What uses credits

Running your app is free — hosting, page views, sign-ins, and reading/writing your app's data cost zero credits at any scale. Credits only get drawn by AI, email/SMS, some integrations, and storage over 50GB.

The short version: running your app is free. Whether you have 10 users or 50,000, the everyday things people do in your app don't cost you credits. Credits only come into play when your app does specific backend work — AI, sending messages, certain integrations, or storing a lot of data.

💬 Ask your AI what your app will cost Paste this into your app's chat:

Looking at what my app does, which features will draw credits when it's live (AI, email/SMS, integrations, or storage over 50GB), and which parts are free? Be honest about anything that scales with usage. If you're not sure, say so instead of guessing.

The AI knows what your app is built to do, so it can tell you whether you're building a safe to offer free app or a plan for usage app before you launch.

What's free — no credits, at any scale

These cost zero credits, period:

• Hosting — keeping your app live 24/7.
• Page views — people browsing, navigating, loading pages.
• Users signing in — sign-up and login are free.
• Reading and writing your app's data — your users creating, viewing, and editing records within the included storage.

Traffic doesn't move the meter. An app that's mostly screens and data — a dashboard, a directory, a booking tool, a form, a community — runs for just the cost of your subscription, no matter how busy it gets.

What uses credits — backend work your app does

Credits get drawn only when your app actively does one of these:

• AI features — anything that makes an AI/LLM call: chatbots, generate buttons, AI suggestions, image or text generation your users trigger. This is the big one.
• Sending email or SMS — each message your app sends out.
• Some integrations — certain calls your app makes to connected outside services.
• Database storage over 50GB — your first 50GB is included; only storage past that meters.

And the owner pays for these — not your visitors. Like hosting, your users never see your bill.

How the pricing works

Overskill bills cost-plus on this metered usage — you pay our underlying cost with a modest markup, not a fixed per-click fee. So there isn't a fixed this button costs X credits price list to memorize; what you pay tracks what the work actually costs. The plans and included credits live on the pricing page — that's the source of truth for the numbers.

A worked example

You build two apps. The first is a client dashboard — people log in, view their records, update a few fields. Thousands of visits a month, zero AI, no email. It runs for the cost of your subscription and nothing more; a busy month looks the same on your bill as a quiet one.

The second is an AI writing assistant — every visit triggers several generations. That one draws credits with use. Same platform, completely different cost shape — because the first app does no backend work for visitors and the second does it on every visit. You get to decide which kind you're building.

So, will my app cost me per user?

• Mostly screens + data (CRUD, dashboards, forms, directories, communities): essentially no per-user cost. Offer it free with confidence.
• AI is the core value, or it emails/texts/calls integrations on every visit: that scales with usage. Plan for it — gate those features behind a paid tier in your app, or price your offer so it covers the usage. See monetize AI usage with buyer credits to turn that usage into revenue.

What to read next

• Credits in your published app: who pays for AI usage — the deep dive on AI cost
• What are credits? — how the meter works overall