# Usage & Top-ups - URL: https://betteranalyst.com/docs/billing/credits-usage - Updated: 2026-11-12 - Author: Better Analyst How chat and AI credits work on Free, Pro, Team, and Enterprise. Chat is unlimited on paid plans, subject to fair use, and AI credits cover bulk work like PDF pages, enriched rows, and deep research. Top-ups add more credits. Better Analyst keeps usage simple. Chat is unlimited on every paid plan. Bulk work, like converting PDF pages, enriching rows, and running deep research, uses one allowance: AI credits. This guide explains what counts, what each plan includes, and what happens when you need more. ## Chat ### What Counts as a Message Each time you send a prompt to the AI, it counts as one message: - Asking a question - Requesting a chart - Running analysis - Follow-up questions ### What Doesn't Count - Viewing results - Downloading exports - Managing files - Changing settings ### Chat by Plan | Plan | Chat | | - | - | | Free | 10 messages each month | | Pro | Unlimited, subject to fair use | | Team | Unlimited for every person, subject to fair use | | Enterprise | Unlimited, subject to fair use | Chat never uses AI credits, on any plan. ## Fair Use on Paid Plans Chat on Pro, Team, and Enterprise is unlimited for people doing their own work. Fair use applies to each person separately and sits far above normal use, even heavy daily use. It exists to stop automated or shared-account abuse. If someone reaches the fair-use limit: - Chat pauses for that person, and they see a notice in the chat instead of an answer - We're notified automatically and get back to you, usually within a day - Files, dashboards, and AI credits keep working - Chat resumes when we lift the limit, or at the monthly reset See the [Fair Use Policy](https://betteranalyst.com/fair-use-policy). ## AI Credits AI credits are only used for bulk work: a PDF page is 10 credits, an enriched row is 1, and a deep research report is 20. Chat never uses credits. | Work | AI credits | | - | - | | PDF to Excel (AI Extract) or PDF analysis | 10 per page | | PDF to Excel (Table Extract) | 1 per file | | AI enrichment and text analysis | 1 per row | | Deep research report | 20 per report | | Chat, formulas, charts, spreadsheets, and dashboards | None | ### Credits by Plan | Plan | AI credits per month | | - | - | | Free | 100 (deep research needs Pro or above) | | Pro | 3,000 | | Team | 10,000, shared across the workspace, plus 1,000 for each person beyond the 5 included | | Enterprise | Sized to your contract | On Team, everyone draws from the same monthly credit allowance. Free and Starter members also draw from it in their personal workspace. A member who pays for their own Pro, Max, or Business plan keeps that plan and its credits in their personal workspace, and uses the team's credits only in the team workspace. ### Deep research Each deep research run that produces a cited report uses 20 credits. Quick web research inside a normal chat uses none. ### PDF to Excel AI Extract uses 10 credits for each page you select for conversion, and Table Extract uses 1 credit per file. The converter shows the page count before you start, so you can narrow the page range when you only need part of a document. AI Extract supports up to 500 selected pages per file. ### AI enrichment Enrichment uses 1 credit for each row an enrichment column processes, such as sentiment, translation, classification, or extraction. Enrichments in tasks use credits each time the task runs, so plan for scheduled automation. Test an enrichment on a small sample first, then run it on the full table once the output looks right. ## Top-ups When a month runs over, Pro, Team, Max, and Business can buy a top-up instead of waiting for the reset: - **AI credits**: $10 per 1,000 credits - On **Pro** or **Max**, buy them from **Billing** - On **Team** or **Business**, the billing contact buys them from **Team settings > Billing**, and they're added to the shared allowance A top-up counts in the calendar month you buy it and the month after. Each month your monthly allowance is used first, then top-ups carried over from last month, then this month's top-ups, so unused top-up credits carry over one month and then expire. **Billing** shows how many carried over. Top-ups are one-time purchases with an emailed receipt. They don't change your plan or your renewal price. If a top-up is refunded, its unused credits are removed. ## Checking Your Usage ### Dashboard View See your current usage: 1. Look at the sidebar bottom 2. Shows your AI credits for the month (and messages on Free) 3. Updates in real time ### Detailed Breakdown For more detail: 1. Go to **Billing** 2. View your AI credit usage for the month 3. On Team, admins see the workspace's shared credits ## Usage Resets ### When Limits Reset - Allowances reset on the 1st of each calendar month (UTC), whatever your billing date - Annual plans reset on the 1st of every month too ### Rollover Policy - Unused monthly messages and AI credits do not roll over - Unused top-ups carry over one month, then expire ## Running Low? ### Options When Approaching Limits 1. **Wait**: allowances reset on the 1st of each month (UTC) 2. **Top up**: add 1,000 AI credits for $10 3. **Upgrade**: move to a plan with a larger allowance ### Notifications You'll see a notice in the app as you approach a limit and when you reach it. ## Exceeding Limits ### What Happens - Work that needs AI credits pauses until the reset, a top-up, or an upgrade - Chat keeps working on paid plans - Existing data remains accessible - You can still export previous results ### No Overage Charges Better Analyst does not charge overage fees. You only pay for top-ups you choose to buy. ## Older Plans and AI Actions If you subscribed to Starter, Max, Business, or Embed before November 2026, you keep your plan at the price you pay today, and nobody is moved to a new plan automatically. Max and Business now count bulk work in AI credits instead of AI Actions. They keep at least the allowance they had. A PDF page is still 10 credits, and a research report is 20 instead of 50. - **Max** includes everything in Pro, with 5,000 AI credits per person a month. - **Max (Legacy)** includes everything in Pro, with at least as many AI credits a month as it had AI Actions. - **Business** includes everything in Team, plus SSO, SCIM, and the full audit log, with 15,000 AI credits per person a month, shared across the team. - **Starter** keeps its monthly message and AI Action allowances. On Starter, formula generation, PDF to Excel, and enrichments use AI Actions, and the converter shows the AI Action estimate before you submit. Switching to Pro moves you to unlimited chat and AI credits. - **Embed** is an end-user plan for embedded chat. It keeps its features and AI Actions. ## Next Steps - [Manage your subscription](https://betteranalyst.com/docs/billing/managing-subscription) - [Compare plans](https://betteranalyst.com/docs/billing/pricing-plans) - [Learn about tasks](https://betteranalyst.com/docs/tasks/overview)