> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://rendobar-docs-compose-gallery.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Credits and billing

> Get per-job nanodollar billing from a prepaid credit balance. Free includes a signup grant, Pro adds monthly credits, and credits never expire.

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Per-job billing from a prepaid credit balance. New accounts get \$5 free. Every terminal job is charged for the compute it consumed, including jobs that fail.

## Plans

|                          | Free           | Pro     |
| ------------------------ | -------------- | ------- |
| Price                    | \$0/mo         | \$9/mo  |
| Signup credits           | \$5 (one-time) | -       |
| Monthly credits included | -              | \$5     |
| Credit-purchase bonus    | -              | +20%    |
| Concurrent jobs          | 1              | 25      |
| API requests/min         | 30             | 300     |
| Max input file           | 100 MB         | 2 GB    |
| Job timeout              | 5 min          | 15 min  |
| Output retention         | 7 days         | 30 days |
| Priority queue           | No             | Yes     |

`ffmpeg`, MCP, and webhooks are on both plans. Full limits table: [Limits](/support/limits).

For a full pricing breakdown and plan comparison, see [rendobar.com/pricing/](https://rendobar.com/pricing/).

## Credit packs

$10 / $25 / $50 / $100 (or custom, $10 minimum). Pro adds **+20%** to every purchase. Buy $25, get \$30. Credits never expire.

## How it works: nanodollar billing

Every job is billed in nanodollars (one-billionth of a US dollar) drawn from your prepaid balance. This differs from tier-based quotas where you buy a plan with a bucket of minutes:

* **Cost matches resources used.** A 30-second watermark on 1080p shouldn't cost the same as a 10-minute H.265 transcode of a 4K master.
* **Prepaid means predictable budgets.** You top up when you want; jobs run only if affordable. No end-of-month surprise bill.

## Credit lifecycle

1. **Submit gate.** Submit is atomic. If your balance is greater than zero and you are under your concurrent-job limit, the job runs. We do not estimate cost up front. Insufficient balance returns `402 INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS`.
2. **Execution.** Job runs. Balance untouched.
3. **Debit on terminal status.** Every terminal job (`complete`, `failed`, or `cancelled`) is charged for the compute it consumed. The debit is atomic with the status update.
4. **No auto-refund.** Failed jobs are still charged for the compute they consumed. If you believe a job failed due to a platform bug, contact support. Refunds are issued at our discretion via the dispute process.

## Negative balance

Because the submit gate checks `balance > 0` rather than an estimate, a single long-running job can drive your balance briefly negative when the terminal debit lands. When that happens, your subscription flips to `past_due` and further submits are blocked with `402 INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS` until you top up. Once your balance is positive again, normal billing resumes.

## Cost model

`ffmpeg` bills per compute second, which is the wall-clock time FFmpeg ran your command, excluding upload and download. The same per-second rate applies whether the job completes successfully or fails partway through.

If your balance is at or below zero when you submit:

```json theme={null}
{ "error": { "code": "INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS", "message": "Not enough credits for this job" } }
```

HTTP `402`. Top up at [app.rendobar.com/billing](https://app.rendobar.com/billing).

## Check your balance

```bash theme={null}
curl https://api.rendobar.com/billing/state \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer rb_YOUR_KEY"
```

```json theme={null}
{
  "data": {
    "balance": { "amount": 5.0 },
    "plan": { "slug": "free", "name": "Free" },
    "subscription": { "status": "active", "cancelAtPeriodEnd": false },
    "isPro": false
  }
}
```

`balance.amount` is in dollars. Internally balances are stored in nanodollars (1 USD = 1,000,000,000).

## Usage tracking

```bash theme={null}
curl "https://api.rendobar.com/billing/usage?start=2026-02-01&end=2026-02-09" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer rb_YOUR_KEY"
```

Returns daily usage by job type: count, amount charged, and compute seconds.

## Practical advice

* **Start on Free.** \$5 signup grant covers many hundreds of small jobs.
* **Store `cost.nanodollars` from every response.** Reconcile against your monthly invoice.

## See also

* [Job lifecycle](/concepts/job): where the debit happens
* [Limits](/support/limits): full quota table
* [FFmpeg reference](/jobs/ffmpeg): the live cost model

## Related

* [Plan limits and quotas](/support/limits): exact rate, file, and storage caps per plan
* [Job lifecycle](/concepts/job): when the debit lands and what statuses mean
* [Error codes](/support/errors): `INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS`, `PLAN_LIMIT`, and friends
* [Pricing](https://rendobar.com/pricing/): plan comparison and credit packs
* [FAQ on cost](/support/faq): common pricing and billing questions