Prepaid credits made simple

meinGPT bills AI usage through a prepaid balance: your workspace holds a credit balance, and every AI request consumes a small piece of it. This page explains why we do it this way and shows you every way to top up.

For what credits are and how they're consumed, see The concept. Short version: 1 credit = €0.01 — so 10,000 credits equal €100.

Why prepay? Your benefits

We deliberately chose a prepaid model — not because it's easier for us, but because it's the fairest and safest option for you:

• Full cost control — you only spend what you consciously loaded beforehand. No surprise invoice at the end of the month, no "bill shock" the way usage-based billing in arrears can produce.
• Budget certainty for procurement & controlling — top-ups are clearly plannable, one-off amounts with a proper invoice. Your balance is your cost ceiling: consumption can never exceed what you loaded.
• Real-time transparency — you can see your remaining balance and consumption at any time under Settings → Usage & Billing; detailed breakdowns per model and user live in the AI Cockpit.
• Fair: you only pay for what you use — credits are only consumed by actual usage. Quiet months cost less, intense ones more — without switching plans.
• Fine-grained control per user — via the six usage tiers ("Very low" through "Unlimited") you can give individual groups or people their own budgets so the workspace balance stays fairly distributed. Details under usage limits.
• One balance for everything — all models, image generation, translation, workflows, and API usage draw from the same pool. No juggling separate quotas.

Starting balance at contract signing

You don't need to do anything at the start: when your contract is signed, we load the agreed balance for you. Your team can start on day one — the starting balance is part of your contract and immediately available in the workspace.

How much starting balance makes sense is something we work out together in the closing conversation — based on team size and expected usage. For your own estimate, use the cost calculator.

Three ways to top up

After that, you top up yourself — whenever and however suits you:

1. By credit card — instant

The fastest way: under Settings → Usage & Billing → Buy credits, pick one of five packages between €5 and €1,000 and pay by credit card via Stripe. The credits land in your workspace immediately after payment — and the invoice is automatically available as a PDF in your top-up history.

2. By invoice — for workspaces with billing details on file

If your workspace is billed by invoice and your billing details are complete, you can buy credit packages between €500 and €10,000 directly on invoice:

3. Automatic top-up (auto-topup)

The most convenient option: meinGPT watches your balance and automatically reloads as soon as it drops below a threshold you define. Your team is never unexpectedly out of credits — ideal once meinGPT is part of the daily workflow.

How to set it up

Under Settings → Usage & Billing → Automatic top-up:

After saving you'll see your rule in plain language: "When the balance drops below X credits, €Y is automatically charged to card Z."

What exactly happens?

• Trigger: when your balance falls below the threshold, meinGPT charges the configured amount to the card on file and credits your balance immediately.
• Email confirmation: all workspace admins receive an email with the amount, card, and new balance. Every top-up also appears in the top-up history — receipt included.
• Protection against repeated charges: there is always a waiting period of at least one hour between two automatic top-ups. A runaway series of charges can never happen.
• If the payment fails (e.g. card expired or declined): nothing is charged and no credits change — admins get an email with the reason and can update the payment method.
• Full control: you can pause auto-topup or adjust the values at any time. The date and result of the last run are always visible in the settings.

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