Billing and credits
Prepaid USD credits, usage metering, and how writes are gated in cloud.
Model
Axiomatic cloud uses prepaid USD credits, not traditional per-seat ERP subscriptions. You maintain a balance in the control plane; usage (API calls, AI chat, ledger transactions, proofs, anchors, and other metered actions) debits that balance at published per-unit rates.
- Signup — New identities receive a starting credit (amount configured for the environment).
- Top-up — Add credits via Stripe (one-time payments; auto-recharge can be configured where available).
- Balance zero — When your balance reaches zero, write operations are blocked until you add credits (reads are not affected the same way). HTTP APIs may return 402 Payment Required in those cases.
Self-hosted deployments can set SELF_HOSTED=true to skip credit checks entirely.
Where to manage it
In the app: Admin → Billing (wording may vary slightly by build). There you can see balance, purchase credits, configure auto-recharge if enabled, and review usage history.
Rates
Per-unit costs are defined in application code and can change; the Admin UI and in-app messaging reflect the current rates for your environment.
API and automation
Programmatic access uses the same identity-scoped balance as the UI. Heavy automation should monitor balance and handle 402 responses. See the API Reference for endpoints that interact with billing or credits (names may include billing, credits, or checkout).
Related
- Glossary — “Credits”
- Architecture — where balance lives
- Platform overview — product context