Formal Complaint: GitHub Copilot Token-Based Billing Model @GitHubCopilot Subject: Critical Issue with New Token-Based Billing — Product Has Become Unusable Summary of the Issue I am writing to formally complain about the recent shift to token-based billing for GitHub Copilot, which was rolled out this morning. This change has fundamentally broken the value proposition of the product and is rendering it unusable for paying subscribers, including myself. Specific Problems Observed Within just a few hours of the new billing model going live, the developer community is already reporting alarming consumption patterns: Pro+ subscribers paying $39/month are reporting that 60% of their monthly credits were depleted in only 2 hours of normal usage. One user reported losing 20% of their entire monthly allowance from a single file review — no code generation, just a review. At this rate, a paying customer will exhaust their plan in less than a single working day, despite paying a premium subscription fee. This is not "normal usage at scale" — this is a broken pricing model that punishes the very developers who rely on Copilot daily for their work. Why This Makes the Product Unusable The core promise of Copilot was a predictable, always-available AI coding assistant integrated into the developer workflow. Token-based billing destroys that promise because: Developers cannot predict costs. Every keystroke, every file review, every refactor becomes a financial calculation rather than a productivity boost. The tool actively discourages use. Users will hesitate before invoking Copilot, defeating the entire point of an AI assistant. The $39/month Pro+ tier is misleading. Customers signed up expecting reliable access, not a pre-paid metered service that runs out mid-morning. Heavy users — your most loyal customers — are penalized the most. The Competitive Reality While GitHub Copilot is moving toward a restrictive metered model, competitors are moving in the opposite direction: Cursor offers Composer 2.5 with unlimited usage once token limits are reached on their plans, ensuring developers can keep working without interruption. Other tools (Windsurf, Cody, Continue) offer flat-rate or far more generous usage tiers. Developers will not stay on a platform that runs out of credits before lunch when alternatives offer uninterrupted productivity at the same or lower price point. My Demand If GitHub does not revise this licensing model, the product is effectively dead. I am requesting: Reinstatement of a flat-rate unlimited (or effectively unlimited) tier for Pro and Pro+ subscribers. Transparent, upfront communication of what each interaction actually costs in tokens. A grace period or credit refund for users who burned through their allowance under the new model without warning. A long-term commitment that core IDE-integrated features will not be metered into uselessness. Without these changes, I — along with a growing number of developers — will be canceling our subscriptions and migrating to Cursor or competing alternatives. The decision to monetize aggressively at the expense of usability will not be remembered as a successful pivot; it will be remembered as the moment GitHub Copilot lost its market. Please escalate this to the product and pricing teams immediately.