Best GitHub Copilot Usage Trackers for macOS (2026)

Why Copilot Usage Tracking Just Got Harder

Under the old model (“premium requests”) you knew that 1 chat = 1 request. Easy mental model. The new AI Credits system bills at per-model token rates, so a single Claude Opus 4.7 agent loop can cost 50× a GPT-5-mini chat. Your $10 / $39 / $19 monthly balance burns at wildly different speeds depending on what you ask.

The good news: completions are still uncapped on every paid plan. The trap: chat and agent mode aren't. You can be 4 days into the month and 80% through your credits without realizing it — at which point you either hit a hard stop or roll into usage-based billing depending on your settings.

We tested four ways to track this. Here's how they compare.

#1: SessionWatcher for Copilot Editor's Pick

SessionWatcher for Copilot is a native macOS menu bar app that polls the GitHub Copilot billing API and surfaces your AI Credits balance, per-model spend, and projected month-end in real time.

What it tracks:

• AI Credits remaining: Live dollar balance — “$24.18 of $39 left” — not a vague percentage.
• Per-model spend: How much went to Claude Opus vs GPT-5.5 vs Gemini Pro this cycle.
• Days-until-empty projection: Burn rate × remaining days = month-end forecast.
• Overage warning: Notification at 80% / 90% so you can switch models before billing kicks in.
• Plan-aware: Knows Pro ($10), Pro+ ($39), Business ($19/seat), Enterprise. Picks the right ceiling.
• Menu-bar percentage: Glanceable, always-on, configurable display mode.

Setup: Download, paste your GitHub Personal Access Token (read-only billing scope). Tracking in 30 seconds.

Pricing: $2.99 one-time. $7.99 for the 5-tool bundle.

Limitations: macOS 15+ only. PAT must have billing read scope.

#2: GitHub Billing Dashboard

The official source is github.com/settings/billing/summary. It shows your AI Credits balance, spend breakdown by feature, and any overage charges.

What it shows:

• Remaining AI Credits this cycle
• Spend by Copilot feature (chat, agent, completions metadata)
• Per-model breakdown if you drill down
• Historical usage

Pricing: Free.

Limitations: Lives in a browser tab. Lags by minutes for in-flight requests. No notification on threshold. No always-visible display. Have to remember to check, which most people only do after the bill arrives.

#3: Copilot IDE Status Bar (VS Code, JetBrains)

The GitHub Copilot extension shows a small status indicator in your editor with quick info — current model, sign-in status, and (in newer builds) a credits snapshot when you click in.

What it shows:

• Active model and sign-in state
• Click-through to a credit-balance popover (limited info)
• Quick model switcher

Pricing: Free (built into the extension).

Limitations: Closes when you leave the IDE. No notifications. Numbers update only on click. No projection or burn-rate analytics. No per-model historical breakdown.

SessionWatcher

Stop blowing through credits in week one.
Watch them live.

Native macOS menu bar app. Track Claude and Codex usage, costs, and rate limits in real-time.

★★★★★ 4.9/5 from developers

“Fast, simple, and does exactly what it should. Definitely worth it.”

@nicojerome on GitHub

Get SessionWatcher

macOS 14+. $2.99 one-time purchase.

#4: DIY (GitHub API + Custom Scripts)

GitHub exposes Copilot billing data through its REST API. With a Personal Access Token you can build your own poller, status-bar widget, or alerting system.

Typical approaches:

• Cron job hitting GET /users/{user}/settings/billing/usage on a schedule
• SwiftBar plugins that render the balance in the menu bar
• Custom Slack alerts that fire at threshold
• Grafana dashboards for team-wide Copilot Business view

Pricing: Free, plus your time.

Limitations: Billing API rate-limits if you poll too often. Authentication scope footguns — easy to over-permission your PAT. Per-model rate card changes break your math. Most teams ship v1 then abandon at the first API breaking change.

Comparison: All 4 Options at a Glance

The Verdict

For developers who use Copilot Chat or Agent mode more than a few times a day, SessionWatcher for Copilot is the cheapest way to keep a hard cap on your monthly AI Credits without leaving your editor.

If you stick to completions (uncapped) and only occasionally chat, the billing page is enough. The moment you touch Opus or GPT-5.5 in agent mode regularly, $2.99 will pay for itself in one prevented overage.

SessionWatcher

The Copilot tracker that knows your AI Credits.
$2.99. No subscription.

Native macOS menu bar app. Track Claude and Codex usage, costs, and rate limits in real-time.

★★★★★ 4.9/5 from developers

“Fast, simple, and does exactly what it should. Definitely worth it.”

@nicojerome on GitHub

Get SessionWatcher

macOS 14+. $2.99 one-time purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Copilot usage tracker for Mac?

SessionWatcher for Copilot. Menu-bar widget, real-time AI Credit balance, per-model spend, overage notifications. $2.99 one-time.

How are AI Credits priced?

Each AI Credit is $0.01. Different models consume credits at different rates — see the official rate card at docs.github.com for current numbers.

Are inline completions still uncapped?

Yes — Tab completions remain uncapped on Pro, Pro+, Business, and Enterprise. Only chat and agent-mode requests bill against AI Credits.

How much does SessionWatcher for Copilot cost?

$2.99 one-time. $7.99 for the bundle (Claude Code + Codex + Copilot + Cursor + Gemini).