Simone Chiaretta

New dad, .NET web and #Umbraco developer with a passion for outdoors, triathlons, mountains, opensource, cooking, arduino and social media. Views mine only.

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

I just bought book The Ray Tracer Challenge - A Test-Driven Guide to Your First 3D Renderer and in the upcoming months I'll be developing my own ray tracer, in .NET Core. I will also document my learning experience on the blog. Here the first intro post.
https://t.co/IQKyLHBYWh

[Vijay Singh @vijaysingh_x]

GitHub Copilot just shifted to usage-based billing and it already burned through my entire month of AI credits in a single day.

What used to last a month now lasts a day. Now pay for extra credits or wait until the 1st.

Worst billing change ever, @github .

#githubcopilot

[Milan Jovanović @mjovanovictech]

Soon we'll find out the real cost of all these awesome AI tools we've been using. It won't be fun.

[Damian Saez @saezbaldo]

Bye bye Copilot. Hello Codex. Anyone else cancelled Github Copilot running out of tokens on day 1 / 2?

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@DanWahlin Shall I spilt the testing over 2-3 months to be able to use it within the included credits?

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@github In one hour of coding I’ve burned 30% of my personal pro subscription. And at work in 2 days I’ve reached the 3k credits of the promotion for the whole month. How is this being in control? With PRU it lasted the whole month

[Raphael Mansuy 🍵 @raphaelmansuy]

Formal Complaint: GitHub Copilot Token-Based Billing Model

@GitHubCopilot

Subject: Critical Issue with New Token-Based Billing — Product Has Become Unusable

Summary of the Issue

I am writing to formally complain about the recent shift to token-based billing for GitHub Copilot, which was rolled out this morning. This change has fundamentally broken the value proposition of the product and is rendering it unusable for paying subscribers, including myself.

Specific Problems Observed

Within just a few hours of the new billing model going live, the developer community is already reporting alarming consumption patterns:

Pro+ subscribers paying $39/month are reporting that 60% of their monthly credits were depleted in only 2 hours of normal usage.

One user reported losing 20% of their entire monthly allowance from a single file review — no code generation, just a review.

At this rate, a paying customer will exhaust their plan in less than a single working day, despite paying a premium subscription fee.

This is not "normal usage at scale" — this is a broken pricing model that punishes the very developers who rely on Copilot daily for their work.

Why This Makes the Product Unusable

The core promise of Copilot was a predictable, always-available AI coding assistant integrated into the developer workflow. Token-based billing destroys that promise because:

Developers cannot predict costs. Every keystroke, every file review, every refactor becomes a financial calculation rather than a productivity boost.

The tool actively discourages use. Users will hesitate before invoking Copilot, defeating the entire point of an AI assistant.

The $39/month Pro+ tier is misleading. Customers signed up expecting reliable access, not a pre-paid metered service that runs out mid-morning.

Heavy users — your most loyal customers — are penalized the most.

The Competitive Reality

While GitHub Copilot is moving toward a restrictive metered model, competitors are moving in the opposite direction:

Cursor offers Composer 2.5 with unlimited usage once token limits are reached on their plans, ensuring developers can keep working without interruption.
Other tools (Windsurf, Cody, Continue) offer flat-rate or far more generous usage tiers.

Developers will not stay on a platform that runs out of credits before lunch when alternatives offer uninterrupted productivity at the same or lower price point.

My Demand
If GitHub does not revise this licensing model, the product is effectively dead. I am requesting:

Reinstatement of a flat-rate unlimited (or effectively unlimited) tier for Pro and Pro+ subscribers.

Transparent, upfront communication of what each interaction actually costs in tokens.

A grace period or credit refund for users who burned through their allowance under the new model without warning.

A long-term commitment that core IDE-integrated features will not be metered into uselessness.

Without these changes, I — along with a growing number of developers — will be canceling our subscriptions and migrating to Cursor or competing alternatives. The decision to monetize aggressively at the expense of usability will not be remembered as a successful pivot; it will be remembered as the moment GitHub Copilot lost its market.

Please escalate this to the product and pricing teams immediately.

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@C963P So the shirt goes to purple to black during the video? Looks like AI

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@DanWahlin This series is one the best intro to the CLI!

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@BenjiNaesen @anjaaatjuh They had perpendicular tram tracks. Those roads have no parallels tracks. I’ve lived there.

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@BenjiNaesen This circuit was not dangerous. 3 or 4 lanes roads, dry, all closed without ppl stepping in. Where was it dangerous?
This was dangerous but Naples finish was not? And guess what will happen in Rome where it will be even worse.
I’ve lived in Milano. Those roads are huge.

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@BenjiNaesen Dylan Groenewegen FTW! Rockets deserve a win! Hopefully no sketchy finish like in Naples

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@Domestique___ Welcome to Napoli

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@laflammerouge16 Welcome to Naples

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

My latest order from @Nespresso Belgium is still not delivered after one month, thx to @bpost_fr strike.
At least is not perishable food.
But one month for a 24hrs guaranteed delivery seems a bit too much

[Benji Naesen @BenjiNaesen]

The UCI really needs to improve their decision-making on the puppy-paws rule, as it's applied incredibely inconsistently.

Riders don't even know what's allowed, or isn't allowed anymore. 🤷

For example, these riders were not penalised. ⤵️

[Amazing Maps @amazingmap]

How far you can travel by train in 3 hours from Brussels

[Evan Boyle @_Evan_Boyle]

Copilot CLI now supports BYOK and local models!

We have users running fully offline in air gapped environments.

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@laflammerouge16 So they are going to disqualify Poga and remco?

[Simone Chiaretta @simonech]

@laflammerouge16 Wow. With that 4m drop this is a relatively mild outcome. Speedy recovery to her!

[Benji Naesen @BenjiNaesen]

Do you plan to watch a cycling race in-person?

📢 DO NOT TOUCH THE RIDERS.
📢 KEEP YOUR PHONE BEHIND THE BARRIERS.
📢 DON'T STAND ON THE ROAD.
📢 KEEP YOUR ANIMALS ON THE LEASH.
📢 DO NOT USE FLARES.

Just don't do anything stupid. 🙏 #OHN26