# Concepts for GitHub billing

Learn the core concepts that you'll need to understand how to pay for your GitHub plan and the features you use.

## Links

* [Billing cycles](/en/billing/concepts/billing-cycles)

  Learn about the billing cycles for self-serve, Azure, and invoiced payment methods.

* [Budgets and alerts](/en/billing/concepts/budgets-and-alerts)

  Budgets help you track and control spending on different products.

* [Cost centers](/en/billing/concepts/cost-centers)

  Attribute spending to specific parts of your business.

* [Azure subscription payments](/en/billing/concepts/azure-subscriptions)

  Learn about paying for metered usage of GitHub plans, licenses, and usage with an Azure subscription.

* [Impact of changing your plan on billing](/en/billing/concepts/impact-of-plan-changes)

  Learn how upgrading or downgrading your plan is reflected in billing.

* [Discounted plans for GitHub accounts](/en/billing/concepts/discounted-plans)

  GitHub provides discounts to students, educators, educational institutions, nonprofits, and libraries.

* [Enterprise billing](/en/billing/concepts/enterprise-billing)

  Understanding the concepts used in billing for the GitHub Enterprise plan.

* [Product billing](/en/billing/concepts/product-billing)

  Learn how product costs are calculated if you exceed the usage included in your GitHub plan.

* [Payments to third-parties using your GitHub account](/en/billing/concepts/third-party-payments)

  Learn how payments you choose to make to other developers on GitHub are billed, for example, sponsoring developers or buying apps from the marketplace.