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GitHub Enterprise licensing

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This article is about licensing GitHub Enterprise Cloud and GitHub Enterprise Server, and the Advanced Security licences sold with them. GitHub Copilot is covered in its own article. It is not legal advice.

On This Page

GitHub Enterprise is GitHub’s plan for organizations that need central administration, enterprise authentication and a choice of deployment. It covers two products: GitHub Enterprise Cloud, which GitHub hosts, and GitHub Enterprise Server, which the customer hosts in its own data centre or a supported cloud.[1] GitHub licenses the plan per unique user. Each person consumes one licence, which entitles them to both deployment options.[1] The Enterprise Cloud bill each month covers the licences used, determined by the number of unique users, plus metered usage beyond the included allowances and any extras such as Copilot or Advanced Security licences.[3] For the rest of the GitHub portfolio, see GitHub licensing.

Editions

GitHub Enterprise is sold under two billing models, and the model decides how Server is licensed.[1]

 Usage-based (metered) Volume or subscription (GHE Unified) 
Cloud and Server Cloud-first, with a Server use right for Cloud users One user licence covers Cloud, Server or both 
Setup Self-service Manual setup by GitHub Sales 
Server licence file Generated by the customer; covers consumed Cloud licences at the time of generation Downloaded by enterprise owners; covers all purchased users 
Licence file expiry 12 months Aligned with the volume term 
Required version GitHub Enterprise 3.13+ with GitHub Connect No specific version 
Billing Invoiced for users not assigned on Cloud through GitHub Connect Fixed cost based on purchased volume 

The table follows GitHub’s own comparison.[1] GitHub Enterprise Cloud is covered by the GitHub Enterprise Cloud Product Specific Terms and GitHub Enterprise Server by its own Product Specific Terms. A GHE Unified licence is covered by both.[12]

Metrics

GitHub name Catalog row Unit What GitHub says 
License (previously “seat”) GitHub Enterprise license User Each member of the enterprise uses a licence, previously known as a seat.[3] 
Active committer Active committer User Each active committer to at least one repository with an Advanced Security feature enabled uses one licence.[8] 

Counting / floors

Unique users across deployments (as of 2026-09-30). A user consumes one licence however many Enterprise Server instances they use, and however many organizations they belong to in Enterprise Cloud. The Enterprise Cloud allowance includes one deployment, on either GitHub.com or GHE.com.[1] Catalog rule: GitHub Enterprise: one license per unique user across Cloud and Server deployments.

License sync (as of 2026-09-30). A person who uses several environments consumes a single licence only if licence usage is synchronized between them. GitHub then deduplicates users by the email addresses on their accounts, both for the Enterprise plan and for Advanced Security.[1] GitHub warns against using the “Total consumed” count on the People page to size a Server licence. That figure is higher than the Cloud-only count used for licence generation.[1] Catalog rule: GitHub Enterprise: license sync required to deduplicate users across environments.

Who consumes a licence on Enterprise Cloud (as of 2026-09-30). The following consume a licence: enterprise owners who belong to at least one organization, organization members and owners, and outside collaborators on private or internal repositories, excluding forks. Each outside collaborator is counted once. Dormant users who belong to an organization also consume a licence. Suspended managed users, billing managers, guest collaborators and unaffiliated users do not.[4] Pending invitations consume a licence only when the enterprise uses neither Enterprise Managed Users nor usage-based billing.[4] Catalog rule: GitHub Enterprise Cloud: outside collaborators, dormant users and pending invitations can consume licenses.

Who consumes a licence on Enterprise Server (as of 2026-09-30). Every active user who has successfully authenticated to the instance consumes a licence, and so do dormant users. Administrators can suspend dormant users to free licences. Suspended users do not consume a licence. Neither do users who already consume one on Enterprise Cloud, provided licence usage is synced.[4] Catalog rule: GitHub Enterprise Server: every authenticated active user and dormant users consume a license.

Consumed versus billable licences (usage-based, as of 2026-09-30). Metered billing tracks consumed licences, those in use now, and billable licences, the distinct users who consumed a licence at some point in the billing cycle. A user who starts mid-cycle is charged pro rata. A user who stops consuming a licence is reflected in the following month’s bill. In GitHub’s example, adding 10 users, then 20, then removing 5 leaves 25 consumed and 30 billable licences.[2] Metered products are billed by calendar month in UTC. Removing a user revokes access at once but does not reduce the bill for the current cycle.[10] Catalog rules: Usage-based GitHub Enterprise licenses billed on distinct users in the cycle, prorated and Removing users mid-cycle does not reduce the current bill.

