Quick answer
Yes, in one form: as of October 7, 2026, Microsoft says Microsoft Copilot is free with a signed-in Microsoft account. Its work add-on shows $18.00 per user a month, reduced from $21.00 only July 1 to December 31, 2026, for the first year, with an annual commitment, for existing Microsoft 365 customers with an eligible Business plan.
Key takeaways
- Yes, with limits: Microsoft's Copilot page says a free tier is available with a Microsoft account and that some capabilities are subject to usage limits. It gives no number (checked October 7, 2026).
- For a work account, Microsoft says Copilot Chat is available at no additional cost for Microsoft Entra account users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription. The paid add-on is a different product.
- Microsoft's own pages differ on training for personal accounts, depending on which version of the Copilot app they describe. A work account follows separate enterprise terms.
- Rule from this site: before paying for any Copilot, open the Microsoft 365 plan you already have and try Copilot Chat with your work account.
Is Microsoft Copilot free?
Yes, one of them is: as of October 7, 2026, Microsoft's page says "Microsoft Copilot is free with a signed-in Microsoft account." The name "Copilot" covers several products. The free tier of the consumer app has "some capabilities subject to usage limits," and people who sign in with a Microsoft Entra work account on an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription get Copilot Chat "at no additional cost."
Which Copilot is which?
Five products carry the name on pages we opened, and each is free or paid on different terms.
| Product | Who it is for (this site's summary) | What the page says about free or paid (read October 7, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Copilot app (copilot.microsoft.com) | Signed-in Microsoft account holders | "Microsoft Copilot is free with a signed-in Microsoft account" |
| Copilot in Microsoft 365 for individuals (Personal, Family, Premium, Pro) | Individual subscribers; AI features go to the subscription owner | "Copilot AI features are currently available only to the subscription owner"; "AI features are not available in Microsoft 365 Basic." |
| Copilot Chat | Microsoft Entra (work) account users | "Copilot Chat is available at no additional cost for all Microsoft Entra account users" with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription |
| Paid work add-on (Microsoft 365 Copilot Business on the pricing page) | Existing Microsoft 365 customers with an eligible Business plan | "A separate license for a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan is required to purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot." |
| GitHub Copilot | Developers | Free plan shown as $0 with USD printed, "limited functionality for individual developers" |
What are the free limits, and what do they count?
Microsoft gives no number for the free Copilot app. Its page says only that there is a free tier "with some capabilities subject to usage limits and more available through paid plans." It does not say what a limit counts (messages, minutes, images) or per what period, on the pages we read.
The same pattern shows for work accounts. Microsoft lists Copilot Chat's "file uploads (limits apply)" without a size, and says organizations may use their own custom agents "on a metered basis." So "no additional cost" for Copilot Chat does not mean every feature around it is unmetered.
Paid personal plans are described in relative terms. The pricing page lists Personal with "chat with higher usage than free," Premium with "chat with extensive usage" and Pro with "chat with highest usage," and adds "usage limits apply." Those are words, not quantities.
GitHub gives numbers, worded three ways on one page: "2,000 completions per month" on the plan card, "2000 completions and 50 chat requests" in the FAQ with no period stated, and "Limited chat and agent usage" in the credits table.
What does Microsoft do with your chats?
It depends on the account, and for personal accounts on the app version. Work and personal sign-ins are covered by different documents.
Work or school account (Microsoft Entra), Copilot Chat:
- Microsoft's Learn page says "Prompts and responses aren't used to train the underlying foundation models," and that "EDP is available in Copilot Chat at no extra cost." EDP is enterprise data protection, which the page defines as controls and commitments under Microsoft's Data Protection Addendum and Product Terms.
- Its business page says "Prompts and responses are logged, subject to your data retention policies, and will be available for eDiscovery and other Microsoft Purview capabilities," and that "The specific controls will vary depending on the underlying subscription plan."
- Web searches are handled separately: the page says the Bing search service "has different data-handling practices from those used for prompts and responses."
Personal Microsoft account, Copilot app: Microsoft has two pages, each describing its own version of the app.
- The privacy FAQ says an updated app is "available as of August 18, 2026" and that it "applies only to the older version." It says "Except for certain categories of users or users who have opted out, Microsoft uses data from Bing, MSN, Copilot, and interactions with ads on Microsoft for AI training," and "By default, we store conversation activity for 18 months."
- The activity-history page covers the updated app when you sign in with a Microsoft account, not a work or organizational account. It says "Prompts, responses, and your file contents when using the Microsoft Copilot app aren't used to train foundation models." Optional feedback may be used to improve Copilot but, it says, not to train the foundation models. It adds "If you haven't updated to or downloaded the new version of the Microsoft Copilot app, this article does not apply to you."
