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ReviewsIs Microsoft Copilot actually free?
How free77/100
Value7/10
How these scores work
Free Score (0–100) follows a fixed rubric: cards up front, auto-billing, hard time cutoffs, withheld core features, and paying with your data or attention all deduct points. 90–100 truly free · 70–89 free forever · 45–69 squeezed · 15–44 trial mechanics · under 15 fake or gone. Value (0–10) is editorial: real-world worth of the free offering measured against its paid equivalent. Full rubric on the methodology page.
Yes — Microsoft's assistant is genuinely free for everyday use across Windows, Edge and the app, with image generation included. Pro buys peak-time priority and Office integration.
What it’s worth
Pro is $240/year; the free tier covers most people's actual usage.
What you get free
- The mainstream assistant free in Windows, Edge, Bing and the app
- Chat, image generation, and web-grounded answers
- No card at any point on the free tier
In practice: a capable free assistant already sitting in the software most people use all day.
Drawbacks
- Deprioritized at peak times
- Pushes Microsoft account and Pro
- Embedded in Windows by default
Also paywalled
- Priority access at peak times and the newest models
- Copilot in Word, Excel and Outlook (Pro / Microsoft 365)
Free facts
| Verdict | Free Forever |
| Card required | No |
| Auto-bills | Only if you subscribe to Pro |
| Account | Microsoft account for full features; basic use without |
| Limits | Usage caps at busy times; newest models and Office integration sit in Pro |
| The real cost | Nothing for everyday chat and image help. Pro is $20/month. |
The catch
It's woven into Windows whether you asked for it or not, it leans on a Microsoft account, and the free tier gets deprioritized when demand spikes. Your prompts feed the product.
The smart play
- Use it signed-in for history, signed-out for quick anonymous checks
- If you only want Office AI occasionally, a single month of Pro beats a subscription
More info — tap to expand
Copilot free vs ChatGPT free?
Similar engines under the hood. Copilot's free tier is more generous with web-grounded answers and images; ChatGPT's app ecosystem is bigger. Both are real free tiers.
Last checked: July 2026 · Verdict: Free Forever — a real permanent free plan. signup and fair limits — but no clock and no card.
Visit Microsoft Copilot →