Plans and credits
How credits are used, when they reset, and how to top up.
Credits are how Ponder measures AI usage. Work Ponder does for you in Search, Analyze and Draft uses credits. For how many credits each plan includes and what else it offers, the pricing page is the authority.
How credits are used
How many credits a task uses depends on how much work Ponder did for it. Even within the same kind of task, usage varies from run to run. The four situations below clearly use more credits, and you control each of them.
- Choosing an advanced model: each model has its own credit multiplier, starting at 1x for the base models and higher for the advanced ones. The multiplier is shown next to each model in the model picker. Use a base model for simple questions, and switch to an advanced model when you need deep reasoning or long-form writing.
- Multi-step tasks such as Deep Research: one deep research run contains several rounds of searching and close reading of several full texts, and uses more than an ordinary question. When you only want a first look at what research exists, start in Search.
- Reading very long files: having Ponder read a whole book uses more than reading one paper. When you only need part of it, name the chapters or page range in your request.
- Conversations that grow long: the more a single conversation holds, the more each later turn uses. As it grows, a hint next to the input box suggests compacting the context; click it to condense the conversation so far into a summary. When the subject changes, click New task and start from a fresh conversation.
Three kinds of credits
Credits fall into three kinds by where they come from, each with its own validity.
| Credits | Where they come from | When they reset |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Granted every day | Reset at midnight US Eastern time; valid that day |
| Monthly | Granted with your subscription, monthly for both annual and monthly billing | Reset each month on your subscription date: subscribe on the 5th and they reset on the 5th |
| Permanent | Bought as a top-up | Never expire; kept in full through upgrades, downgrades and cancellation |
They are spent in this order: daily → monthly → permanent. What expires goes first, and permanent credits are kept for last.
Where to see your usage
Click your avatar at the bottom left, and the card shows your total AI Credits, with daily, monthly and permanent balances listed below it. Click View credit usage on the card to open the record of every charge.
When you run out of credits
When credits run out, a task in progress stops where it is and everything already produced is kept. After you upgrade your plan or top up, the task continues from where it stopped, with no need to start it again.
Casual, Plus and Pro members can top up. Click Top Up on the AI Credits row of the avatar card, or click Top Up on the subscription page, and choose an amount. A top-up gives you permanent credits. The higher the tier, the more credits the same amount buys; for the unit price at each tier, see the pricing page.
Free users upgrade to a paid plan first, then top up.
What to read next
- Upgrade, downgrade, cancel, or get an invoice: read Manage your subscription
- Why Deep Research is worth the credits: read Research a topic in depth