Questions about commercial use of GitHub Copilot provided via GitHub Education

[itigoame9325]

Hi everyone,

I am developing a smartphone app, am I allowed to publish and monetize an app created using GitHub Copilot Pro obtained via GitHub Education?
​I understand from the general GitHub Copilot terms of service that commercial use of the generated code is permitted. However, I have also noticed that the GitHub Education terms mention that the program is intended for "non-commercial, academic use." This has created some confusion for me as to which policy applies in this specific case.
Thank you very much!

[ShahbazSQ]

That’s a great question and you’re right to be cautious about the difference between GitHub Copilot’s terms and GitHub Education’s terms.

Here’s how it generally breaks down:

GitHub Copilot Terms:
The standard GitHub Copilot Terms of Service allow commercial use of the code you generate. That means if you have a personal or paid Copilot subscription, you’re free to publish and monetize apps created with it.

GitHub Education Plan Restriction:
The GitHub Education benefits, including Copilot Pro access under that program, are explicitly described as being for non-commercial, academic use only. This means that while Copilot itself supports commercial use, your specific access through GitHub Education is limited to academic or learning purposes.

What This Means for You:

You can experiment, learn, and build prototypes using your GitHub Education Copilot license.

You cannot legally publish or monetize an app built with that Education-provided access.

If you want to release or monetize your app, you should upgrade to a personal or paid Copilot Pro subscription that’s not tied to GitHub Education.

In short:
Commercial use is permitted for Copilot — but not when it’s obtained via the GitHub Education package, since that plan is restricted to non-commercial use.

[itigoame9325]

Thank you for your great answer.This is directly to the answer I was looking for.Thank you so much!

[ShahbazSQ]

Glad you liked it! A follow would be greatly appreciated.☺️