Guides
Billing & credits
How HiveBase meters work — what's free, how credits are spent, and how to manage usage.
HiveBase meters on one principle: reading is free, and you only spend when work runs a model. Browsing, searching, and building context cost nothing. The moment HiveBase synthesizes, drafts, researches, or executes on your behalf, it draws credits from your workspace balance — and tells you exactly what it spent. The model takes a minute to understand and never surprises you.
- 01A call landsAction, tool, or agent
- 02Is it a read?Browse · search · load context
- 03If work runs a modelRoutine · complex · strategic
- 04Credits + cost on responseAlways visible
- 01
A call lands
Action, tool, or agent
- 02
Is it a read?
Browse · search · load context
- 03
If work runs a model
Routine · complex · strategic
- 04
Credits + cost on response
Always visible
What's free
Reads never cost credits. You can explore HiveBase and get real value before you spend anything.
- Reading and searching your Brain.
- Browsing tasks, decisions, and your daily FYI.
- Connecting integrations and building context.
- Passive writes — capturing signals and storing claims as your tools stream in.
- Viewing usage, balance, and the cost of work you've already run.
Reads are free on purpose
The Brain only gets more valuable the more it's queried. Searching, asking, and browsing will never draw down your balance — so there's no reason to hold back.
How credits work
Work that runs a model — synthesis, drafting, deep research, agent execution — is metered in credits drawn from your workspace credit balance. Heavier reasoning costs more, in clearly defined tiers:
| Tier | Kind of work | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Read / passive | Search, browse, capture, store claims | FREE |
| Routine | Classify, extract, tag, light formatting | 2 credits |
| Complex | Synthesize, search-and-reason, analyze, draft | 5 credits |
| Strategic | Deep research, multi-step planning, agent runs | 20 credits |
These MCP/platform tier anchors match the developer contract in
Core concepts (mcp_routine /
mcp_complex / mcp_strategic in product metering). Individual product
actions can differ; every response still returns the exact cost charged.
Tiers are not plan prices
Dollar pricing, seat allowances, and credit packs live on the pricing page — always treat that as the commercial source of truth. Per-tool costs are in the MCP tool reference.
Every billable action reports exactly what it spent, so usage is never a guess. Developers can see the precise per-tool costs in the MCP tool reference and the metering contract in Core concepts.
Costs come back on every response
You never have to reverse-engineer a bill. Each billable call returns what it cost and what you have left, so spend is observable in real time — in the app and over the API.
wu_costnumberCredits this action consumed. 0 for reads and passive writes.
tierenumWhich tier was charged — routine, complex, or strategic.
balance_remainingnumberCredits left in your workspace after this action.
- Track spend and balance live in your workspace settings.
- Set spend alerts so a busy week never goes unnoticed.
- Turn on auto-recharge so work never stalls mid-flow.
- For API/MCP callers, read wu_cost and balance_remaining on every response.
Plans & credits
HiveBase offers a free tier with starter credits, plus paid plans that include a monthly credit allowance and credit packs for when you need more. Allowances refresh on your billing cycle; packs are one-time top-ups that don't expire on cycle.
See live pricing
Plan tiers, monthly allowances, and pack prices are on the pricing page. Treat it as the single source of truth — prices are never hardcoded in these docs.
FAQ
What costs credits?
Only work that runs a model: synthesis, drafting, deep research, classification, and agent execution. Reading and searching your Brain, browsing tasks and FYI, connecting tools, and capturing signals are always free. Heavier reasoning costs more, organized into routine, complex, and strategic tiers.
How do I avoid surprises?
Costs come back on the response. Every billable action returns its wu_cost, the tier
charged, and your balance_remaining — so spend is visible the moment it happens, not at
the end of a cycle. Add spend alerts in workspace settings for an extra backstop.
What happens if I run out of credits?
Work that would spend credits returns a 402 (payment required) instead of running, so
nothing executes silently against an empty balance. Buy a credit pack to top up
immediately, or enable auto-recharge to refill automatically and keep work flowing.
Reads stay free regardless of balance.
Where do I find exact prices?
On the pricing page. It's the source of truth for plan tiers, monthly allowances, and pack prices — these docs explain the model, not the numbers.