AI credits

What a generation costs, how many you get, and what to do when they run out.

AI generation is the paid part of OwlCAD — everything else, including the whole editor, is free. Free accounts get no generation credits; Pro includes a monthly allotment that resets at the start of each billing month and does not roll over. **A generation costs a model-specific number of credits, not a flat one**, because providers differ in real cost by an order of magnitude: a parametric prompt to a language model costs pennies, while a precise-CAD job billed by compute time can run for minutes and cost several dollars. The model picker always shows the price of the model you have selected. One-time credit packs top up a balance that does not expire, and is spent only after the month’s allotment is used up. Runs on your own provider key spend no credits at all. In a classroom or a school licence, generations draw on the pooled budget rather than a personal one, and the panel says so while you are spending it.

1. Check the balance under the prompt box in the Generate panel — it shows what is left this month.
2. Pick a model: the picker shows what one run of it will spend before you spend it.
3. Generate. A run that fails costs nothing — the credits go back.
4. Out of credits? Wait for the monthly reset, buy a one-time credit pack from Account → Plan & billing, or add your own provider key and generate free of credits.