On May 13, 2026, Microsoft confirmed that it had removed OpenAI’s GPT-4 from GitHub Copilot and replaced it with Project Polaris, an internal model built by Microsoft AI. The change hit every Copilot plan at once: Free, Pro, Business, and Enterprise. Users who opened Copilot that morning saw a new model selector with no option to revert to GPT-4. The vendor announcement, posted on the GitHub changelog, said the switch cut inference costs by 60 percent and reduced code completion latency by 35 percent. The move followed months of speculation after Microsoft’s MAI code model appeared in test builds, and it aligned with the broader usage-based billing shift we reported in GitHub Copilot usage-based billing June 2026.
The free tier took the hardest hit. Before May 13, free users had access to GPT-4-powered chat with a limit of 30 messages per hour. After the migration, free users received 2,000 completions and 150 chat requests per month under the new Project Polaris caps. Paid users were not spared. Copilot Pro stayed at $10 per user per month, but the plan moved from effectively unlimited GPT-4 usage to 50 requests per hour on Project Polaris. Copilot Business climbed from $19 to $24 per user per month, a 26 percent increase. This was part of the June 2026 Copilot pricing overhaul, which we detailed in AI coding tools pricing impact developers June 2026.
The model swap came as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google all tightened free tiers and introduced usage-based fees. Microsoft’s decision to drop GPT-4 for Project Polaris signaled a sharp decoupling from OpenAI after years of close integration. It also followed months of developer anger over Copilot’s hidden multiplier costs, covered in developer outcry GitHub Copilot hidden costs backlash. Microsoft had already moved free Office AI features behind a paywall earlier in the year, a pattern we reported in Microsoft Copilot free Office apps paywall 2026. Independent researchers at Stanford HAI noted that coding assistants trained on narrower code corpora can outperform general-purpose models on specific languages. That context made the Polaris bet plausible, but it did not soften the immediate limits for users.
In practice, Project Polaris was not a drop-in replacement. The new model handled Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, and C# with improved accuracy, posting a 12 percentage point gain on SWE-bench compared with GPT-4. But it struggled with Rust, Go, and several niche languages. It also stopped accepting image inputs in Copilot Chat. Users lost the ability to paste screenshots for bug fixes and had to describe errors in text only. Microsoft said image understanding would return in a later update, but gave no date. The model’s narrower training meant fewer supported languages and weaker general knowledge outside code.
How Do the Top Options Compare?
| Plan / Model | Monthly Price | Request Limits | Model Access | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot Free | $0 | 2,000 completions, 150 chat requests per month | Project Polaris only | Casual users |
| GitHub Copilot Pro | $10 per user | 50 requests per hour, 1,000 completions per day | Project Polaris only | Daily developers |
| GitHub Copilot Business | $24 per user | 100 requests per hour, 3,000 completions per day | Project Polaris plus policy controls | Teams |
| Legacy GPT-4 Experience | $10 to $19 before May 13 | 30 chat messages per hour, unlimited completions | GPT-4 only | Users needing image input and broad languages |
Free AI News may earn a commission if you sign up for a paid plan through links on this site. This does not affect our reporting. Limits reset based on the billing cycle for paid plans and on the first day of the month for free users.
1. GitHub Copilot Free , Casual developers testing Project Polaris without payment
GitHub Copilot Free became the first place where independent developers met Project Polaris. Starting May 13, 2026, the free tier included 2,000 code completions and 150 chat messages per month, a hard cap that reset on the first of each month. Before the change, free users had unlimited completions and 30 chat messages per hour from GPT-4. The new limits removed any way to use Copilot all day for free. Users who hit the cap saw a paywall prompt to upgrade to Pro. This was part of a wider pattern of free tier squeeze that we tracked in AI free tier limits 2026. The free tier retained some value. It did not require a credit card, and it gave users real exposure to the Polaris model’s speed on Python and JavaScript. But the loss of GPT-4 chat meant free users could no longer paste screenshots or ask broad general programming questions across many languages. Copilot Free also excluded GitHub Copilot for pull requests, which remained a paid feature. The new model’s focus on Microsoft languages made the free tier less useful for Rust and Go developers.
Key strengths:
- ✅ No payment required to access Project Polaris
- ✅ Includes 150 monthly chat requests in addition to completions
- ✅ Retains VS Code and Visual Studio extension support
- ✅ Good speed on Python and JavaScript
- ❌ Hard monthly cap replaces unlimited GPT-4 chat
- ❌ No image input or screenshot debugging
- ❌ No model choice; GPT-4 is not available
Who it’s for: Developers who want to test Project Polaris occasionally without paying a subscription.
2. GitHub Copilot Pro , Professional developers who can stay within hourly request caps
GitHub Copilot Pro kept its $10 per user per month price after May 13, 2026, but the plan changed significantly. Microsoft replaced unlimited GPT-4 access with Project Polaris and introduced a 50 requests per hour limit across chat and completions. The old plan had no hourly cap at that price point. Users who exceeded 50 requests in an hour saw a rate limit message and had to wait for the window to reset. Microsoft said the new cap prevented abuse and lowered inference cost by 60 percent, but for heavy users it was a downgrade. Pro subscribers received faster code completions on the new model. Project Polaris returned suggestions in 180 milliseconds on average, down from 280 milliseconds for GPT-4. On Python and TypeScript, accuracy improved. Copilot Pro also included access to GitHub Copilot for pull requests and priority queue during peak hours. The plan worked best for developers who code in bursts and do not need more than 50 requests in a single hour.
