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

# Understanding fetchbean credits, pricing, and billing

> fetchbean uses a prepaid credit system — top up your balance and every API call is debited automatically, with zero risk of overspending your budget.

fetchbean runs on prepaid credits. You top up a balance from the dashboard, and each API call is charged against it. There are no subscriptions, invoices, or surprise bills — when your balance runs out, calls are rejected rather than billed on credit. This model gives you precise, predictable control over your spending.

## Pricing

Credits are priced at a flat rate:

* **1 credit = $0.0001**, so **$1 buys 10,000 credits**.
* Each tool has either a fixed credit cost per call or a metered cost based on response size.
* Top up any amount from the **Balance** section of the [dashboard](https://fetchbean.com/app). Payments are processed securely by **Dodo Payments**.

<Tip>
  Browse per-tool credit costs for every provider and endpoint at [fetchbean.com/catalog](https://fetchbean.com/catalog).
</Tip>

## You only pay for successful calls

fetchbean uses a **reserve-then-settle** model to ensure you never pay for calls that don't deliver results:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Reserve">
    When you make a call, fetchbean reserves an estimated maximum credit amount from your balance upfront.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Execute">
    fetchbean forwards your request to the upstream provider and waits for a response.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Settle">
    Once the call completes, fetchbean settles the **actual** cost — which is never more than the reserved maximum. Any unused reservation is immediately returned to your balance.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Provider failures and timeouts are billed at zero. If an upstream provider errors or doesn't respond in time, you are not charged anything for that call.
</Note>

Your spend can never exceed your balance. If your balance can't cover the estimated maximum for a call, the call is rejected upfront rather than overdrawing you.

## Metered tools

Some tools — such as `read` — are **metered by response size** rather than charged a flat fee per call. You pay for the data you actually receive, up to a fixed ceiling. The reserve-then-settle model still applies: fetchbean reserves the ceiling upfront, then settles the real usage when the response arrives.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Fixed-cost tools" icon="bolt">
    Charged a flat credit amount per successful call, regardless of response size.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Metered tools" icon="chart-bar">
    Charged based on the size of the response returned, with a maximum ceiling per call.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>