usage-based-billing

💳 Usage-Based Billing (UBB) Recommendations

A practical playbook for Constellation Software Inc. (CSI) portfolio companies preparing for GitHub Copilot's move to usage-based billing on June 1. Maintained by the GitHub @ CSI team at Microsoft.

For the broader list of UBB reference links (announcement blog, official documentation, pricing reference, code review changelog), see the root README's UBB section.

💡 Adapted from the GitHub Copilot Canada team's UBB playbook with CSI-specific framing around Azure-billed enterprises.

What's Actually Changing (Starting June 1)

Seat prices stay the same

Copilot Business: $19 / user / month
Copilot Enterprise: $39 / user / month

Seats now include a pool of usage credits

Each seat contributes to a shared enterprise pool of AI credits (1 credit = $0.01). Different Copilot features consume credits from that pool.

Core coding assistance stays unlimited

Code completion and Next Edit Suggestions do not use credits and remain unlimited.

A 3-month buffer covers June through August

Extra credits are included temporarily so portcos can observe usage.

Business: 3,000 credits per seat ($30)
Enterprise: 7,000 credits per seat ($70)

After August

Standard included pool per seat becomes:

Business: 1,900 credits ($19)
Enterprise: 3,900 credits ($39)

Nothing breaks if limits are reached

If credits and budgets are exhausted:

Code completion keeps working.
Other features pause until budgets are increased or the next billing cycle begins.

You'll get usage visibility first

Before the change is finalized, you'll see actual historical usage translated into the new model so you can estimate costs.

The Practical 5-Step Plan

1. Check your preview usage (early May)

Look at the preview report showing how recent usage would translate under the new billing model. Use this to understand your baseline usage patterns before June 1.

2. Set a simple spending ceiling (May to early June)

Define an organization or cost-center budget for usage beyond the included credits. Start conservatively if your procurement process is slow — you can always raise it later. For CSI portcos, this budget is typically owned by the same team that manages the Azure subscription the GitHub enterprise is billed through.

3. Add a default per-user limit (June)

Set a standard user-level budget so a single developer can't accidentally consume a large share of the shared pool. Increase limits only for known heavy users.

4. Review the data monthly (June onward)

Use the provided reports (with user, model, and request breakdowns) to:

see where credits are going
tune budgets
spot optimization opportunities

Wait until you have about 60 days of data before making major budget or commitment decisions.

5. Turn on Auto Mode (starting June)

Auto Mode automatically routes tasks to cheaper or more powerful models as needed. This lowers cost without requiring developers to think about model selection.

What Not to Overreact To

Don't cut seats just to control spend. Seats also increase the size of your included usage pool.
Don't manually manage budgets for every user. Set a default limit and override only for exceptions.
Don't make long-term spending decisions based on one early month of data.

✅ In Simple Terms

Pricing per seat isn't changing.
Seats now come with a shared usage allowance.
You'll get visibility and 3 months of extra credits to understand usage.
Set basic org budgets and user limits to manage cost without disruption.

🏷 CSI Pricing Reminder (Azure billing)

UBB credit consumption and any overage spend flow through the same Azure-connected GitHub enterprise that bills your seats — so the CSI portco discount continues to apply to both seat charges and UBB usage line items, as long as billing is on an Azure subscription owned by your portco, your operating group, or CSI (credit-card billing is not eligible — see the root README's CSI Pricing via Azure Billing section).

Practical implications for CSI portcos:

Cost attribution — UBB line items appear on the same Azure invoice as your seats. Reuse the tags and cost-center structure you already use for GitHub seats (see Tag your Azure resources).
Budgets & alerts — Set Azure Cost Management budgets and alerts on the subscription that pays for GitHub, in addition to the per-org / per-user Copilot budgets described in step 2 and step 3 above. See Azure Cost Management overview.
Not yet on Azure billing? Get there before UBB matters to your spend. See Connecting an Azure subscription in the docs, then email DevsAtCSI@microsoft.com if you hit issues with admin consent, ownership mismatches, or eligibility questions.