The April 2026 announcement marked a turning point: GitHub officially ended the principle of “Premium Requests” to switch to a real consumption (AI Credits) model. From now on, each interaction is billed by the weight of the data. For a developer, this means that poor context management can be costly.
Here is the complete guide to navigating this new AI economy.
1. The New Anatomy of Interaction (System June 2026)#
| Component | Definition | “Legacy” Logic (Pre-2026) | “Modern” Logic (June 2026) | Optimization (Save $) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Request | The API call (your “Enter”). | 1 question = 1 fixed unit. | Variable. A query costs according to its complexity. | Batching: Merge several requests into one. |
| Payload | Raw data (Code + Context). | Hidden in the package. | The cost driver. Defines the number of input tokens. | Repomix: Compress the project into a single optimized file. |
| Token | Atomic unit ($\approx$ 4 char.). | Invisible. | Universal currency. Around $0.01 / 1000 tokens. | Prompt Caching: Reuses the context (-90% on input). |
| AI Credits | Your monthly balance. | 300 or 1500 requests. | 1 Credit = $1. Your $10-39 is converted into your “purse”. | Model Routing: Only release the “Pro” model for architecture. |
2. Comparison of Offers & Use Cases (Target June 2026)#
This table summarizes the best options on the market according to your real needs, whether technical or daily.
| Provider | Offer (June 2026) | Tokens/Credits Included | Dev Case: Refactoring/Archi | Dev Case: Bug Hunting | Daily Case: Deep Research | Daily Case: Personal Admin | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Copilot | Pro ($10/mo) | $10 in AI Credits | Top: Unlimited and free Ghost-text. | Average: Agentic chat expensive in credits. | Basic via Bing. | Excellent: Writing Office emails/docs. | The king of integrated productivity. |
| ZeroTwo Pro | Ultra ($25/mo) | Unlimited access via “Smart Proxy” | Elite: Best success rate on complex code. | Multi-AI: Compares GPT-5 and Claude 4.5 simultaneously. | God Mode: Autonomous web search agents. | Top: Travel planning and diary management. | For those who want the “Top Tier” without compromise. |
| OpenRouter | Pay-as-you-go | None (Free deposit) | Economical: Access to Open Source models (Llama 4). | Transparent: Exact cost displayed per correction. | Flex: Switch to the least expensive model. | Too complex for the average user. | For “Dev FinOps” who track the penny. |
| Claude | Pro ($20/mo) | Smart message quota | Reference: Cleanest code and respect for patterns. | Logic: Detects deep structural bugs. | Average: Less “web-connected” than Gemini. | Top: PDF analysis and financial reports. | The choice of rigor and pure logic. |
| Google Gemini | Advanced ($20/mo) | 2M tokens window included | Massive: “Reads” your entire GitHub repo at once. | Quick: Find a needle in a stack of 100 files. | Unbeatable: Summary of 20 videos and 100 web tabs. | Perfect if you live in Google Workspace. | Essential for gigantic contexts. |
| OpenAI | More ($20/mo) | ~100 msgs (o-series) | Very good on low level algorithms. | Expert: The “o-series” model works in stages. | Good via built-in SearchGPT. | Advanced voice mode for translation/coaching. | The Swiss army knife of pure reasoning. |
3. Tools to reduce the bill#
In June 2026, the smart user uses “filters” to avoid burning their credits unnecessarily:
- Caveman: Reduces the verbosity of AI responses. Less politeness = fewer paid exit tokens.
- RTK (Rust Token Killer): Cleans the log files and the boilerplate before sending the Payload.
- Repomix: Package your context semantically so the AI understands more with fewer tokens.
💡 The final word#
The move to Microsoft’s credits system brings Copilot in line with the rest of the market. The key is no longer knowing how to “prompt”, but knowing how to manage your Payload. A developer who uses RTK + Caveman can accomplish 3 times more tasks with the same $10 budget than a user who submits their raw code.