Foenix uses a credit-based system. Every action your session performs consumes credits - reading data, writing code, generating images, searching the web, and running agents.
Free credits
Every new account gets 500 free credits - no credit card required. This is enough to explore all working modes and run several real tasks.
What affects credit usage
Two main factors determine how many credits a task consumes:
1. The AI Mode selected
Every message runs in one of three modes. The mode sets the credit multiplier, and you can switch it per message right in the session composer:
| AI Mode | Multiplier | Best for |
|---|
| Lite | 0.3× | Light tasks at the lowest cost - scans, simple edits, routine content |
| Standard | 1× | The recommended default - balanced quality and speed for most tasks |
| Ultra | 3× | The strongest results - design work, strict content rules, complex builds |
What real tasks cost
Approximate costs from real runs, to give you a sense of scale:
| Task | Credits | AI Mode |
|---|
| Blog post with images | ~198 | Standard |
| Broken links scan and fix | ~300 | Standard |
| Full site SEO audit and fix | ~400 | Ultra |
| Malware scan | ~86 | Lite |
| Monthly site health report | ~132 | Standard |
What else consumes credits
- Persistent sandboxes are billed daily while active (12 to 30 credits/day depending on size) - see Quick Start for tiers. Your free 24-hour trial sandbox costs nothing.
- Scheduled agents consume credits on each run, at the same rates as running the task manually.
Plans
| Plan | Credits | Sites |
|---|
| Free | 500 one-time | 1 trial sandbox (24h) |
| Starter - $25/mo | 5,000 / month | 3 |
| Pro - $50/mo | 10,000 / month | 25 |
Tips to spend credits wisely
Ask for a report before asking for changes. “Find the problems, report only” costs little and shows you the scope - then “fix everything from the report” does the work with no wasted correction loops.
- Be specific - a clear, detailed instruction avoids back-and-forth correction loops that waste credits
- Pick the right mode - not every task needs Ultra. Routine content and scans work well on Lite or Standard
- Test agents first - run a task once manually before setting it as a recurring agent, so you know how much it costs in credits and how it performs
- Match the prompt to the job - big builds like a full homepage work fine as one prompt. For everything else, smaller steps are cheaper, easier to control, and simpler to verify
Checking your balance
Your current credit balance is shown in the bottom-left corner of the Foenix dashboard.
Running out of credits
- Free plan - credits do not refresh. Upgrade to a paid plan to continue
- Starter / Pro - credits refresh monthly. You can also purchase credit packs at any time without changing your plan