Although Microsoft will keep the free version of Copilot, the company now offers “Copilot Pro,” a paid version of the service for regular consumers, and naturally, the question now arises on whether it’s worth the upgrade or whether you should keep using the version available for free.
Regardless of the version of the chatbot you choose, you will be accessing the same technology as the paid version, which is based on the free version but with more features. However, the answer to which one you should use depends on how you can benefit from each service.
In this guide, I will outline the differences between the free version of Copilot and Copilot Pro to help you make an informed decision.
Copilot free vs. Copilot Pro
At the overview level, the free version of Copilot gives you access to the chatbot powered by the latest language models from OpenAI, web grounding, and commercial data protection.
In contrast, Copilot Pro includes everything the free version offers, as well as priority access to ChatGPT and enhanced DALL-E (image creation), and access to Copilot on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
In addition, paid subscribers will also have access to Copilot GPT Builder to create a custom version of GPT tailored to a specific topic.
You can also download and install the Copilot app on your mobile device from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store to access either version of the AI.
Now, let’s look at these two offerings in more detail.
Copilot Pro
Copilot Pro is available for anyone, and it costs $20 per month (per person). This is not the same as “Copilot for Microsoft 365,” which is a paid subscription for businesses, but it’s very similar.
This is a subscription-based service that provides additional benefits to the free version. The most significant advantage of the subscription is the access to Copilot on the Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
The only caveat is that to access the chatbot from the Microsoft 365 apps, you will need a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription. For instance, if you pay for these services on a monthly basis, you will be paying $10 for the Microsoft 365 Family plan plus $20 for Copilot Pro, which translates to a total of $30 per month. (Suddenly, Netflix is not that expensive, right?)
The Copilot Pro service features breakdown:
- Foundation AI capabilities: Basic access to the technology.
- Web grounding: Technique of combining the user query with other pieces of data across the internet that the GPT model uses to reason the answer.
- Commercial Data Protection: This only means that Microsoft provides enhanced privacy and security for users so that the company cannot see your code and data, and they are processed securely in compliance with regulations.
- Priority access: Allows subscribers to get faster access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo during peak hours, whereas, for free users, the access is limited to GPT-3.5 during high traffic. Priority access also means early access to updates and release of the latest language models.
- Copilot GPTs: In the near future, Microsoft will release Copilot GPT Builder, a feature that will allow pro users to create their own Copilot tailored to a specific topic.
- Microsoft 365 apps with Copolit: The Copilot Pro offering also brings access to the chatbot from apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote (additional subscription required). This feature will help you create draft documents, summarize text, analyze data, compose emails, create presentations, and more.
- Image Creator from Designer: The subscription also includes an enhanced version of the AI to create more accurate images using the DALL-E 3 language model. You’ll also get 100 boosts per day.
Overall, Copilot Pro is the most powerful version of the AI that Microsoft can offer, and it will be able to help in more ways than the free version of Copilot, whether you want to write, research, code, and more.
Once you sign up for the paid subscription, you can access Copilot Pro from anywhere you can already access Copilot when signed in with your Microsoft account, including from Copilot on Bing (formerly Bing Chat) and through the standalone version at copilot.microsoft.com. Of course, you can access the chatbot with all the paid features from Microsoft Edge and Windows.
Copilot Pro is currently only available in the United States and the following countries: Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and New Zealand. The service will expand to more regions in the future.
To get Copilot Pro, follow these instructions.
Copilot (free)
Copilot is an AI assistant that anyone can access for free on Bing, through the dedicated web app, through Microsoft Edge, and on Windows 11 and 10.
Although you can still use Copilot to summarize text, draft documents, compose emails, and analyze data, you will have to process the action in the chatbot interface since you won’t have access to it from the Microsoft 365 apps.
The Copilot (free) service features breakdown:
- Foundation AI capabilities: Basic access to the technology.
- Web grounding: Technique of combining the user query with other pieces of data across the internet that the GPT model uses to reason the answer.
- Commercial Data Protection: This only means that Microsoft provides enhanced privacy and security for users so that the company cannot see your code and data, and they are processed securely in compliance with regulations.
- GPT-4 and Turbo: Copilot (free) gives you access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo, but this is limited to non-peak times. For the most part, you will be accessing GPT-3.5. Of course, in the future, Microsoft will upgrade and implement newer versions of the language model.
- Image Creator from Designer: You can also use Copilot to create images with AI, but the experience is not the same as the paid version. You also only get 15 boosts per day.
Copilot (free) is available in 105 languages and 169 countries. However, availability will depend on where you are trying to access the AI. For example, Copilot on the web is more widely available than Windows.
Ultimately, the best choice depends on your individual needs and preferences. You can always sign up for a month and find out whether the paid subscription makes a difference.
Are you planning to get the pro version of the chatbot AI? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].