Quick Answer
GitHub will start reopening credit-card and PayPal signups for new Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise customers on 1 September 2026. The same billing update says new Business and Enterprise seat assignments will require payment before the user gets access.
Existing Business and Enterprise customers using a credit card or PayPal move later. GitHub says the billing updates take effect starting 1 October 2026, with the upfront charge taken at the start of the next billing cycle. That is not a promise that every existing account will be charged on October 1.
Business and Enterprise prices are not changing. Separately, GitHub will relaunch its unified web, mobile, and cloud-agent Copilot experience no earlier than 28 September 2026.
These statements come from GitHub’s 28 August Changelog announcement, checked on 29 August 2026.
Three dates, with the official qualifiers preserved
| Date | What GitHub announced | What the date does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2026 | GitHub will start reenabling new Business and Enterprise signups paid by credit card or PayPal; new seat assignments require payment before access | It does not say every signup path will be available at 00:00 on September 1 |
| No earlier than 28 September 2026 | Copilot Chat on github.com and GitHub Mobile, plus Copilot cloud agent, will relaunch as one experience under one policy | September 28 is a lower bound, not a guaranteed launch day |
| Starting 1 October 2026 | The billing updates apply to existing Business and Enterprise customers using a credit card or PayPal; assigned seats incur an upfront charge at the next billing-cycle start | It is not a blanket October 1 debit for every existing customer |
The wording matters. GitHub chose start reenabling, not “all signups reopen.” It chose No earlier than September 28th, 2026, not “launches September 28.” For existing accounts, the update combines two conditions: it applies starting October 1, and the charge occurs at the start of that account’s next billing cycle.
The scope matters too. The signup sentence names new Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise customers paying by credit card or PayPal. The existing-customer sentence names the same plans and payment methods. The announcement does not place Copilot Pro, Pro+, or Max on this timetable, and it does not state a rule for invoiced customers.
The price stays; the collection point moves
GitHub’s Changelog says Business and Enterprise prices are not changing. The current plans page, checked on 29 August 2026, lists:
| Plan | Current listed monthly seat price |
|---|---|
| Copilot Business | $19 USD per granted seat |
| Copilot Enterprise | $39 USD per granted seat |
Five Business seats therefore still have a listed seat cost of $95 per month, before tax or additional usage. The change is when GitHub collects the seat charge, not the published unit price.
For a new card or PayPal customer, the practical gate is payment before access. The assigned user cannot gain Copilot access until payment is completed.
For an existing card or PayPal customer, do not put “October 1 charge” into the cash forecast without checking the account’s cycle date. The announcement says the update applies starting October 1 and the upfront charge occurs at the next cycle start. Record that next boundary and the seats assigned before it.
Current Docs and the upcoming Changelog describe different states
GitHub’s organization and enterprise billing page, checked on 29 August 2026, still describes the current end-of-cycle model:
- billed users are calculated at the end of each billing cycle from assigned seats;
- seats added during the cycle are charged pro rata for the remaining period; and
- removing a seat does not stop billing until the current cycle ends.
The current license-change page likewise says an assigned organization or enterprise user gains access immediately. Those pages describe the live rules on the access date. They had not yet been rewritten to match every part of the upcoming Changelog.
The Changelog describes what is changing:
- payment is required for each new Business or Enterprise seat assignment before access;
- existing card and PayPal customers move to an upfront charge at the start of the next cycle, with the updates applying from October 1;
- additional payment may be required after included usage is exceeded; and
- included usage may be prorated across the month to align with seat-cost proration.
It also says mid-cycle seat additions will continue to be prorated from assignment through cycle end. Revoking a seat still produces no prorated refund, and the removal is reflected in the next monthly cycle. Spend controls, usage tracking, extra usage, and additional AI-credit purchases remain available.
Read the two sources in order: the Docs page records the current settlement model; the dated Changelog records the announced transition. The apparent tension between “access immediately” in current Docs and “payment before access” in the upcoming rule is a version boundary, not evidence that one sentence cancels the other.
What a small team should do before its next cycle
New self-serve customer: wait for the signup path to appear. GitHub’s Quickstart, checked on 29 August, still says self-serve Business and Enterprise purchases were temporarily paused on April 22 and are “reopening soon” for card and PayPal customers. It also says self-serve trials remain paused. The Changelog supplies September 1 as the start of the reopening, but does not guarantee universal availability that morning.
Existing card or PayPal customer: keep the account; do not cancel merely to return as a “new” customer. GitHub warns that fully canceling and later returning may trigger updated account vetting and billing behavior. Instead, record the next billing-cycle start, count assigned seats, and make sure the payment method can cover the upfront total.
Team changing seats: remove genuinely idle seats before the next cycle if the users no longer need them. Do not expect a refund for the unused part of the current cycle. For a mid-cycle addition, budget the prorated seat cost and assume payment must clear before access once the new rule applies.
Individual-plan user or invoiced customer: do not import this timetable into an account the announcement does not name. Check the billing page and contract that apply to the account.
The separate AI-credit reset guide explains why the included-credit calendar can differ from a seat’s billing cycle. The Copilot promotion-deadline guide covers the September allowance change. This article does not repeat either ledger.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Credits are a different product and billing system; use the Microsoft seat-and-credit guide only to keep that ledger separate from GitHub Copilot.
The September 28 policy change is not a billing date
GitHub plans to combine Copilot Chat on github.com, Copilot Chat in GitHub Mobile, and Copilot cloud agent into one experience and one policy. The relaunch will occur no earlier than September 28 and will be enabled by default after launch.
Business and enterprise administrators should review the policy before September 28. Keeping access on github.com and GitHub Mobile requires no action. Opting out means users lose those two access points after the unified experience launches.
The announcement also says github.com conversations will move to the agent-sessions experience and chat data will be retained for the life of the account instead of 28 days. That retention change deserves a policy review, but it does not change the Business or Enterprise seat price.
FAQ
Can a new Business or Enterprise customer sign up before September 1?
Do not plan a self-serve card or PayPal purchase around a pre-September deadline. The current Docs still say those purchases are temporarily paused, while the Changelog says GitHub will start reopening them on September 1. Check the live signup page before committing a project start date.
Will every existing customer be charged on October 1?
No. GitHub says the billing updates apply to existing Business and Enterprise card or PayPal customers starting October 1, and that the upfront charge is taken at the start of the next billing cycle. The account’s cycle boundary determines the collection point.
Is upfront billing a price increase?
No price increase was announced for these two plans. GitHub explicitly says their prices are not changing. Seat additions remain prorated; the update changes payment timing and access gating.
Does the September 28 change include IDE Chat?
The announcement names Copilot Chat on github.com, Copilot Chat in GitHub Mobile, and Copilot cloud agent. It does not say IDE Chat is part of this unified-policy relaunch, so this article does not extend the rule to IDEs.
Primary sources checked on 29 August 2026: GitHub Changelog, Copilot Quickstart, Copilot plans, organization and enterprise billing, and license changes.