AI Credits Explained
How credits are charged, which actions spend them, and how to allocate your monthly budget.
How Credits Work
Token-Based Pricing
Token usage sets the cost, not message count. Longer prompts spend more input tokens; longer AI responses spend more output tokens.
Token rates:
- Input: $7.50 per 1M tokens
- Output: $37.50 per 1M tokens
- During the free trial: $3.30 in / $16.50 out per 1M — your trial credit stretches more than twice as far
Your cost appears after each AI response.
What DOESN'T Use Credits
Using Templates
Templates consume no credits. Use them as your bot foundation at no charge.
Editing Behaviors
Modifying existing behaviors doesn't cost credits
Running Your Bot
Your bot responding to triggers doesn't use credits
Put live
You never pay to put your bot live
Your Wallet
Credit Grants by Plan
Each plan grants credits differently. Only Pro renews its grant every month.
Lite grants its $5 once at signup, not every month. Pro's $10 grant resets on your renewal date.
Wallet Top-Ups
Add funds to your wallet. Top-up credits never expire.
Top-ups are charged to your existing payment method.
Credit Usage Priority
The Bot Builder spends credits in this order:
Monthly credits first
Pro's monthly grant runs down before wallet funds. It resets on your renewal date.
Wallet top-ups second
Once the monthly grant runs out, the Bot Builder draws from your wallet. Top-up funds carry forward across billing cycles and never expire.
Maximizing Your Credits
Use Templates for Common Features
Templates spend no credits. Use them for:
- Welcome messages
- Moderation commands
- Reaction roles
- Ticket systems
- Any standard feature
Save the Builder for Custom Features
Reserve the Bot Builder for features Templates can't cover. That's where metered credits earn their cost.
Be Specific in Prompts
Write clear, detailed prompts to get it right the first time. Poor prompts may require regeneration, wasting credits.
✓ Good: "When someone joins, send 'Welcome [username]!' to #welcome and give @Member role"
✗ Vague: "make a welcome bot"
Checking Your Balance
You can always check your wallet balance from your VibeBot dashboard:
Your wallet balance updates as the builder works — each run shows its own price, and the banner keeps a session total.
What Happens at $0 Balance?
At $0 balance, the Bot Builder stops. Everything else keeps working:
- Your existing bots keep running. They aren't affected.
- All 39 Templates still work (always free).
- You can edit existing behaviors (free).
- You can deploy and manage bots (free).
- Top up your wallet to resume building ($10 minimum).
Hybrid Approach
Build standard features with Templates (free), then reserve the Bot Builder for custom features (metered). This split keeps your spending on the work that needs AI.