You do not need the GitHub Student Developer Pack to use Copilot. GitHub Copilot Free gives any signed-in GitHub user 2,000 code completions a month. It also includes the Copilot CLI and chat access through Copilot's Auto model selection, at no cost. The Student Developer Pack unlocks a separate GitHub Copilot Student plan with unlimited completions and a larger usage allowance. But since 24 June 2026 it no longer gives you a different set of models to pick from. The real question is not which plan has better AI. It is how much you actually use Copilot each month.
Checked against the official GitHub Copilot plans page on 8 September 2026.
What Copilot Free actually includes today
GitHub Copilot Free is a no-cost plan open to any GitHub account. It is limited to 2,000 code completions per month. That figure repeats consistently across GitHub's Copilot features page, its plans page and the official plan comparison in the docs.
Free also includes the Copilot CLI, the command-line assistant, with no paid tier required. For model access, Free uses Copilot's Auto model selection. GitHub's features page describes this as giving access to "Haiku 4.5, GPT-5 mini, and more". You do not choose a model by name. Copilot picks one for each task.
Chat, agent mode and code review draw from a separate monthly allowance of GitHub AI Credits. GitHub introduced this allowance when it moved all Copilot plans to usage-based billing on 1 June 2026. Inline code completions and next-edit suggestions never use AI Credits. So the 2,000-completion cap and the credit allowance are two separate limits. GitHub has not published an exact AI Credits figure for the Free plan. Its Copilot features page FAQ separately caps Free chat use at 50 chat requests a month, including Copilot Edits. Treat the credit allowance as a usable but modest monthly budget, not a fixed figure.
The 24 June 2026 change that resets old advice
Older advice about Copilot for students often centred on model access. Verify as a student, the advice went, and you get to pick stronger models by hand. That advice is out of date. Since 24 June 2026, GitHub made Auto model selection the only option on both Free and Student plans. Neither plan lets you manually choose a specific model any more.
Manual choice of those top models had already gone earlier in the year. A GitHub Community discussion announcing the Copilot Student plan states that this began on 12 March 2026. From that date, premium models including GPT-5.4, Claude Opus and Claude Sonnet stopped being available for student self-selection. The 24 June 2026 change is a separate, later step. It removed whatever manual model choice still remained on Free and Student, leaving Auto as the only mode on both. If you planned to verify as a student purely to get better models, that reason stopped applying in March, not June. Auto now routes both plans through comparable model families, subject to each plan's own usage limits.
What the Student Developer Pack actually adds now
Student access to Copilot changed shape earlier in 2026 too. Before 13 March 2026, verified students received Copilot Pro at no cost. Since then, GitHub moved students onto a distinct GitHub Copilot Student plan. GitHub stated the change built "a long-term, sustainable Copilot experience tailored for students", not a way to keep giving away the full paid tier.
What Copilot Student gives a verified student today, according to the GitHub Student Developer Pack page, is unlimited code completions. It also gives an allowance of GitHub AI Credits, plus limited chat and agent usage. Both run on the same Auto-only model selection as Free. No official page states an exact numeric credit allowance for Student. It exists and appears larger than Free's in practice, since Student is meant to support daily coding work rather than occasional use.
That leaves one practical gap between the two plans: usage headroom. Student removes the 2,000-completion cap and likely raises the credit allowance for chat and agent work. It does not currently give access to a different or better set of models.
Free vs Student: a side-by-side comparison
| What you get | Copilot Free | Copilot Student |
|---|---|---|
| Code completions per month | 2,000 | Unlimited |
| Chat, agent and code review budget | AI Credits allowance (amount not published), FAQ caps chat at 50 requests a month | Larger AI Credits allowance (amount not published) |
| Model selection | Auto only, since 24 June 2026 | Auto only, since 24 June 2026 |
| Copilot CLI | Included | Included |
| Price | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| What it takes to get it | Sign in with any GitHub account | Apply to GitHub Education, verify enrolment, wait for activation |
Sources for this table: the GitHub Copilot plan comparison, the 24 June 2026 model-selection changelog and the GitHub Student Developer Pack page.
If you write code occasionally and stay well under 2,000 completions a month, Free costs nothing and needs no paperwork. If you code most days, or you already run out of completions before the month ends, Student is worth the effort.
How to actually get Copilot Student
To apply, go to github.com/settings/education/benefits and apply as a student. GitHub's official eligibility page sets three conditions. You must be at least 13 years old. You must be enrolled in a degree- or diploma-granting program, including high school, college, university or homeschool. And you must hold a personal GitHub account.
You will need proof of enrolment. GitHub accepts a school ID that shows a current enrolment date, a class schedule, a transcript, or an enrolment or affiliation letter. Keep a clear scan or photo of one of these ready before you start the application.
Two things catch people out. First, GitHub's own setup documentation says activation "can take several days to finish applying after verification". Do not expect instant access. Second, GitHub reevaluates your eligibility every month. Student status is not a one-time badge. If your enrolment proof lapses, so does your Student plan.
Practical exercise: check your plan and compare a suggestion
Do this in about fifteen minutes.
- Sign in to GitHub and open Settings, then Copilot, to see which plan is active on your account.
- If you see Free and you code daily, check how close you are to the 2,000-completion cap.
- Open VS Code with Copilot Chat. Ask it to write one small function with a docstring, for example a function that checks an email address format.
- Write the same function yourself, without Copilot. Compare the two. Note where the Auto-selected suggestion saved time, and where you still had to correct its logic or edge cases.
This exercise tells you more about whether Copilot fits your workflow than any plan comparison does. It shows you Auto's output on your own code, not a marketing description of it.
Where this fits an Ethnus learning path
Copilot, on either plan, speeds up typing code you already understand. It does not replace learning a language, a framework or the debugging habits a trainer walks you through. Ethnus's MERN Stack course covers HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript, including ES6 and TypeScript. It also covers MongoDB, ExpressJS, React and NodeJS, with expert-led mentoring sessions, step-by-step walkthroughs and practice interviews. The JaWEsome program runs at least 160 hours across Java fundamentals, object-oriented programming, exception handling, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, DBMS and OS topics. It uses the same mentoring structure, with instant doubt clearing. Neither published syllabus names Copilot or any AI assistant as a taught topic. What these programs give you is daily hands-on coding practice and a trainer who checks your reasoning. That is exactly the judgement a Copilot suggestion does not supply on its own.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the Student Developer Pack to use GitHub Copilot?
No. Copilot Free is open to any GitHub account. It includes 2,000 code completions a month, the Copilot CLI and Auto model selection, at ₹0. The Student Developer Pack is worth applying for only if you need more usage headroom than Free provides.
Does the Student plan give access to better AI models than Free?
Not any more. Since 24 June 2026, both Free and Student use Auto model selection only. Neither plan lets you manually pick a premium model such as GPT-5.4 or Claude Opus.
How long does it take to get Copilot Student access?
GitHub's own documentation says activation can take several days to finish applying after verification. Apply before you need the higher limits, not on the day you run out on Free.
Is Copilot Student a one-time approval?
No. GitHub reevaluates eligibility every month. Keep your enrolment proof current if you want to keep the plan active.
What proof do I need to apply for GitHub Education?
GitHub accepts a school ID with a current enrolment date, a class schedule, a transcript, or an enrolment or affiliation letter. You also need a personal GitHub account and must be at least 13 years old.
Start writing real code with a trainer checking your work: explore the MERN Full Stack program at Codemithra.
