sign-ups on April 20, 2026. In the guides we publish at Chalkbox, we review software policies so teachers and students know the real limits before relying on classroom tools, and every figure here comes from GitHub's published documents. As of October 2026, GitHub had published no date for resuming new enrollments in the student tier.

Students do not receive free access to Copilot Pro anymore. A changelog entry from March 13, 2026 explains that users with GitHub Education benefits shifted to the new GitHub Copilot Student plan. This tier includes unlimited code completions and an allowance of AI credits. It uses automated model selection rather than manual model switching.

Before you apply, read GitHub's student setup guide for Copilot and check whether Copilot Student appears in your GitHub Education benefits. The benefit applies to personal accounts of students enrolled in a degree- or diploma-granting program. GitHub's March 2026 notice told students already on the plan, "There is nothing you need to do to continue using Copilot."

GitHub Copilot Student Plan Limits and Features

The GitHub Copilot student plan provides unlimited code completions alongside capped conversational features. The plan includes the Copilot cloud agent, agent mode, and chat across supported integrated development environments (IDEs) and GitHub Mobile. The student tier excludes third-party agents. Copilot Pro ($10 a month) and Pro+ ($39 a month) are the paid options, but GitHub paused new sign-ups for both on April 20, 2026; check the plans page linked above the table first.

GitHub's community post on the student plan changes says the plan includes 200 monthly AI Credits as of June 1, 2026; GitHub's plan docs say only 'an allowance of GitHub AI Credits.' The credits cover Copilot chat and agent use, which GitHub limits on this plan. Completions run without deduction from your credit balance.

Model access on this tier works differently from regular paid subscriptions. Students cannot pick a model by hand. Auto mode picks a model from providers including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google for each request. According to the March 12, 2026 announcement, premium models such as GPT-5.3-Codex, GPT-5.4, and Claude Opus and Sonnet models cannot be selected by hand on the student tier.

Prices were checked in October 2026; the GitHub Copilot plans page has current figures.

The billing documentation for individual plans and the general Copilot plans overview list Copilot Free at $0. If you need immediate inline completions and cannot enroll in the student plan, Copilot Free gives you 2,000 completions each month at no cost.

The April 2026 Sign-Up Pause

GitHub updated its sign-up terms on April 20, 2026. The changelog announcement on individual plans stated that GitHub paused new sign-ups for Student, Pro, and Pro+ tiers. Copilot Free remained open to new registrations.

The pause also altered model access across individual tiers. Anthropic Opus models were removed from Copilot Pro, leaving Opus 4.7 exclusive to Pro+. GitHub offered refunds through May 20, 2026, for paying Pro and Pro+ subscribers who wished to cancel their subscriptions.

New Copilot Student sign-ups may still be closed. The documentation did not list a resumption date when checked in October 2026.

How to Verify Your GitHub Student Developer Pack

Access to student developer benefits starts with educational verification. The GitHub Student Developer Pack includes development tools and free GitHub Pro status while enrolled. The application review takes place over the next several days.

To apply, follow the official criteria in GitHub's student application guide:

1. Be at least 13 years old.
2. Enroll in a degree-granting or diploma-granting academic institution, including high schools, colleges, universities, or homeschool programs.
3. Have a personal GitHub account.
4. Provide documents that prove your current student status, such as a school ID card with dates, a current course schedule, an official transcript, or an enrollment verification letter.

Apply through GitHub Education, following the application instructions linked above, and submit legible digital documents. Once approved, GitHub Education adds the benefits to your personal account. The student benefit can take several days to finish applying after verification.

GitHub reevaluates your eligibility every month and publishes no fixed end date for Copilot Student. If a monthly re-evaluation finds you are no longer a student, the Copilot Student benefit ends; GitHub's pages do not say which plan you move to. The free Copilot Pro access documentation notes that verified users cannot manually cancel a granted educational subscription.

Using Copilot in Computer Science Coursework

AI code assistants can help you understand debugging steps and syntax rules. They can also produce incorrect syntax or hallucinated functions. You must test generated code locally before submitting it for a grade.

Course rules on AI-written code differ by class, so read your syllabus before you use Copilot on graded work. Your instructor may ban completions on some assignments or require you to cite generated code. For guidelines on school-level rules, read our overview of an AI policy for schools. If your instructor asks for documentation of your prompts and completions, our guide on how to cite ChatGPT outlines clean disclosure practices.

Microsoft Copilot is a separate product from GitHub Copilot; see our roundup of free AI student plans for it. If you need tools for written research rather than coding, explore options such as Perplexity Pro for students. You can also compare developer tools with general chat platforms through our breakdown of the Claude student discount.

Who Should Skip GitHub Copilot Student

Students who need manual selection of specific frontier models should not rely on this plan. Copilot Student restricts you to Auto model selection and blocks manual selection of models like Claude Opus or GPT-5.4. If your research projects require direct model switching, the paid Pro and Pro+ plans are the alternative, but GitHub paused new sign-ups for both on April 20, 2026.

Learners in courses that forbid AI-assisted coding tools should also avoid turning on completions in their editor. Having completions pop up in your editor can lead to accidental honor code violations. You can turn off the extension in your editor while working on restricted coursework.

Our verdict would flip if GitHub reopens new student sign-ups or restores manual model selection to the education tier. If GitHub sets a fixed monthly price for students or reduces the credit allowance, paying month-to-month for alternative developer tools might make more sense.

Next Steps for Students

If you want to use the student tier, start by confirming your academic standing through GitHub Education.

1. Sign in to your personal GitHub account.
2. Submit your current enrollment verification letter or school ID to the GitHub Education portal.
3. Check your settings page over the next several days to see if your educational benefits have applied.
4. Install the GitHub Copilot extension in your preferred development environment, such as Visual Studio Code, to test whether your account is active.
5. If new enrollments remain paused, turn on Copilot Free so you still get 2,000 code completions every month while waiting for full student access to open again.

Check your GitHub Education benefits page to see whether Copilot Student is listed for your account.