> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.magichour.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Usage-Based Billing

> Monthly billing for credits used, with graduated volume discounts and setup assistance.

export const PricingCard = ({title = "", prices = [], benefits = []}) => {
  return <Card title={title}>
      {prices && prices.length > 0 && <div class="flex flex-wrap items-baseline mb-6 gap-2">
          {prices.map((price, index) => {
    return <>
                <div class="whitespace-nowrap">
                  <div>
                    <span class="text-2xl text-primary">
                      ${price?.amount?.toLocaleString() || "0"}
                    </span>
                    {price?.label || ""}
                  </div>
                </div>
                {index < prices.length - 1 && <span class="">or</span>}
              </>;
  })}
        </div>}
      {benefits && benefits.length > 0 && <ul class="flex flex-col space-y-2">
          {benefits.map((benefit, index) => {
    return <li key={index}>{benefit}</li>;
  })}
        </ul>}
    </Card>;
};

## How Usage-Based Billing Works

Usage-based billing invoices the credits you consume each month instead of requiring prepaid
credits. Graduated volume discounts apply automatically. This payment method currently requires
setup assistance.

### **The Basics**

1. **Add a payment method** to your account
2. **Choose your tier** based on expected usage and which resolution options you need
3. **Use the API** - credits are consumed as you generate content
4. **Get billed monthly** based on your actual usage
5. **Automatic volume discounts** apply as you use more credits

### **Key Benefits**

✅ **No upfront costs** - Start using immediately without buying credits in advance\
✅ **Pay for actual usage** - Only pay for credits you actually consume\
✅ **Automatic billing** - Monthly invoices based on previous month's usage\
✅ **Volume discounts** - Up to 50% savings as you scale\
✅ **No waste** - Never lose unused credits

### **How It Differs from Prepaid Credits**

| Usage-based billing              | Subscriptions and credit packs   |
| :------------------------------- | :------------------------------- |
| Pay after use                    | Pay before use                   |
| Monthly invoice                  | Subscription or one-time payment |
| Graduated volume discounts       | Fixed prepaid credit amount      |
| No prepaid balance               | Prepaid credits never expire     |
| Best for variable or high volume | Best for predictable usage       |

## Choose Your Tier

Each tier has a different rate per credit. Paid tiers unlock the same higher-resolution options as
the matching subscription; requesting those options costs more credits, independent of which paid
tier you are on. See [resolution](/billing/resolution-limits).

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <PricingCard title="Creator" benefits={["$0.001200 per credit before volume discounts", "Access to all image and video modes"]} />

  <PricingCard title="Pro" benefits={["$0.001950 per credit before volume discounts", "Access to all image and video modes"]} />

  <PricingCard
    title="Business"
    benefits={[
"$0.002500 per credit before volume discounts",
"Access to all image and video modes",
]}
  />
</CardGroup>

## Rates and Volume Discounts

You are charged per credit consumed. The more credits you use in a month, the cheaper each
additional credit becomes. Discounts are **banded**: they apply to the credits falling inside each
range, not retroactively to your whole bill.

| Credits per month       | Discount | Creator    | Pro        | Business   |
| :---------------------- | -------: | :--------- | :--------- | :--------- |
| 1 – 100,000             |       0% | \$0.001200 | \$0.001950 | \$0.002500 |
| 100,001 – 1,000,000     |      10% | \$0.001080 | \$0.001755 | \$0.002250 |
| 1,000,001 – 5,000,000   |      20% | \$0.000960 | \$0.001560 | \$0.002000 |
| 5,000,001 – 10,000,000  |      30% | \$0.000840 | \$0.001365 | \$0.001750 |
| 10,000,001 – 50,000,000 |      40% | \$0.000720 | \$0.001170 | \$0.001500 |
| 50,000,001+             |      50% | \$0.000600 | \$0.000975 | \$0.001250 |

<Note>Usage resets at midnight on the first of each month, PST.</Note>

## Estimating Your Bill

Two things set your monthly cost: the tier you're on, which fixes the base rate, and your monthly
credit volume, which determines how much of that volume falls into discounted bands.

**Example.** On Creator, 150,000 credits in a month bills the first 100,000 at \$0.001200 and the
next 50,000 at \$0.001080, for \$174.00. The effective rate falls gradually as you grow rather than
dropping all at once when you cross a threshold.

To turn generations into credits, see [models and credit costs](/api-reference/models), or model a
full month with the
[API cost calculator](https://magichour.ai/api?ref=docs-usage-based-pricing#api-cost-calculator).

## Getting Started

<Warning>
  **Currently requires setup assistance** - Usage-based billing is not yet self-serve.
</Warning>

**To get started:**

1. **Contact our team** to set up usage-based billing:

   * Email: [support@magichour.ai](mailto:support@magichour.ai)
   * Use the Intercom chat widget on our website

   Include your expected monthly generation or credit volume, the endpoints you plan to use,
   typical output resolution and duration, and your target launch date. This helps us recommend the
   right tier without an extra round of questions.

2. **Choose your tier** based on expected volume and the per-credit rate you want

3. **Add payment method** - We'll help you set this up securely

4. **Start using the API** - Credits are tracked automatically

### **Billing Process**

* **Monthly billing** on the same date each month
* **High usage accounts** may be billed earlier (e.g., at \$500 threshold)
* **Detailed invoices** show credit usage breakdown by tier
* **Volume discounts** applied automatically

## Tracking usage

In the [Developer Hub](https://magichour.ai/developer?ref=docs-usage-based-pricing), you can see your usage analytics for specific time ranges.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/magichour/zDVRebwg0vCIeSNP/billing/images/usage-analytics.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=zDVRebwg0vCIeSNP&q=85&s=4c63c5d4e174571f7e30e037be8b9241" alt="Usage Analytics" width="2558" height="1280" data-path="billing/images/usage-analytics.png" />

Also, you can view your upcoming invoice amount and total credit usage broken down by tier.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/magichour/zDVRebwg0vCIeSNP/billing/images/upcoming-invoice-breakdown.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=zDVRebwg0vCIeSNP&q=85&s=496d4fc958b44d860e84bded0e80b226" alt="Developer Hub" width="2556" height="1464" data-path="billing/images/upcoming-invoice-breakdown.png" />