I Love GitHub Copilot, But Its June 2026 Billing Changes Worried Me

Let me be clear: I genuinely love GitHub Copilot. As a loyal user and Copilot Pro+ subscriber ($39.00 per month), the 1,500 premium requests per month shown below have been invaluable—it’s the fuel behind my AI-powered coding workflow.

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I’d call this the most affordable, seamless token fuel for AI coding available. I’m deeply grateful to Microsoft for this service—though it’s disappointing that starting June 2026, billing will shift to a per-token model.

Using Microsoft’s Preview tool (https://copilot-billing-preview.github.com/), I analyzed my April and May statements. Under the new June pricing: 1、April would cost $141.04 2、May (through May 18) would cost $425.15

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This is extremely expensive. Extremely expensive. Extremely expensive. (Yes, I’m repeating it three times.) I understand Microsoft’s pricing strategy—they rely on third-party models and lack full control over upstream LLM costs. Still, the jump is staggering.

What’s Next? Given this, I’ll now explore more affordable large models that can handle complex coding tasks, like DeepSeek v4 Pro and Qwen 3.6 Plus. My next blog will compare their coding capabilities and cost efficiency. For developers deeply reliant on AI coding, tokens should feel as abundant and accessible as rain—not a luxury resource. 图3

About Me

I’ve worked at NetEase Games, Baidu, Tencent (8 years), and Meituan (nearly 7 years), leading large R&D projects and managing teams of over 100 engineers.

Now I build software as an independent developer.

Why? Because the world is full of uncertainty—staying at one company too long can make you addicted to certainty. Building on your own is like sailing into uncharted waters.

I believe good software should give people a sense of security and control. That’s the thread connecting everything I make:

  • PhotoRestore Pro — AI photo restoration that runs 100% offline on Windows. Your photos never leave your device. No cloud, no account, no compromise on privacy. Built for legal professionals, but anyone with old family photos will find it useful.

  • AstroSky — Think of it as “Snapseed for astronomy.” Turn raw FITS data into stunning celestial images. Fully offline, GPU-accelerated, with a Beauty/Science dual mode that serves both casual stargazers and researchers.

  • fastool.io — A collection of browser-based science tools. Right now it’s focused on astronomy: solar path tracking, moon phase analysis, sidereal time calculation, telescope FOV planning—all running in your browser with zero data upload.

Whether I’m gazing at the cosmos or refining a line of code, the goal is the same: build tools that put people in control of their own data.

Get in touch: HummingbirdLabs@outlook.com.