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Frequently asked questions

How do credits work?

Credits are the building block of SharpAPI's pricing. Every active subscription holds at least 1 credit, and each credit gives you a pre-paid monthly quota of processed words, API calls and plan features. Your total monthly cost is simply per-credit price × number of credits.

A useful way to picture it is a roaming data plan: each credit is one pre-purchased quota block you hold for the month. If you expect to use more, you buy another block in advance. If you need less, you drop a block and the unused portion comes back to you on your next invoice.

You can add or remove credits at any time. Changes are immediate, but the way they appear on your invoice depends on when in the billing cycle the change happens:

• Adding a credit mid-cycle creates a prorated charge on the spot that covers only the days remaining until your next renewal.
• Removing a credit mid-cycle revokes that credit's quota immediately and converts the unused portion of what you already paid into a prorated credit balance that is automatically applied to your next invoice.

Each credit is billed monthly and the cycle is anchored to the exact day and hour your subscription was created, not to the first of the calendar month. Higher-tier plans include larger quotas per credit, so growing volume usually means moving up a tier rather than buying many credits of a smaller plan.

What does each credit cover?

Each credit in SharpAPI’s pricing system provides a pre-paid quota for API usage, including:

1. Processed Words: The total input and output words handled by the API, with quotas varying by plan.

2. API Calls: Includes both AI-powered endpoints (like content generation) and utility endpoints (like data formatting).

3. Additional Features: Access to SDKs, libraries, analytics, and other plan-specific benefits.

Credits are billed monthly, and higher-tier plans include larger quotas per credit, offering better value and scalability. If your needs grow, you can add more credits or upgrade your plan, and if your usage decreases, you can remove extra credits for the next billing cycle.

Are there any additional fees beyond credit usage?

No, all costs are deducted from your credits unless explicitly specified for custom configurations or add-ons.

Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan at any time?

Yes. The two kinds of changes behave differently:

• Changing the number of credits inside your current plan takes effect immediately. Your invoice is prorated for the remainder of the cycle: adding a credit creates a prorated charge on the spot, removing one creates a prorated credit balance that offsets your next invoice.
• Changing your plan tier (for example moving between Build, Launch and Scale) takes effect at the start of your next billing cycle, so your per-credit price and per-credit quotas switch over cleanly without mid-cycle splits.

You can combine both: adjust the credit count now and line up a tier change for the next renewal.

What happens if I run out of credits?

If you exceed your credits, additional usage will be paused until more credits are purchased. You can purchase credits on-demand or upgrade your plan to avoid interruptions. It's advisable to monitor your usage via the Dashboard or our Quota API, and ensure you have enough credits for your needs.

How can I track my credit usage?

You can track your credit usage through your SharpAPI account Dashboard. It provides detailed reports on how credits are being used, allowing you to manage your subscription efficiently. Additionally, you can use the special Quota API endpoint to monitor your credit usage quota.

What are "processed words"?

Processed words refer to the total number of words handled by the API in a single job, including input and output words. For example, if you send 100 words for paraphrasing and the output is 120 words, the total processed word count is 220.

What happens when I add a credit in the middle of a billing cycle?

Adding a credit is immediate. The new quota becomes available right away, and you are charged a prorated amount that covers only the days remaining in your current cycle.

The closer the change is to your renewal date, the smaller the prorated charge. Adding a credit on the first day of the cycle prorates to almost the full per-credit price; adding one the day before renewal prorates to just a small fraction.

On your next renewal you pay the normal full monthly amount for the updated credit count, with no catch-up charge.

What happens when I remove a credit in the middle of a billing cycle?

Removing a credit also takes effect immediately. There are two independent things happening, and it helps to look at them separately:

• The quota tied to that credit disappears right away. You cannot continue using its processed-words allowance for the rest of the cycle.
• The money you already paid for the remaining days does not vanish. The unused portion is converted into a prorated credit balance on your account and is automatically applied to your next invoice, reducing that charge or zeroing it out if the balance is large enough.

If the leftover balance is larger than one full renewal, it rolls forward and keeps reducing future invoices until it is consumed. In other words, you lose the quota the moment you remove the credit, but you do not lose the corresponding money.

Why do I see multiple smaller charges between my monthly renewals?

Those are proration charges, not duplicate billing. Every time you add a credit in the middle of a cycle, a separate small invoice is issued that covers only the remaining days of the current cycle at your per-credit price.

That is why two identical "add one credit" actions can produce very different amounts: a change made early in the cycle is prorated over most of the month, a change made near renewal is prorated over very few days. On your renewal date you are charged the normal full monthly total for the current credit count, and the cycle resets.

Is there a minimum number of credits on a subscription?

Yes. Every active subscription keeps a minimum of 1 credit at all times. This credit is billed at the full per-credit price of your plan on each monthly renewal, regardless of how much of its quota you used during the cycle.

If you want to avoid being billed for even 1 credit, you need to cancel the subscription entirely rather than reduce the credit count to zero.

When does my monthly billing cycle renew?

Your cycle is anchored to the exact date and time your subscription was created and repeats every month from that anchor. If you started on the 16th at 4:31 PM, every future cycle runs from the 16th at 4:31 PM to the 16th at 4:31 PM of the following month.

All proration calculations for mid-cycle changes use this anchor, not the first of the calendar month. You can see the exact current cycle start and end in your Dashboard.

What is the difference between AI Job Floor Price and Utility Endpoint Price?

AI Job Floor Price: The minimum cost for jobs processed by AI-powered endpoints, depending on complexity.

Utility Endpoint Price: A lower cost for jobs processed by non-AI utility endpoints, designed for simple operations like data retrieval or formatting.

Do you offer custom plans for high-volume users or enterprises?

Yes, we provide custom plans tailored to your specific needs, including advanced analytics, custom endpoints, and dedicated account managers. Contact us for a consultation.

Will I be charged for failed API jobs?

No, you won't be charged for failed API jobs. We do not deduct words from your monthly quota for jobs that encounter issues. You can rerun the job without any impact on your subscription.

What are API failed jobs?

API failed jobs occur when the AI engine experiences timeouts, network issues or produces inaccurate data. To ensure the accuracy of our returned JSON, we actively monitor for such behaviour. If a job encounters issues, it gracefully fails, and the status is marked as FAILED.

If your API job returns a status of FAILED, simply rerun the job. We understand that occasional failures may occur, and you won't be charged from your monthly word quota for these failed jobs. Feel free to retry without any impact on your usage limits.

What causes an API job to fail and what should I do?

AI engines can sometimes exhibit whimsical behaviour, resulting in timeouts or hallucinated data. Our system is designed to detect such anomalies and initiate a graceful failure to maintain data integrity. If your job fails, you can simply rerun it. Ensure your inputs are valid, and if issues persist, contact SharpAPI support for assistance.

What is included in the Enterprise plan?

The Enterprise plan offers unlimited support, custom endpoint configurations, SLAs, and direct access to advanced analytics and data sources.