> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.foenix.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Credits

> How Foenix pricing works: credits, AI Modes (Lite, Standard, Ultra), plans, credit packs, and what real tasks cost.

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 |

A quick fix can run on Lite while a page build in the same session runs on Ultra - the mode applies to the message, not the whole session.

**2. The complexity of the task**

A simple question like "how many posts do I have?" has a small cost. A complex task - building a plugin, generating a full page, running a multi-step agent - consumes significantly more credits because it involves multiple AI calls, web searches, code execution, and file operations.

## 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 |

See the full breakdown on the [pricing page](https://foenix.ai/pricing).

## What else consumes credits

* **Persistent sandboxes** are billed daily while active (12 to 30 credits/day depending on size) - see [Quick Start](/get-started/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                    |

Yearly billing saves 20%. Need more in a given month? On Starter and Pro, **credit packs** add 5,000 credits for \$19 without changing your plan. Full details on the [pricing page](https://foenix.ai/pricing).

## Tips to spend credits wisely

<Tip>
  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.
</Tip>

* **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