# Access Copilot Pro for free as a teacher or open source maintainer

> Get free access to Copilot Pro as a verified teacher or open-source maintainer.

- 网址：https://funcoding.ai/agents/github-copilot/how-tos/copilot-on-github/set-up-copilot/enable-copilot/set-up-for-teachers-and-os-maintainers/
- 来源：GitHub Copilot 官方文档原文（英文），CC-BY-4.0 许可，同步于 2026-10-11
- 官方原文：https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-on-github/set-up-copilot/enable-copilot/set-up-for-teachers-and-os-maintainers

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## About free GitHub Copilot Pro access

There are two ways to qualify for free access to Copilot Pro:

* **As a verified teacher on GitHub Education.** To become a verified teacher, see [AUTOTITLE](https://docs.github.com/free-pro-team@latest/education/about-github-education/github-education-for-teachers/apply-to-github-education-as-a-teacher).
* **As a maintainer of a popular open-source repository.** To check your eligibility, see [Accessing Copilot Pro for free](#accessing-copilot-pro-for-free).

GitHub reevaluates your eligibility every month.

If you have been granted free access to Copilot as a verified student, teacher, or maintainer of a popular open source project, you won’t be able to cancel your plan. For more information about managing your plan, see [AUTOTITLE](https://funcoding.ai/agents/github-copilot/how-tos/manage-your-account/view-and-change-your-copilot-plan/).

## What if I don't qualify for free access to Copilot Pro?

If you do not meet the previous criteria, you can do one of the following:

* Subscribe to [Copilot Pro](https://github.com/github-copilot/signup?ref_product=copilot&ref_type=purchase&ref_style=text&ref_plan=pro), [Copilot Pro+](https://github.com/github-copilot/signup?ref_product=copilot&ref_type=purchase&ref_style=text&ref_plan=pro), or [Copilot Max](https://github.com/settings/billing/licensing?ref_product=copilot&ref_type=purchase&ref_style=text&ref_plan=max) for a paid plan with access to premium models.
* Set up Copilot Free to get a limited experience of Copilot without a paid plan. See [AUTOTITLE](https://docs.github.com/copilot/get-started/plans).

## Accessing Copilot Pro for free

1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click your profile picture, then click **copilot Copilot settings**.
1. If you qualify for free access to Copilot, you will see a page titled "GitHub Copilot Pro" informing you that you are eligible. Click **Get access to GitHub Copilot**.
1. On the page that appears, configure the Copilot use policies to meet your needs, then click **Save and complete**.
