Pricing

Baton vs Copilot:
The real cost of AI coding tools

July 2026 / 5 min read

GitHub Copilot's $19/month starter price looks cheap until you factor in the Copilot Business platform fee, per-repo minimums, and the fact that every line autocomplete isn't the same as a complete, working pull request. Here's the side-by-side that most comparison posts skip.

The comparison

Plan
Baton
$29/mo
flat per repo
Copilot Business
$19+ $10
per user/month
Starting price
$29
$19/user
All-in price for a 5-person team
$145/mo
$145/mo
+ platform fee
Price scales with usage
No
Yes
Writes complete pull requests
Yes
No
Autonomy level
Full PR
Assist
Merges without human approval
Never
N/A
Predictable budget
Yes
No

Copilot Business pricing as of July 2026. Baton is $29 flat per repo per month — all model costs included, no overages.

What Copilot actually costs at scale
Copilot Business is $19 per user per month. For a 10-person engineering team, that's $190/month base — reasonable so far. But Copilot is an IDE assistant. It helps you write code faster; it doesn't do the work. A team of 10 still needs 10 humans (or contractors) driving every line. Baton replaces an engineer on a per-repo basis. The math shifts from "speed up 10 devs" to "do the job of 1 dev, flat."

Why flat billing matters

Metered pricing creates a subtle anxiety that compounds over time. Every autocomplete burns a token. Every suggestion has a fractional cost. Teams start rationing AI usage not because they've hit a technical limit, but because the budget meter is visible and updating.

Baton flips this. At $29/month per repo, you know exactly what you're paying before you write a single line. Baton can ship 1 PR or 100 PRs — the invoice is the same. That predictability changes how teams plan: instead of asking "how many AI completions can we afford this sprint?" you ask "what issues should Baton pick up next?"

For engineering managers running P&L, the flat model also means one line item, one vendor, one renewal conversation per year — not a variable meter that tickles up every quarter.

Billing FAQ

Is $29/month really all-inclusive?
Yes. $29 covers all model and API costs for the entire repo for the month. There is no token meter, no per-completion charge, no credit system. Baton processes issues, writes code, opens PRs — all included in that flat price.
What happens if Baton writes a lot of code one month — am I charged extra?
No. Baton is designed for teams that want AI doing real work, not just suggestions. Whether Baton ships one PR or fifty in a month, your invoice stays at $29 per repo. Usage is intentionally uncapped.
How does Baton compare to Copilot for a solo developer?
For a solo dev, Copilot at $19/month is cheaper upfront. But Copilot helps you write code faster — it doesn't eliminate the need for you to drive every decision, write every line, and manually open every PR. Baton operates autonomously: you hand off an issue, and a finished PR appears in your repo. At $29/month, the value shift is substantial for solo developers who want AI to do the work, not just assist with it. See the full product at baton-ai-2.polsia.app →
Does Baton merge PRs automatically?
Never. Every PR Baton opens requires your explicit approval before any merge. You control merge permissions exactly as you would for any contributor. Baton handles the writing and opening; you handle the reviewing and merging.
Is there a free trial?
Early access is open now at $29/month. You can reserve a spot and get onboarded to a single repo to evaluate the product before committing to a full plan.
Can I switch repos or cancel anytime?
Baton is priced per repo. You can add or remove repos from your account at any time, and you're billed only for the repos active that month. Cancel anytime — there are no annual commitments required.
Reserve early access → $29/mo flat per repo — no token meter, no surprises.