Any additional charges if i activate github enterprise cloud in my azure account

Hello Varma,

Good news—simply flipping the switch on a GitHub Enterprise Cloud organization in your Azure account doesn’t automatically add any “Azure” charges. GitHub Enterprise Cloud licenses are billed directly by GitHub, not as an Azure service meter. Here’s the breakdown:

1. GitHub Enterprise Cloud licensing
   • You need a valid payment method (credit card or PayPal) on your GitHub org.
   • If you redeemed via the Microsoft for Startups benefit, the coupon covers your first 20 seats—but GitHub still handles the billing.
   • Azure subscriptions can be added for any metered add-ons you choose, but they’re 100% optional.
2. No hidden Azure-meter costs
   • There’s no VM, bandwidth, storage or other “Azure service” meter firing off simply because your GitHub Enterprise org shows up under your subscription.
   • Any usage-based fees (for example, GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps pipelines) would be separate and would explicitly surface in Cost Management if you opt into them.

If you do plan to use things like GitHub Advanced Security via Azure DevOps (code scanning, secret scanning, etc.), those daily active-committer charges do bill to your Azure subscription. Otherwise, your Enterprise Cloud license stays on GitHub’s side.

Hope that clarifies things! Let me know if you’re planning on any of those add-ons and want guidance on estimating costs in the Azure pricing calculator.

References

• GitHub Enterprise activation and Microsoft for Startups benefit
• Billing for GitHub Advanced Security (Azure DevOps)
• Azure Cost Management + Billing overview

Hello Varma,

Greetings! Thanks for raising this question in Q&A forum.

When you activate GitHub Enterprise, the core license comes with a base cost — but depending on how you use it, there can be additional charges for certain features. Let me break this down clearly.

Base GitHub Enterprise Cost

GitHub Enterprise is priced at $21 per user/month (billed annually) for the cloud-hosted version. For enterprise accounts created on or after August 1, 2024, GitHub uses a metered (pay-as-you-go) billing model, meaning you only pay for active users consumed in a given month at month's end, instead of pre-purchasing seats.

What's Included at No Extra Cost

With GitHub Enterprise, you are entitled to use both GitHub Enterprise Cloud and GitHub Enterprise Server under a single license. Each unique user consumes only one license regardless of how many organizations or server instances they access — so there's no double billing.

Yes, certain add-ons cost extra beyond the base Enterprise license:

• GitHub Copilot — Requires separate per-user licensing. Copilot Business is $19/user/month; Copilot Enterprise pricing varies and is billed monthly
• GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS) — Requires an additional license per active committer per month; pricing is separate from the base Enterprise plan
• GitHub Actions — Includes free minutes per plan; usage beyond the free allowance is billed based on compute minutes and storage consumed
• Extra storage & data transfer — Additional storage is charged at $0.07 per GiB, and additional data transfer out is $0.0875 per GiB

If you're activating GitHub Enterprise through Microsoft Azure, billing can be unified through your Azure subscription, which simplifies procurement. For existing customers already on GitHub Enterprise, your current plan and billing method will remain unchanged until your agreement expires or you choose to switch.

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Best Regards,

Jerald Felix.