---
title: 'AI credits'
description: 'How AI model usage is paid for, how to buy credits, and how automatic top-ups work.'
---

# AI credits

AI credits pay for **AI model usage (LLM tokens)** across the team's projects:

- agent chat;
- automations;
- Studio AI;
- editor completions;
- voice transcription.

They're a prepaid balance per **team**, separate from plans and from on-demand usage.

Open the team's **Billing → AI Credits** to see the balance and manage top-ups. The balance also appears as a button in the dashboard (for example **$12.40 Credit**), which opens the purchase dialog.



## What credits cost

Each model call is charged at exactly what the AI provider charges for it, with **no markup**. While a request runs, its estimated cost is held from the balance; when it finishes, the exact cost is charged and the rest is released.

Agent platform usage (chat turns, automation runs, agent steps and sandbox compute) is **not** paid from credits. It's part of the plan's allowance and [on-demand usage](/docs/pricing#on-demand-rates).

## Free credit for new users

Each person gets **$5 of free credit** once, on the first team they own, after verifying their email. It's used before any purchased credit and expires one year after it's granted. Purchased credit doesn't expire.

## Buy credit

Choose the balance button to open **Buy AI Automations Credit**. Pick an amount ($20, $50, $100 or $500), or choose **Custom** and enter one between $10 and $1,000. Then choose **Continue to Payment** and pay with a saved card or a new one. The credit is available as soon as the payment goes through, and a receipt is emailed to the billing contacts. Taxes are added where they apply.

## Auto-reload

Auto-reload tops up the balance automatically, so automations don't stop when it runs low. It charges the team's default card. Set it up with **Manage Auto-reload**.

| Setting                      | Meaning                                                              | Default |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| **Enabled**                  | Whether auto-reload is on.                                           | Off     |
| **When balance falls below** | The balance that triggers a top-up.                                  | $5      |
| **Reload to target balance** | The balance a top-up brings you back to. Each top-up is at least $5. | $25     |
| **Maximum monthly spend**    | The most auto-reload can charge in a calendar month.                 | $50     |

For example, with the defaults, a balance that falls to $4 is topped up by $21, back to $25. Once auto-reload has charged $50 in a month, it stops until the 1st, and the balance can run out.

If an automatic top-up fails, the reason is shown on this page. Update the team's default card so the next top-up goes through.

## When credit runs out

When the balance can't cover a request, AI features stop:

- agent chat and automations explain that the team is out of credit;
- editor completions return an error.

Buy credit, or turn on auto-reload, and they work again right away.

Raising a project's [on-demand limit](/docs/spend-management) doesn't add AI credit; the two are separate.

If a credit purchase is refunded or disputed, the credit it added is removed. The balance can go below zero, which blocks AI features until it's topped up.


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