I understand why GitHub is shifting toward token-based billing. The per-request setup just did not hold up anymore. It treated a quick “explain this function” the same as something massive like “analyze and refactor my entire codebase,” even though those tasks require completely different levels of compute.

GitHub did have a multiplier system where each request was weighted based on the model used, so using something like Claude Opus might cost 3x or 4x a single request compared to a cheaper model. But the multiplier only accounted for model choice, not the actual size of the work. So if you asked Opus a quick one-line question, you still burned the full 3x or 4x multiplied request—the same as someone running a massive multi-file refactor on the same model. You were essentially paying a premium request cost for a few tokens of actual work.

Token-based billing fixes this directly, since a small interaction barely touches your balance regardless of which model you use, and larger tasks scale naturally with their actual compute footprint.

Another issue was that, in the request-based system, there was obviously no concept of input tokens, output tokens, and cache usage. All of it was effectively bundled into the same “request” abstraction, which blurred the real cost of what was happening under the hood. That was not particularly fair for GitHub, which had to absorb unpredictable compute loads.

Token-based billing makes things much fairer for both users and GitHub.

That said, GitHub still needs to make these plans worth it.

In the long run, Microsoft likely needs to develop its own AI models rather than relying entirely on third-party providers. A practical starting point would be building on top of open-source models and improving them through reinforcement learning and product-specific training, similar to how some AI coding tools have customized open-weight models for coding workflows. This would allow Microsoft to gain experience operating and refining models while reducing costs and dependence on external vendors.

Over time, those efforts could evolve into fully in-house frontier models that power GitHub Copilot directly. If Microsoft can build models that are competitive with the leading providers, it would gain greater control over pricing, margins, product direction, and the overall developer experience.