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Yes, Microsoft Copilot is free on the web, Windows, Mac and phones, with no card and no sign-in needed for basic chat. Microsoft calls it a limited free version, publishes no number for the limit, and may show you ads. Copilot inside Word, Excel and Outlook is not part of it. That needs a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Stay on the free plan if you want a chat assistant for questions, drafts and the odd image, and you can wait when it says come back later.
Pay if you want Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, which starts with Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month.
Skip it if you came for Deep Research or Podcasts, because Microsoft retired both from the consumer app on August 18, 2026.
prices checked 2026-10-05 · by dan scutaru
| plan | price | what matters |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Chat, images and file uploads, "subject to available capacity and limits". May show ads |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $9.99/mo | Copilot in the Office desktop apps, higher usage than free, 1 TB storage. $99.99 a year |
| Microsoft 365 Family | $12.99/mo | Apps and storage for up to 6 people, Copilot for the owner only. $129.99 a year |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | $19.99/mo | Extensive usage, plus Researcher, Analyst and Cowork. $199.99 a year |
| Microsoft 365 Pro | $99.99/mo | Highest usage limits. Monthly billing only |
There is a limit, and Microsoft does not print it. Its own answer is that the free version is "subject to available capacity and limits", and that when you hit one you can upgrade or come back later. No message count, no image count, no reset time.
Paying does not get you a number either. The limits table for subscribers uses bands such as "Standard usage" and "Extensive use", and says limits may change over time.
If a page tells you the upgrade from free Copilot is Copilot Pro, the page is out of date. Microsoft's support site says Copilot Pro is no longer available for purchase and that support ended on August 1, 2026.
Its replacement is Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 a month, which bundles the Office apps and storage whether you wanted them or not. No paid plan is just the chat assistant any more.
Two things: where Copilot works, and how much of it you get. Free Copilot lives in its own app and in Edge. A Microsoft 365 subscription moves it into your documents, spreadsheets and inbox, and raises the limits on chat, voice, vision and images.
Read the small print on two plans. Microsoft 365 Basic has no AI features, and on Family only the subscription owner gets Copilot. Researcher and Analyst are marked not available below Premium.
Nothing for the free version. The paid route for individuals is a Microsoft 365 plan: Personal at $9.99 a month, Family at $12.99, Premium at $19.99 and Pro at $99.99.
Yes, one month of Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium. It renews into a paid subscription unless you cancel, and Microsoft says whether payment details are required varies by offer and region.
It comes at no additional cost if your employer pays for an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription and you sign in with your work account. Microsoft 365 Copilot, the version that reads your work files and email, is a separate license at $30 per user a month, paid yearly.
GitHub Copilot is a different product, a coding assistant with its own plans and its own free tier. Nothing on this page applies to it.
It can. Microsoft says that if you use Copilot without a Microsoft 365 subscription you might see advertising. Turning off ad personalization in settings leaves generic ads based on the current conversation.