> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.custral.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Billing & Credits
> Understanding Custral's plans, seats, and credit-based usage system.
Custral billing has two parts: a **subscription plan** (your seats, limits, and monthly credit allocation) and a single **credit balance** that covers metered usage like AI and communications. Instead of many variable bills, you top up one balance. Everything is managed under **Settings → Billing**.
## Subscription plans
Custral is billed **per active user**, and every plan includes the full platform: unlimited objects, views, and surfaces, the automation builder, and all AI features. Plans differ by their **limits** and **monthly credit allocation**, not by which features are unlocked.
The tiers (**Starter**, **Growth**, **Scale**, and **Enterprise**) each set caps for active records, active workflows, workflow runs, connected providers, file storage, and monthly credits. Compare tiers, switch between monthly and annual billing, and start a plan on **Settings → Billing → Plans**; checkout and payment run through Stripe.
An **active record** counts toward your plan's limit if it was viewed, edited, or processed by a workflow at any point during the month. Archiving a record stops it counting in future cycles.
* **Per-seat proration**: adding or removing users during a cycle is automatically prorated on your next Stripe invoice.
* **Plan changes**: upgrades usually apply immediately and prorated; downgrades take effect at the start of the next billing cycle.
## How credits work
Every organization has one credit balance, filled from two sources:
1. **Monthly allocation**. A set number of credits included with your plan each month.
2. **Top-ups**, extra credit bundles you can buy any time from the **Credit Balance** card on the Billing screen.
## What consumes credits
| Category | What draws credits |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **AI** | Assistant chats, AI workflow actions, and conversation processing / Q\&A: billed by how much work the chosen model does (heavier models cost more per request). |
| **Workflows** | Each workflow run draws a small flat amount. |
| **Phone numbers** | A one-time fee when you buy a number, plus a recurring monthly line fee to keep it active. |
| **A2P registration** | A one-time fee to register a Twilio A2P 10DLC brand and campaign for SMS. |
| **Domains** | Procuring and renewing custom domains through Custral. |
| **Managed mailboxes** | A recurring monthly fee per hosted mailbox. |
Calls and SMS message volume are **not** metered per minute or per segment in your credit balance today. Telephony credit costs are the number purchase, the monthly line fee, and A2P registration listed above.
Because you pick your workspace's default AI model (and can override it per chat or [agent](/ai/models/overview)), you control the trade-off between AI quality and credit cost.
## File storage
Each plan includes a file-storage allowance. The Billing screen shows a **File Storage** meter, how much you've used against your plan's limit. If you approach the limit, Custral notifies you; you can upgrade to a higher tier or add storage rather than lose data.
## Monitoring usage
Everything lives under **Settings → Billing**:
* **Credit Balance**: your current balance, a **Top up** menu of credit bundles, and a link to your usage logs.
* **Usage** (`Billing → Usage`): the full credit ledger over a 7-day to 12-month window, with a spend summary (balance, spent this window, and a burn-rate estimate of how long your balance lasts). Filter charges by type, and open the AI chat, conversation, workflow, or record each charge came from.
* **Invoices** (`Billing → Invoices`): your full invoice history with downloadable PDFs.
* **Manage in Stripe**: opens the Stripe customer portal to update your payment method and manage the subscription.
If a subscription lapses (no active plan, a past-due payment, or a paused/canceled account) Custral shows a banner prompting you to set up or fix billing. There is no configurable low-balance alert or automatic top-up today; top up manually from the Credit Balance card.
## Credit expiration
Credits are consumed soonest-to-expire first, so plan credits are spent before top-ups.
| Credit source | When it expires |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Plan allocation** | Rolls over for a limited window (a couple of months) rather than resetting each month, then expires. |
| **Top-ups** | Never expire. They carry over indefinitely. |
## Related
How plans and the usage-based credit balance fit together.
Pick the default AI model to balance quality against credit cost.
Buying and managing phone lines that draw credits.
Registering for SMS, a one-time credit cost.
## Related topics
- [Phone & SMS System](/blocks/widgets/dialer.md)
- [Pricing](/start/custral/pricing.md)
- [Stripe](/integrations/stripe.md)
- [Change Log](/product/updates.md)
- [Settings](/start/settings/overview.md)