Credits are what you spend when building with Caffeine. Successful builds and deployments consume credits; failed builds do not. You have up to three types of credits available, spent in a fixed order.
Daily credits — 5 per day, available to every user including free users. They refresh every day at midnight and expire at the end of the day if unused. Daily credits never roll over.
Subscription credits — your monthly allowance based on your plan (40 for Starter, 110 for Plus, 400 for Pro). These are spent after your daily credits are exhausted. Subscription credits do not roll over at the end of your billing period — unused credits expire when your new billing cycle starts.
On-demand credits — purchased separately as a one-time top-up. Spent last, after daily and subscription credits are exhausted. On-demand credits expire 12 months after purchase. Credits received from promo codes are treated as on-demand credits and follow the same 12-month expiry.
What credits are spent on
Not everything costs credits. The main actions that do:
- AI builds — 2 credits per successful build. Credits are charged only when the AI successfully generates and compiles your app. If the build fails at any point before completion — including a compile error — no credits are charged.
- Going live — 4 credits to publish your draft to the live version. This charge applies when deployment is triggered, whether or not the deployment succeeds.
Many common actions cost nothing: creating a draft, deploying to draft, cloning a project.
How credits are spent
Credits are always spent in this order:
- Daily credits first
- Subscription credits second
- On-demand credits last
This means your on-demand credits are always preserved for as long as possible within their 12-month window.
Checking your balance
Your credit balance is shown in the top bar of the Caffeine interface. For a full transaction history, go to Profile avatar → Credit usage.
Getting more credits
- Upgrade your plan — the main way to increase your monthly credit allowance. Go to Profile avatar → Membership / Upgrade.
- Purchase on-demand credits — a one-time top-up available from the billing section without changing your subscription.
- Redeem a promo code — if you have a voucher or promotional code, go to Profile avatar → Use promo code. Promo credits are treated as on-demand credits and expire 12 months after redemption.
- Wait for daily credits — daily credits reset every day. Free users always get 5 more the next day.
Frequently asked questions
How many free credits do I get per day?
5 credits per day. All users receive this, including free users. They refresh at midnight and expire at the end of the day if unused.
Do daily credits roll over?
No. Unused daily credits expire at midnight. They do not accumulate.
Do subscription credits roll over?
No. Unused subscription credits expire at the end of your billing period when the new cycle starts.
When do on-demand credits expire?
12 months after purchase. Credits received from promo codes are treated as on-demand credits and expire on the same schedule.
What happens when I run out of credits?
When you send a prompt and do not have enough credits, a message appears directly in the chat to let you know. Your app is not changed and no build runs. You can still view and share your apps, but you cannot trigger new builds until credits are available. Daily credits refresh every day, so you receive more the next day. You can also purchase on-demand credits at any time.
What happens to my credits if I cancel my subscription?
Subscription credits are tied to your billing period — they expire when your subscription ends. Daily credits continue since they are available to all users. On-demand credits remain in your account until their 12-month expiry date.
What happens to my credits if my payment fails?
Subscription credits expire immediately when a payment fails. Daily credits continue. Credits are restored only after Stripe successfully collects payment. See the billing article for full details.
Where can I see my credit transaction history?
Go to Profile avatar → Credit usage. This shows your balance, recent transactions, and credit sources.