How AI credits work
Every AI action costs a fixed number of credits, shown on its button before you run it. Your plan includes credits every month; an AI credit pack adds 500 credits for $5 that never expire and are used after the monthly ones.
Updated 2 min read Counts toward ai credits
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PDFBetter counts AI use in credits instead of tokens, so you know the price before you click. The cost appears in a tag next to every AI button, before you click. If an action would cost more than you have, the panel says This needs … credits; you have … left and doesn't run it.
| Feature | No account | Free | Pro | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI credits | 5 | 20 | 500 | 2,000 |
What things cost
| Action | Credits |
|---|---|
| Chat message (Ask) | 1 |
| Summary | 2 |
| Search by meaning | 1 |
| Translate | 1 per page |
| Proofread | 1 per page |
| AI edit | 2 |
| Detect form fields | 3 |
| Prepare for signing | 3 |
| Create a document | 5 |
| AI OCR | 2 per page transcribed |
| Restore a scan | 2 per page |
| Extraction | 1 per page read |
| Answer across a workspace | 2 |
| Brief or slide outline | 4 |
| Quiz | 2 |
| Audio brief | 6 |
| Mind map | 3 |
| AI comparison of two versions | 3 |
| Redaction suggestions | 1 per page |
Monthly credits and packs
- Monthly credits renew each period. Unused monthly credits don't carry over.
- An AI credit pack adds 500 credits for $5. Pack credits never expire and are used only after the monthly ones run out.
- Without an account you get 5 credits on guest drafts. A free account gets 20 a month, with no card.
Step 1: Check your balance
The AI credits pill in the top bar shows what's left. Click it to see Monthly left, From packs and What things cost.
Step 2: Top up
In the pill, click Top up. Or open Plan & usage from the account menu and click AI credit pack under Credits.
Step 3: Or upgrade
A paid plan raises the monthly allowance. See pricing for every plan.
When you're not charged
- If a request fails before the AI produces anything, the credits are given back. A stopped or interrupted chat answer says Nothing was charged.
- Per-page actions charge only for pages that worked. Pages that fail say "not charged", and AI OCR charges only the pages it actually transcribes (pages that already read well are free).
- Reopening a saved result from Previous results doesn't run the AI again and uses no credits.
- Pages beyond your plan's page cap are skipped and listed, not charged.
It says "Your plan’s AI credits for this period are used up".
Your monthly credits are gone and you have no pack credits. Wait for the next period (when allowances reset), buy a pack, or upgrade.
Where do purchased credits show up?
Under From packs in the AI credits pill, and under Credits on Plan & usage, once checkout completes. If purchases aren't available yet, the pill says so and nothing is charged.
Do connected agents and automations use the same credits?
Yes. AI work started by an agent or automation draws from the same AI credits as the app.
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