Billing & Pricing
This page covers billing management in the SandBase Console. For how pricing is calculated, per-model rates, and cost-optimization techniques, see the Billing & Pricing guide.
SandBase uses pay-as-you-go pricing — no subscriptions, no monthly fees. You only pay for what you use.
Free Tier
New accounts receive $5 in free credits. No credit card required.
Top Up
- Go to Console → Billing
- Click Add Credits and enter an amount ($5 minimum)
- Complete payment
- Balance updates immediately
Payment Methods
- Credit/debit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex)
- Apple Pay / Google Pay
Spending Controls
| Control | Scope | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Organization balance | Whole org | Hard cap — the API returns HTTP 402 when depleted |
| Key spending limit | Per API key | Optional per-key cap, bounded by the org balance |
| Alert threshold | Whole org | Email notification when the balance drops below a set amount |
To set a per-key spending limit, see API Keys.
Usage & Invoices
The Console → Usage dashboard shows consumption and cost over time. For querying usage programmatically and a full breakdown of how charges are computed, see the Billing & Pricing guide.