Codespaces quotas explained: core-hours and GB-month
Short answer: Compute and storage are separate monthly quotas: 120 core-hours and 15 GB-month on GitHub Free, 180 core-hours and 20 GB-month on GitHub Pro. Core-hours scale with machine size, so a 4-core codespace gets 30 hours a month on Free, and storage is charged while a codespace exists, even when it is stopped.
Most surprises on a Codespaces bill come from two misunderstandings: that hours are wall-clock hours, and that stopped codespaces are free. Neither is true.
What are the two Codespaces quotas?
Each month GitHub includes a compute quota and a storage quota for personal accounts. They are tracked separately and one cannot be used to pay for the other.
| Plan | Compute | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Free | 120 core-hours | 15 GB-month |
| GitHub Pro | 180 core-hours | 20 GB-month |
Organization-owned codespaces do not use these quotas; they are billed to the organization. Source: About billing for GitHub Codespaces.
What is a core-hour?
A core-hour is one CPU core running for one hour. The machine size multiplies everything:
| Machine | Core-hours per hour | Hours from 120 core-hours | Hours from 180 core-hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-core | 2 | 60 | 90 |
| 4-core | 4 | 30 | 45 |
| 8-core | 8 | 15 | 22.5 |
| 16-core | 16 | 7.5 | 11.25 |
| 32-core | 32 | 3.75 | 5.6 |
So on GitHub Free, a 4-core codespace gives you 30 hours a month, not 120.
Does storage count when a codespace is stopped?
Storage is charged for as long as a codespace exists, running or stopped. A GB-month is one gigabyte kept for a whole month. A 10 GB codespace kept for half a month uses about 5 GB-month. Deleting codespaces you no longer need is the only way to stop the meter.
How do I see the real numbers?
The Cloud Hub reads these figures from GitHub's billing API for the active account, which needs the user scope. It shows compute and storage on separate bars and never estimates when the API cannot be read. See Usage analytics.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours does a 4-core codespace get on GitHub Free?
30 hours a month, because it uses 4 core-hours per hour from the 120 core-hour quota.
Are stopped codespaces free?
No. Storage is charged for as long as a codespace exists, running or stopped. Deleting codespaces you no longer need is the only way to stop the meter.
Do organization-owned codespaces use these quotas?
No. Organization-owned codespaces are billed to the organization.