Credit-Based Pricing
Credit burndown turns unpredictable AI consumption into a single unit customers can budget — and gives you guaranteed upfront revenue. Here is exactly how credit-based pricing works, how to set burn rates that protect margin, and how to recognize the revenue.
The Short Answer
What is credit-based pricing?
Credit-based pricing lets customers pre-purchase pools of credits that are consumed by AI actions. Each action burns a defined number of credits — a text query might cost 1, an image generation 10, a complex analysis 50. Customers draw down their balance as they use your product.
It abstracts unpredictable underlying compute costs into a single, budgetable unit — giving buyers predictable spend and you guaranteed upfront revenue. Underneath, it depends on accurate token metering to know exactly how much to burn.
How It Works
How credit burndown works
Four moving parts turn raw AI consumption into a clean, sellable unit — with margin protection built in.
Sell credit bundles
Customers pre-purchase pools of credits at price points you set — guaranteed upfront revenue, predictable budgets for them.
Burn per action
Each AI action burns a defined number of credits. A short completion might cost 1; an image generation 10; a deep analysis 50.
Tune burn rates
Set higher burn rates for expensive operations to protect margin. Adjust rates from a control plane as provider costs shift — no code release.
Track & top up
Balances update in real time. When credits run low, auto-refill, prompt an upgrade, or enforce a limit — your policy, per plan or customer.
Why It Works
Predictable for buyers, profitable for you
Credit pricing is popular for AI products because it solves the two hardest problems at once: customer budget anxiety and your own margin risk.
Guaranteed upfront revenue
Credits are sold before they are used, so you collect cash upfront while customers consume over time.
Predictable customer budgets
Buyers see one simple unit they can budget and manage, instead of unpredictable per-token bills.
Margin control built in
Variable burn rates absorb shifting provider costs, so your gross margin holds even as model prices change.
Credits as a growth lever
Promotional and bonus credits drive onboarding, upsell, and beta adoption — with expiry and tracking to control liability.
Pricing Models
AI pricing models that actually work
Credit burndown is one of several models — and it combines beautifully with the others. Choose what fits your product, mix them for hybrid pricing, and change your mind without re-engineering your billing stack.
Credit Burndown
Bundle AI consumption into credit pools. Customers buy credits upfront and burn them as they use AI features — predictable for both sides.
- Pre-purchased credit bundles
- Variable burn rates per AI action
- Promotional and bonus credits
- Real-time balance tracking
Pay as You Go
Bill customers based on actual AI consumption. Ideal for API-first products where usage varies significantly between customers.
- Real-time usage metering
- Per-event or per-token billing
- Monthly invoicing or auto-charge
- Overage billing support
Seat-Based
Charge per user with AI feature access controlled by entitlements. Layer usage limits on top for AI-heavy tiers.
- Per-user or per-role pricing
- Trait-based entitlements
- Proration on mid-cycle changes
- SSO and identity integration
Flat Rate
Offer fixed-price plans with defined AI usage allowances. Straightforward for customers, easy to sell, simple to understand.
- Simple tiered plans
- Feature flags per tier
- Hard and soft usage limits
- Predictable customer billing
Hybrid
Combine any pricing dimensions into a single plan. The most common model for AI-powered products that serve diverse customer segments.
- Seats + usage + credits combined
- Per-feature pricing dimensions
- Custom plans
- Flexible upgrade paths
Tiered Usage
Offer volume discounts as AI consumption grows. Reward your heaviest users with better unit economics at scale.
- Volume-based pricing tiers
- Automatic tier progression
- Committed-use discounts
- Enterprise negotiated rates
Revenue & Billing
Credits you can actually account for
Selling credits before they are consumed creates real accounting nuance. Nalpeiron handles it — and leaves your finance stack exactly where it is.
Recognized as consumed
Revenue from pre-purchased credits is recognized as they burn down, not at point of sale — with the data your finance team needs too.
Every pool tracked
Consumption is tracked against each credit pool in real time, including unused balances and breakage, so nothing is left unaccounted for.
Billing-platform-agnostic
We are the metering and entitlement layer — not a billing system. Credit purchases, invoices, and revenue posting stay in your billing platform of choice: Stripe, Zuora, NetSuite, Chargebee, or whatever you run.
Go Deeper
Credits are one model of several
FAQ
Credit-based pricing FAQ
Launch credit-based pricing without the rebuild
See how Nalpeiron manages credit pools, burn rates, and balances — and connects to the billing system you already use.