# Credits

### How Credits Work

#### 1 Hit = 1 Credit

Every time your endpoint URL is accessed and returns data, **1 credit is deducted** — regardless of:

* The size of the dataset (10 rows or 10,000 rows)
* The output format (CSV, JSON, XML, etc.)
* Whether URL parameters are used
* Which data source is connected

#### Previews Are Free

When you use the **URL Wizard** or **Preview** feature in the CSV Getter dashboard, the request returns a sample (up to 10 rows) and **does not use a credit**. You can preview as many times as you want.

#### Credits Reset Monthly

Your credit balance resets to your plan's full allocation on each billing cycle. Unused credits do not roll over.

***

### Plans and Credit Allocations

| Plan           | Monthly Credits | Monthly Price | Annual Price |
| -------------- | --------------- | ------------- | ------------ |
| **Free Trial** | 10 (one-time)   | Free          | Free         |
| **Lite**       | 20\*            | $5/mo         | $50/yr       |
| **Standard**   | 100\*           | $10/mo        | $100/yr      |
| **Pro**        | 500\*           | $20/mo        | $200/yr      |
| **Custom**     | Negotiable      | Custom        | Custom       |

\*With the option to add more.

***

### What Happens at Zero Credits

When your credit balance reaches zero:

1. **Endpoint requests return a 403 error:**

   ```json
   {
     "error": "Not enough credits. Login at csvgetter.com to purchase.",
     "help": "https://docs.csvgetter.com"
   }
   ```
2. **You receive an email notification** alerting you that your credits are exhausted (sent once per billing cycle).
3. **Scheduled jobs will fail** and send failure notification emails.
4. **Dashboard previews still work** — you can still preview your data and test SQL queries for free.

***

### Checking Your Remaining Credits

1. Log in to [csvgetter.com](https://csvgetter.com).
2. Your remaining credits are displayed on the **Dashboard** (home page) next to your email address.

***

### Free Trial

Every new account gets **10 free endpoint hits** to try the product. No credit card required.

* Trial hits work identically to paid credits.
* You can use all features during the trial: SQL queries, all output formats, email notifications, etc.
* After 10 hits, you'll need to select a paid plan to continue.
* Trial users receive email reminders at certain usage milestones (10, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 requests).

***

### Estimating Credit Usage

| Use Case                                         | Estimated Monthly Credits |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------- |
| Manual Excel refresh, 2x/day                     | \~60                      |
| Google Sheets `IMPORTDATA`, refreshes every hour | \~720                     |
| Zapier webhook, 1x/day                           | \~30                      |
| Google Apps Script, every 6 hours                | \~120                     |
| Scheduled job (daily)                            | \~30                      |
| Scheduled job (weekly)                           | \~4                       |
| API integration, 10 hits/day                     | \~300                     |

**Tips to reduce credit usage:**

* Cache responses on your end if your data doesn't change frequently.
* Use the `sql` parameter with `LIMIT` to reduce payload size (this doesn't save credits, but speeds up requests).
* Use scheduled jobs instead of frequent polling — jobs run at defined intervals rather than on every request.
* Use dashboard previews (free) to test and iterate before deploying automated exports.

***

### Custom Plans

If you need more than 500 credits per month, or need custom features:

* **Book a call:** [calendly.com/amjtech/csv-getter-test](https://calendly.com/amjtech/csv-getter-test)
* **Email:** <info@csvgetter.com>

***

### FAQ

**Q: Does changing the output format use extra credits?** A: No. One hit = one credit, regardless of format.

**Q: Do failed requests use credits?** A: No. Credits are only deducted when data is successfully fetched and returned. Authentication failures, SQL errors, and other errors do not use credits.

**Q: Can I buy additional credits without upgrading my plan?** A: Contact <info@csvgetter.com> for add-on credit options.

**Q: Do dashboard previews count as hits?** A: No. Previews and the URL Wizard use a sample mode that does not deduct credits.

**Q: What happens to my endpoints if my subscription expires?** A: Your endpoints remain configured but requests will return a 403 error until you resubscribe.