Each page says which version it applies to, and we draw no conclusion about which applies to you. The older-app FAQ says "If you're using Microsoft Copilot on the web, or if you've updated to or downloaded the new version of the Microsoft Copilot app, please see" a Microsoft overview page for the new app, which we did not read. This site's suggestion: open Copilot's privacy settings and see whether the app shows the model-training opt-out the older FAQ describes ("Opting out will exclude your future conversations from being used for training these AI models, unless you choose to opt back in"). If you see it, the older-app FAQ probably describes your app. If you do not, these pages do not say which one applies, because the updated-app page does not say whether it has such a setting. Until you know, keep customer details out of personal-account chats.
What do the paid Copilots cost?
As of October 7, 2026, Microsoft's pages show these prices with a dollar sign and do not name a currency. GitHub's page prints "USD." We print only what each page showed.
Personal Microsoft 365 plans (the individuals page):
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $9.99 /month | $99.99 a year |
| Microsoft 365 Family | $12.99 /month | $129.99 a year |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | $19.99 /month | $199.99 a year |
| Microsoft 365 Pro | $99.99 a month ("Monthly billing only.") | not offered yearly on the page |
Family can cover several people, but Microsoft says the AI features go to the owner only.
Business plans and the add-on (the pricing page, read October 7, 2026), per user:
| Product | Paid yearly | Paid monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (add-on) | $18.00, shown as reduced from $21.00 (first year only; conditions below) | $25.20 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot | $23.50 | $28.20 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot | $32.00 | $38.40 |
The $18.00 is a promotion: Microsoft says "This discount offer is available between July 1, 2026, and December 31, 2026," that "promotional pricing applies to the first year only," and that the add-on is "available only to existing Microsoft 365 customers with an eligible Business plan." It also says "Microsoft 365 Copilot may not be available for all markets and languages." The text we read gives no price after the first year.
What does the paid add-on add over free Copilot Chat?
Microsoft names Work IQ, Teams, Microsoft 365 apps and pre-built agents. Its page says: "When you add a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, Copilot becomes even more powerful with Work IQ ; Copilot in Teams and Microsoft 365 apps; and access to Microsoft pre-built agents like Researcher, Analyst, and Facilitator."
The "Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot" and "Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot" rows are, by their names, plans sold together with Copilot ($23.50 and $32.00 per user a month, paid yearly); this site reads them as bundles. The add-on is different: "A separate license for a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan is required to purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot."
Should you pay for Copilot?
This site's rule: pay for nothing until you have checked what your Microsoft 365 plan already includes.
- Which account do you sign in with: a personal Microsoft account or a work account? The data terms above differ between them. The free personal app has unspecified limits, so keep it to non-sensitive tasks.
- Does your Microsoft 365 plan already include Copilot Chat? Sign in with the work account. Microsoft's page says "If you don’t have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses yet, you can still try Microsoft Copilot Chat." If it is missing, your plan may not be eligible, or your administrator may have turned it off; Microsoft's page does not say.
- Do you need Copilot inside the apps? Only then compare the add-on with a bundle row.
Ask a Microsoft seller: Is my plan eligible? What is the price after the first year? For a workflow that does not depend on one vendor, see AI automation for small business: a practical guide, and for one concrete use, AI meeting notes for small business.
How was this page made?
From Microsoft's and GitHub's own pages, with no outside reviews. We read the Microsoft pages linked above and GitHub's plan page on October 7, 2026, rendered in a browser because the pricing pages load in JavaScript. Prices are as Microsoft's en-US pages and GitHub's page showed them, read from outside the United States.
This page was drafted with Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, and checked against each vendor's published material on October 7, 2026. Anthropic is not a vendor described here.
FAQ
Is Microsoft Copilot free to use?
Yes, in one form. As of October 7, 2026, Microsoft's Copilot page says: "Microsoft Copilot is free with a signed-in Microsoft account". It adds that some capabilities are subject to usage limits and more are available through paid plans. Microsoft gives no number for the limits on the pages we read.
Is Copilot Chat free with a work account?
Microsoft says Copilot Chat is available at no additional cost for all Microsoft Entra account users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription. If your plan is not eligible, or your admin has turned it off, this page cannot say what you will see. Ask your administrator.
Does Microsoft train Copilot on my chats?
It depends on the account and on the app version. For work accounts (Microsoft Entra) Microsoft says prompts and responses aren't used to train the underlying foundation models. For personal accounts, Microsoft's older-app privacy FAQ describes training with an opt-out, while its updated-app activity-history page says prompts, responses and file contents are not used to train foundation models. Each page says which version it applies to. See the section on chats.
Do I need to pay for Copilot if I already have Microsoft 365?
Not necessarily. Microsoft says Copilot Chat comes at no additional cost with eligible Microsoft 365 plans, and its pricing page says a Microsoft 365 Copilot license adds, among other items, "Copilot in Teams and Microsoft 365 apps". Check your plan first, then decide whether the in-app features justify the add-on.
Is GitHub Copilot free?
GitHub's plan page lists a Free plan at $0 USD with "limited functionality for individual developers". It is a coding tool sold separately from the Microsoft 365 Copilots.