Understand credits and billing
Use with your agent
Read https://thirds.ai/docs/billing and explain the credit cost of my workflow and help me set an overage limit
Each PDF or image you create costs one credit when it succeeds. You pay the same price for PNG, JPEG, WebP, and PDF output. Pages, pixels, JavaScript, quality, and render time do not change the price. If a render fails or reaches a safety limit, you pay nothing for it.
Check the cost before you start
| Action | Credits on success |
|---|---|
| Create one PDF or static image | 1 |
| Build a template in a new AI chat | 50 |
| Send a later prompt or HTML message in that chat | 10 |
| Send a later message with a new source image | 50 |
| Import HTML without AI or edit by hand in the visual editor | 0 for the edit |
The AI build price includes the previews that the AI uses to check its work. Failed internal AI work costs zero. The editor's live layout preview is free. Exporting a PDF or image uses one credit when it succeeds. Exported files stay in Renders until they expire or you delete them.
You can check a job and download an existing output without another render charge. Before you retry a create request, read how to retry without a second job. If an agent starts paid work for you, it should show the expected cost and get your instruction first. See how to connect your AI agent.
Read a reservation and final charge
When thirds.ai accepts a request, it holds the credits that the work needs. This is a reservation. You cannot spend those credits on other work while the request runs. The final result decides whether thirds.ai spends them or returns them to your balance.
For a render, read the job's credit field:
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
reserved | The job is queued or running and holds its credit. |
settled | The job succeeds and spends one credit. |
released | The job fails or is cancelled and returns its reserved credit. |
none | The job has no customer render charge. |
If thirds.ai retries work inside a job, it keeps the same reservation. A request that fails before thirds.ai accepts it creates no job and reserves no credits. Deleting an output after success does not return its credit.
Open your billing page to see your balance and purchases. Check reserved credits if the balance differs from what you expect from completed jobs. Keep each job ID with your own records so you can check its final result.
Choose how to buy credits
See pricing for plans and credit packs. Every plan includes the same creation tools and render limits. Plans differ in the number of credits and their place in the render queue.
A verified account in good standing gets 25 free credits each UTC calendar month. Unused free credits expire when the next month starts. The free grant alone does not cover a new AI build.
Paid plans add credits each month, even when you pay for a year. Each month's credits last three months. thirds.ai spends credits with the nearest expiry date first.
You can also buy a credit pack with or without a subscription. Each pack is a one-time purchase, and its credits expire 12 months after payment.
A new account can take one seven-day trial with a card. The trial gives you 1,500 credits that expire when it ends. Extra spending through overage is off during the trial. Cancel before the trial ends to avoid the first plan charge. Use the billing portal on your account billing page to manage your plan, payment method, and invoices.
Credits appear after thirds.ai verifies the payment event. A checkout success page alone does not confirm that step. If your balance has not changed after checkout, refresh the billing page before you buy again. Contact support if the balance stays wrong.
Limit overage spending
Overage lets an active paid subscription cover work after its prepaid credits run out. It costs $0.008 per credit. Overage is an amount you owe, so your prepaid credit balance stays at zero or above. Failed renders add no overage charge.
You cannot start new overage during a trial, after a failed invoice, or while your subscription cannot accept new charges. You can still use prepaid credits if your account otherwise has access.
Your account's monthly overage limit equals one month of your plan's credits. You can set a lower monthly_overage_cap for an API key. Both limits follow the UTC calendar month. They count credits held for running work as well as credits already spent.
To set a key's cap, call PATCH /v1/keys/{key_id} with a positive integer monthly_overage_cap in credits. Send null to remove that key's cap. This cap limits overage only. It does not limit prepaid credit use or all account spending. The OpenAPI contract gives the request fields.
Recover from a billing refusal
| Code | Next step |
|---|---|
insufficient_credits | Add prepaid credits, wait for the next credit grant, or check your plan's payment state. |
spend_cap_reached | Check the API key's cap. Add prepaid credits or raise the cap if you want to allow more overage. |
overage_limit_reached | Add prepaid credits or wait for the next UTC month. |
overage_unavailable | New overage is paused while thirds.ai checks a billing problem. Use prepaid credits or contact support if it stays paused. |
Wait for a balance or billing change before you retry a refused request. For a disputed charge, send support the job ID and request ID. Keep card numbers, API keys, and private documents out of that message.