Credits vs pay-per-use: which actually costs less?
Two platforms can offer the exact same model at what looks like the same price — until you notice one charges "10 credits" and the other charges "$0.42". Credits exist partly to make comparison hard. Here's how to see through them.
How credit systems work
You buy credits up front — via subscription or a top-up pack — and each generation spends some. The trick is that the dollar value of a credit depends on which pack you bought: bigger packs make each credit cheaper. So "10 credits" only means something once you know your rate. ModelPricer converts every platform's credits to dollars using their best publicly advertised pack rate, so you compare like with like.
When pay-per-use wins
Aggregators charge you in dollars per generation with no commitment. If your usage is irregular, or you only need a model occasionally, this almost always works out cheaper — you never pay for credits you don't burn, and there's no monthly floor.
When credits win
If you generate constantly inside one platform's tools, a subscription's bundled credits can bring the per-generation cost below pay-per-use — plus you get the UI, workflow and editing features that raw APIs don't have. The break-even depends on volume: below it, pay-per-use; above it, the subscription.
The hidden costs
Watch for credits that expire, subscriptions with monthly minimums you won't hit, and "unlimited" tiers with fair-use caps. The advertised headline rate and the rate you actually pay are often different numbers — which is the whole reason a live converter is useful.
Use the calculator to see any model's real dollar cost across credit and pay-per-use platforms at once.