# Credits and balance

> What credits pay for, where they come from, how long they last, the order Playcode spends them in, what stops at zero, and how to limit your spending.
> Source: https://playcode.io/docs/account-and-billing/credits-and-balance - last reviewed 2026-10-10.

Credits are the unit Playcode charges in. They belong to a workspace, and every plan gives 4 credits per dollar. The workspace's balance is the credits it has left, and Playcode takes from it as work happens.

## What credits pay for

| Use | What costs credits |
|---|---|
| The agent's work | Each step it takes. **Ultra** costs the most per step, **Economy** the least |
| Images, video, music and voice | Each one the agent makes. Pro and Max only |
| Keyword, competitor and backlink research | Each fresh lookup; the same lookup again within 24 hours is free. Pro and Max only |
| A Cloud app's computers | The hours they are awake, the disk they store, and traffic past the plan's included amount |
| AI inside your app | Each request your app sends through Playcode AI Gateway |
| Email from your app | Each recipient past the plan's included amount |

Domains are charged to the workspace's card, never to credits. Credits are spent when a request runs, whether or not the result meets your expectations (Terms of Service, section 8).

## Where credits come from

| Source | Credits |
|---|---|
| The plan | Pro: 100 a month. Max: 400 to 10,000. A monthly plan adds them at each renewal, a yearly plan every 30 days |
| A move to a bigger plan | The difference between the two plans, at once |
| A top-up | $25 for 100 credits; $50 for 210 credits (10 of them a bonus); $100 for 440 credits (40 of them a bonus); $200 for 960 credits (160 of them a bonus). See [Top-ups and auto-recharge](/docs/account-and-billing/top-ups-and-auto-recharge) |
| Auto-recharge | What it takes to reach the level you set, and at least $15 worth each time, at 4 credits per dollar, with no bonus. On a plan only |
| Trial credits | A new account gets them if it is eligible. They do not depend on a plan |

## How long credits last

| Credits | They last |
|---|---|
| This period's plan credits | Until the next renewal. What is left then carries over |
| Carried-over plan credits | One more month on a monthly plan. On a yearly plan, until the subscription ends |
| Credits from auto-recharge or from a move to a bigger plan | Like this period's plan credits: at the next renewal they carry over with them |
| Top-up credits | 12 months from your latest top-up. Each top-up moves the date for all of them |

When a plan ends, Playcode removes no credits. Carried-over credits still expire on their date, top-ups after their 12 months, and the rest stays until you use it. Auto-recharge turns off when the plan ends.

## The order Playcode spends them in

The credits that expire soonest go first: carried-over plan credits, then this period's plan credits, then top-ups. **Settings**, **Billing & plans** says it the same way: "Credits are used in order: rollover first, then subscription, then top-up (longest-lasting used last)." Choose **Details** there to see each kind and the days it has left.

## When credits run low or out

- On a plan, the chat warns when your credits fall to 50% of the plan's monthly amount, with a line like "40 credits left." At 15% or less it reads like "Low credits: 10 remaining. Add more to continue using AI."
- The agent needs at least 0.5 credits to start a step. Below that it stops: "You're out of credits. Add more to keep building." An Admin of a Pro or Max workspace sees **Top up**; on Free, the button is **Upgrade**. Other members see "This workspace is out of credits. Ask a workspace owner or admin to add more."
- The step that is running finishes and is charged in full, so the balance can end a little below zero. The next credits the workspace gets pay that back first.
- Cloud computers run until the balance reaches zero. Then Playcode emails the workspace owner "Your credits are used up - cloud computers stop in 72 hours", and stops them 72 hours later. They start again once the balance is above zero. A static site never stops because of credits.
- Your app's AI requests are refused when the balance cannot pay for them. At zero, email that your app sends past the included amount is stored, not delivered.
- If you got trial credits on the Free plan, Playcode emails you once when they are almost gone, and once when they are gone.

## Credits kept for your computers

If a published Cloud app is **Always on**, or stores data on its disk, Playcode keeps about one month of its running cost aside. The computers can spend that part; the agent cannot. **Billing & plans** shows it next to your credits as reserved for your computers. That is why the agent can stop while the balance still shows credits.

## Limits you can set

| Limit | What it does | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly email line | Sends one email when the workspace has spent that many credits in a calendar month (UTC). It does not stop the agent or your computers. Until you set your own number, the line is your plan's monthly credits, and clearing your number returns it to that. Playcode sends this email only for a Personal workspace | **Billing & plans**, **Spending controls**, **Set** or **Change** |
| The same line, for your app's AI | Once the workspace's spending this month passes the line, AI requests that your app makes with its secret key are refused until the next month, or until you raise the line | The same place |
| Task budget | A background task pauses after spending this many credits, 150 unless you change it. Its work is kept, and only you can let it go on | **Billing & plans**, **Spending controls** |
| Monthly card maximum | Caps what auto-recharge charges to the card in a month, each charge counted whole. See [Top-ups and auto-recharge](/docs/account-and-billing/top-ups-and-auto-recharge) for how it counts | **Auto-recharge settings** |
| Your balance | Without auto-recharge, nothing buys more credits: the agent stops when they run out | |

Spending controls and the task budget show on Pro and Max. To see what used your credits, see [Where your credits went](/docs/account-and-billing/where-your-credits-went).

## Where you see your balance

- The menu under the workspace's name: **Credits**, with the number left.
- **Settings**, **Billing & plans**: the credits available, with **Details** for each kind.
- The chat, when credits run low.

The agent cannot tell you your balance or what earlier work cost: it does not see them.

## The rules in the Terms

- Credits belong to the workspace that received them. They have no cash value, and they cannot be transferred or sold to another account, except where the law requires it (section 8).
- Credits and top-ups are final and non-refundable, including unused, partly used and expired credits (section 9).