In this guide
Before you start.
- Find out who is paying for the seat before you look for a button. GitHub states that if you have access to Copilot through an organisation or enterprise, you will not be able to cancel your plan, and that the remedy on your side is to disable Copilot in your environment instead.
- Free access cannot be cancelled either. GitHub states that if you were granted free access as a verified student, teacher or maintainer of a popular open source project, you will not be able to cancel your plan.
- Expect two different menus. GitHub documents Billing and licensing, then Licensing on the new platform, and Billing and licensing, then Plans and usage on the original platform, so a guide naming only one will not match half of accounts.
- Check whether the bill actually reaches GitHub. Copilot can be billed through a connected Azure subscription, in which case the charge appears on the Azure invoice rather than on a card held at GitHub.
- Look for usage-based charges on top of the flat plan. GitHub bills premium requests beyond the included allowance as usage, which is a separate line from the subscription itself.
FOLLOW THE RIGHT BILLING ROUTE
Cancel GitHub Copilot, step by step.
Cancel a personal Copilot plan on GitHub
This is the route for Copilot Pro, Pro+ or Max that you pay for yourself. It lives in your GitHub account settings, not in your IDE.
- In the upper-right corner of any page on GitHub, click your profile picture, then click Settings.
- In the Access section of the sidebar, click Billing and licensing, then Licensing on the new billing platform. On the original platform, click Billing and licensing, then Plans and usage.
- In the GitHub Copilot section, select the Manage subscription dropdown on the right, then click Cancel subscription.
- Select the cancel option for your plan to cancel at the end of your current billing cycle.
- Check the same page afterwards: under Licensing and Current plan, GitHub shows which licence and plan you are on.
GitHub states that you can cancel at any time, that you keep access to your current features until the billing cycle ends, and that you are automatically downgraded to Copilot Free at the end of it.
When an organisation provides your Copilot seat
This is the most common reason the cancel option is missing. The seat is billed to the organisation, so only an administrator can end it, and leaving the seat alone does not reduce anyone's bill.
- Confirm the source: GitHub states that if you have access through an organisation or enterprise, you will not be able to modify or cancel your plan.
- Ask the organisation owner or a Copilot administrator to revoke your seat, which is the documented admin-side action.
- In the meantime, disable Copilot in your environment, which GitHub names as the option available to you.
- For an enterprise, GitHub states that disabling Copilot for all organisations in the enterprise is what cancels the enterprise's Copilot plan, which is an owner-level action.
GitHub also states that if you have an active Copilot Pro, Pro+ or Max plan and are then assigned a seat as part of a Copilot Business or Enterprise plan, your personal Copilot plan is automatically cancelled. A personal plan that vanished on its own usually has this explanation.
Downgrade instead of cancelling
GitHub offers a step down a tier from the same dropdown, with the change deferred rather than immediate.
- Open Settings, then Billing and licensing, and find the GitHub Copilot section as above.
- Select the Manage subscription dropdown, then click the downgrade option available to you.
- In the modal, choose to keep your existing plan, which cancels the downgrade process, or to downgrade to the plan level below your current one.
- Note the timing: GitHub states a downgrade switches you at the start of your next billing cycle.
What happens next?
- Access runs to the end of the cycle. GitHub states that you keep your current features until the billing cycle ends and are then automatically downgraded to Copilot Free.
- Copilot does not disappear from your editor. The free tier is a real destination rather than a cut-off, so Copilot still responds after a cancellation, with the smaller free allowance.
- Copilot Free can be disabled separately. GitHub maintains its own instructions for turning it off, which is a different action from cancelling the paid plan.
- Your code and repositories are unaffected. Cancelling changes a licence on your GitHub account rather than anything in your repositories.
- Usage-based charges are not covered by the subscription cancellation. Premium requests beyond the included allowance are billed as usage, so check the usage side of your billing page as well as the plan.
WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK
If you get stuck.
There is no Cancel subscription option anywhere
GitHub gives two documented reasons. If you have access through an organisation or enterprise, it states you will not be able to modify or cancel your plan, and the action available to you is to disable Copilot in your environment while an administrator revokes the seat. If you were granted free access as a verified student, teacher or open source maintainer, it states you will not be able to cancel either.
My personal Copilot plan cancelled itself
GitHub documents this. It states that if you have an active Copilot Pro, Pro+ or Max plan and are then assigned a seat as part of a Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise plan, your personal Copilot plan is automatically cancelled. Being added to a work organisation is what did it.
The menu in the instructions does not exist on my account
GitHub is running two billing interfaces and documents both. On the new platform the path is Billing and licensing, then Licensing. On the original platform it is Billing and licensing, then Plans and usage. Whichever one you have, the Copilot section and its Manage subscription dropdown are the target.
I cancelled but a charge still appears
Check where the bill is raised. Copilot can be billed through a connected Azure subscription, in which case the charge lands on the Azure invoice rather than on a GitHub payment method, and it is managed on that side. Separately, usage-based premium request charges are billed apart from the flat plan, so a usage line can arrive after the subscription ends.
I left the organisation and it is still being billed
Leaving does not release the seat. The documented admin action is revoking access for the member, and for an enterprise GitHub states that disabling Copilot for all organisations in the enterprise is what cancels the enterprise plan. Until an administrator does one of those, the organisation keeps paying for the seat.
Still not cancelled?Common reasons a subscription will not cancel
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
How do I cancel GitHub Copilot?
Click your profile picture on github.com, open Settings, go to Billing and licensing, then Licensing on the new billing platform or Plans and usage on the original one, open the Manage subscription dropdown in the GitHub Copilot section and click Cancel subscription.
Why can I not cancel Copilot?
GitHub states that you cannot cancel if you have access through an organisation or enterprise, or if you were granted free access as a verified student, teacher or maintainer of a popular open source project. In those cases it points you at disabling Copilot in your environment.
Does cancelling remove Copilot immediately?
No. GitHub states that you retain access to your current features until your billing cycle ends and are then automatically downgraded to Copilot Free, which is a working free tier rather than a cut-off.
Who cancels Copilot when my employer pays?
An organisation owner or Copilot administrator, by revoking your seat. For a whole enterprise, GitHub states that disabling Copilot for all organisations in the enterprise cancels the enterprise's Copilot plan.
Will I still be charged for usage after cancelling?
Usage-based premium request charges are billed separately from the flat plan, so check the usage section of your billing page rather than assuming the plan cancellation covered everything. GitHub publishes no self-serve refund route for Copilot.
Provider resources
- GitHub: viewing and changing your GitHub Copilot plan
- GitHub: revoking access to Copilot for members of your organization
- GitHub: canceling GitHub Copilot for your enterprise
- GitHub: Copilot billing through Azure
- GitHub: usage-based billing for individuals
- GitHub: disabling GitHub Copilot Free
Instructions reviewed .
Subex is independent of GitHub Copilot. Availability and cancellation terms can vary by plan, billing provider and country.