Key strengths:
- ✅ Unchanged $10 monthly price
- ✅ Faster 180ms completions with Project Polaris
- ✅ Includes Copilot for pull requests
- ✅ Priority access during busy periods
- ❌ 50 requests per hour hard cap
- ❌ No GPT-4 option or image inputs
- ❌ Heavy users lost effectively unlimited access
Who it’s for: Professional developers who code daily within the 50 request per hour limit and use Microsoft languages.
3. GitHub Copilot Business , Teams and enterprises needing governance and higher caps
GitHub Copilot Business rose from $19 to $24 per user per month on May 13, 2026, a 26 percent increase. In exchange, business users received 100 requests per hour on Project Polaris, up from the Pro cap, and 3,000 completions per day per user. The plan included IP indemnification, SAML single sign-on, and organization-wide model policies. Microsoft positioned the higher price as necessary because Project Polaris ran on internal infrastructure rather than OpenAI’s API, but the change also removed any public option to choose GPT-4 for business accounts. Business admins gained new controls to lock the Project Polaris model, manage usage dashboards, and export audit logs. The plan also included code review features that Pro lacked. However, the price increase and forced model migration angered some teams. Developers who relied on GPT-4 for Rust, Go, or image-based debugging found the new model weaker in those areas. We covered the broader team impact in AI coding tools pricing impact developers June 2026, and the hidden cost backlash in GitHub Copilot users get rude awakening as AI pricing changes.
Key strengths:
- ✅ 100 requests per hour per user
- ✅ IP indemnification and SAML SSO
- ✅ Audit logs and centralized policy controls
- ✅ Priority support included
- ❌ Price increased 26 percent overnight
- ❌ No GPT-4 fallback for specialized languages
- ❌ Requires annual commitment for best rate
Who it’s for: Organizations that need governance, security compliance, and predictable per-user billing.
4. Legacy GPT-4 Copilot Experience , Users who needed image input and broad language support before May 13
Before the Project Polaris migration, GitHub Copilot ran on OpenAI’s GPT-4 model across all paid plans. The legacy experience included image inputs in Copilot Chat, allowing developers to paste a screenshot of an error and receive a suggested fix. It also supported a wider range of programming languages, including Rust, Go, Ruby, and Swift, with strong general knowledge outside code. Free users had 30 chat messages per hour and unlimited completions, a setup that Microsoft said was not sustainable. The legacy plan disappeared from the pricing page on May 13, 2026. Microsoft did not offer a grandfather clause or a manual opt-out. Users who wanted GPT-4 inside Copilot had no supported path. The only remaining option was to use OpenAI directly through ChatGPT or the API, which carried separate costs and did not integrate with the GitHub Copilot extension. Independent analysis from Stanford HAI had noted that general-purpose models like GPT-4 provided stronger zero-shot reasoning across diverse tasks. Project Polaris narrowed that scope in favor of speed and cost.
Key strengths:
- ✅ Accepted image inputs for screenshot debugging
- ✅ Supported Rust, Go, Swift, and other broad languages
- ✅ Strong general reasoning beyond code
- ❌ Removed from all Copilot plans without opt-out
- ❌ Higher latency and inference cost
- ❌ No longer available in GitHub Copilot after May 13, 2026
Who it’s for: Users who relied on GPT-4’s image understanding and broad language coverage and are willing to use OpenAI directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Project Polaris?
Project Polaris is Microsoft’s in-house code model that replaced GPT-4 in GitHub Copilot on May 13, 2026. It was trained on 12 trillion code tokens and improved code completion latency by 35 percent compared with GPT-4.
Did Microsoft remove GPT-4 from all Copilot plans?
Yes. Every Copilot plan, including Free, Pro, Business, and Enterprise, lost GPT-4 access on May 13, 2026. No plan offered a GPT-4 fallback or opt-out after the migration.
How did the free tier change?
Free users moved from 30 chat messages per hour and unlimited completions to 2,000 completions and 150 chat requests per month. The cap resets monthly and cannot be increased without upgrading.
Did Copilot prices rise?
Copilot Pro remained at $10 per user per month, but Copilot Business increased from $19 to $24 per user per month. Enterprise pricing was negotiated per seat and also reflected the new model.
Can I still use GPT-4 for coding?
You can use GPT-4 through OpenAI’s ChatGPT or API, but it no longer integrates with GitHub Copilot. That means no GitHub Copilot extension support, inline suggestions, or repository context from GPT-4.
Why did Microsoft replace GPT-4?
Microsoft said the switch reduced inference costs by 60 percent and improved latency. The move also reduced dependency on OpenAI’s API and aligned with Microsoft’s broader push toward in-house MAI models.
What Should You Remember?
- Project Polaris replaced GPT-4 in all GitHub Copilot plans on May 13, 2026, with no opt-out.
- Free tier users lost unlimited completions and now face 2,000 completions and 150 chats per month.
- Copilot Pro stayed at $10 but added a 50 requests per hour hard cap.
- Copilot Business jumped from $19 to $24 per user per month, a 26 percent increase.
- Image inputs disappeared from Copilot Chat, removing screenshot debugging for every plan.
- Rust and Go support weakened because Project Polaris focused on Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, and C#.
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