Assignment and reassignment (Version: March 2025). Each Subscription License is assigned to one End User, for use on any number of devices, and End User accounts may not be shared. A volume-based licence may not be reassigned to another End User within 90 days of its last assignment. The exceptions are when the End User leaves the customer or goes on leave.[7] Catalog rule: Volume Subscription Licenses cannot be reassigned within 90 days.

One cloud service per licence (Version: March 2025). On cloud offerings, a Subscription License covers only one cloud service at a time, such as GitHub.com or an enterprise-managed environment in Enterprise Cloud. A person who works in two cloud enterprises at once, for example one in the US and one in Europe, needs two licences.[7] The General Terms also forbid using self-service tools to create several enterprise accounts for the same entity without GitHub’s written permission.[7] Catalog rule: A cloud Subscription License covers one cloud service at a time.

Virtualization & partitioning

GitHub Enterprise licences count people, not processors, virtual machines or instances. The number of Enterprise Server instances a user reaches does not change the count.[1] What limits an instance is its licence file. GitHub provides the file when the customer purchases, renews or adds user licences. The file has an expiration date and controls how many people can use the instance. If it expires, the instance cannot be reached through a web browser or Git, although command-line utilities can still back up data. Under metered billing, the file’s seat count is the number of consumed Cloud licences when it was generated.[5] Catalog rule: GitHub Enterprise Server stops working in the browser and Git when its license file expires.

Compliance verification (Version: June 2021). Under the Enterprise Server Product Specific Terms, the customer must give GitHub a report generated by the software, on 30 days’ notice, verifying that its use complies with the agreement. For any unlicensed use, it must order enough licences within 30 days to cover the period of that use.[6] The same terms require the customer to update the software at least once a year. The software counts as delivered when the License Key is made available for download.[6] Catalog rules: GitHub Enterprise Server: software-generated compliance report on 30 days' notice and GitHub Enterprise Server must be updated at least once per year.

Cloud / BYOL

Enterprise Cloud runs on GitHub.com or, with data residency, on GHE.com.[1] Enterprise Server may be hosted in the customer’s data centre or a supported cloud under the same per-user licence.[1] Customers can pay for metered use through a connected Azure subscription. Customers who use Enterprise Cloud through a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement must do so to use Advanced Security, Codespaces or Copilot, or to go beyond the plan’s included Actions, Git LFS or Packages amounts.[11] Catalog rule: Enterprise Cloud via a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement needs an Azure subscription for metered add-ons.

Programs

Out of scope

  • GitHub Copilot seats and AI credits. See GitHub Copilot licensing.
  • Actions, Packages, Codespaces and Git LFS metering, summarised in GitHub licensing.
  • The Microsoft Product Terms for GitHub Offerings.
  • GitHub Enterprise list prices and negotiated volume pricing.

Catalog rows

References

  1. Combined GitHub Enterprise cloud and server useGitHub Docs. Unique-user model, license sync, usage-based versus volume comparison.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  2. Usage-based billing for enterprise licensesGitHub Docs. Consumed and billable licences; Visual Studio bundles.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  3. Billing for GitHub EnterpriseGitHub Docs. What the Cloud and Server bills include.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  4. People who consume a license in an organizationGitHub Docs, Billing reference.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  5. License files for GitHub Enterprise ServerGitHub Docs.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  6. GitHub Enterprise Server Product Specific TermsVersion: June 2021. License Key, Updates, Verifying compliance.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  7. GitHub General TermsGitHub Customer Agreement. Version: March 2025. §1.3 Accounts; §1.12 Restrictions; §8.1 Fees.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  8. GitHub Advanced Security license billingGitHub Docs, Product billing.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  9. GitHub Terms for Additional Products and FeaturesAdvanced Security "Unique Committer" definition.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  10. Billing cyclesGitHub Docs, Billing concepts.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  11. Azure subscription paymentsGitHub Docs, Billing concepts.Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  12. Customer TermsIndex of the GitHub Customer Agreement documents and which Product Specific Terms apply.Retrieved 2026-09-30.

See also

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