Who can use the new model?
GitHub’s 28 October announcement introduces Copilot access for GitHub Enterprise Cloud customers working with a GitHub or Microsoft account team. It is a voluntary transition. Self-managed subscriptions are not eligible yet, and existing subscriptions are unchanged.
For an eligible user with a GitHub Enterprise Cloud licence, this model removes the separate Copilot seat charge. A user without that licence needs Copilot Standalone at USD 10 per user per month, with monthly billing. Neither route includes an AI-credit allowance.
Access is not an unlimited usage bundle
Metered requests draw on the enterprise budget from the first use. Code completions and next-edit suggestions remain available when the budget is exhausted; metered features need available budget. Existing Copilot Business and Enterprise plans remain available.
The billing documentation defines one AI credit as USD 0.01. Model choice and token consumption affect the bill. Business contributes 1,900 credits per assigned user each month to a shared pool; Enterprise contributes 3,900. Those allowances are not part of the new access model.
Compare the same team and usage
The transition guide distinguishes USD 19/user/month Business and USD 39/user/month Enterprise seat charges, both monthly billing, from the new access model. Count usage currently covered by your included pool as well as paid overage when estimating the alternative.
An enterprise cannot mix access-model seats with Business or Enterprise seats within that same enterprise. Seats still need assignment. Account-specific terms and the transition date require confirmation with the account team.
Use the coding-bill worksheet to separate licences, included credits and metered usage. This source check does not establish that switching will lower your bill.
What remains untested
Fewertools has not migrated an enterprise, changed a budget or run billable requests. These are documented eligibility and billing boundaries, not observed savings. Read the Copilot profile for other plan scopes, which remain separately dated.