# How billing works (/guides/how-billing-works)



This page explains the billing model. For the steps (top up, change plan, set a
budget), see [Manage billing and credits](/guides/billing).

## Two parts: a plan and a wallet [#two-parts-a-plan-and-a-wallet]

Billing is per organization and has two parts.

* **Subscription.** A monthly or yearly plan, priced per seat. It is the base
  fee for the platform and sets the markup applied to your usage.
* **Credit wallet.** Prepaid credits in US dollars. Everything you run is
  metered and paid from this wallet while it runs.

The split keeps the fixed part predictable and the variable part prepaid: you
can never be surprised by a bill larger than what you put in the wallet.

## Trial and signup credit [#trial-and-signup-credit]

* Every new account starts a **14-day trial**. No card is needed, and you can
  deploy during the trial.
* When the trial ends you have a short grace period of three days to choose a
  plan. After that you cannot deploy until you subscribe.
* Signing up with a verified email adds a **one-time signup credit** to your
  wallet. If you signed up with a wallet address, you receive it when you add
  and verify an email in **Account settings**.

## What usage costs [#what-usage-costs]

Usage is billed at what the provider charges plus your plan's markup. Yearly
plans carry a lower markup than monthly plans, and each line on your usage page
shows both the raw cost and what you were charged.

* Compute is metered per hour of running time for each service. GPU and
  confidential (TEE) services are priced by the provider the same way.
* Prices differ by region and by GPU model. `acc regions` shows current
  availability and pricing before you deploy.
* Closing a service stops its charges. A service that is failed or closed does
  not bill.

## Paying [#paying]

* **Subscriptions** are paid by card, or funded from your credit wallet if you
  prefer not to use a card.
* **Credits** are topped up by card in the web app, or with a stablecoin
  transfer (USDC, USDT, or DAI on Base, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, or
  Polygon) from the web app or the CLI.

## When the wallet runs low [#when-the-wallet-runs-low]

Two server-side safeguards protect the shared wallet:

1. **Before a deploy**, the platform checks that your balance covers at least
   one hour of everything you would then be running (and at least one dollar).
   If not, the deploy is refused and you are asked to top up.
2. **While services run**, if the balance falls below roughly one hour of total
   spend, services are **suspended** one at a time until the rest are covered.
   Suspended services are not deleted. They **resume automatically** after a
   topup.

## Spend controls per service [#spend-controls-per-service]

Each service can carry its own limit, set when you create or deploy it and
enforced by the platform rather than by your local machine:

| Mode              | What it does                                                                                                                                       | Flags                                            |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **Pay as you go** | No limit. The default.                                                                                                                             | `--spend payg`                                   |
| **Budget cap**    | Stops the service when its total or monthly spend reaches the cap. A monthly cap that the projected cost already exceeds is refused before launch. | `--budget-total <usd>`, `--budget-monthly <usd>` |
| **Auto stop**     | Stops the service after a fixed runtime. The full projected cost is reserved from your balance up front.                                           | `--stop-hours <n>`, `--stop-days <n>`            |

When a service stops, the reason is recorded: budget exceeded, runtime expired,
balance low, or manual stop.

## Who can see billing [#who-can-see-billing]

Owners and admins of an organization see the **Billing** page in the web app:
usage, payments, invoices, plans, and the credits wallet. Members can deploy
but do not see billing.

## Next steps [#next-steps]

* [Manage billing and credits](/guides/billing)
* [Accounts, organizations, and projects](/guides/account-model)
* [Command reference: billing](/cli/commands#billing)