Understanding Billing & Credits

Your subscription gives you plan access and monthly credit behavior, and extra credit packs are only available while you have an active subscription.

How Pricing & Billing Works

Pricing and billing in PlaylistCraft is split into three connected areas:

• Subscription — Where you choose and manage your plan
• Credits — Where you view balance and buy extra credit packs
• Usage Logs — Where you audit credit movement (allocations, purchases, deductions)

Subscription Plans

Monthly plans include a credit allocation each billing cycle. Credits roll over while your subscription stays active.

See pricing for plan comparisons, promo codes, and per-credit estimates by render mode.

Credit Costs (What Gets Deducted)

Credits are deducted per action. Below are current costs for a typical 20-song vocal playlist workflow (1 credit ≈ $0.10 USD).

Song generation & render base

• Generate 20 songs — 55 credits
• Render job (export, stitching, queue) — 65 credits on every render

Background assets (when AI-generated)

*Full workflow = 55 songs + 65 render + background cost. Upload your own assets on the render screen to skip background generation charges.

Optional add-ons

• Synced captions (vocal playlists) — +20 credits (20-song render) or +30 credits (40-song render)
• Media Gen (standalone images) — 2–10 credits per image depending on model (Nano Banana from 2 cr, GPT Image 1 at 10 cr)

One-time credit packs (Essential tier)

Requires an active subscription. Pack sizes:

• Small — 300 credits · $29
• Medium — 600 credits · $59
• Large — 1,200 credits · $119

Professional and Ultimate tiers have their own pack sizes in the app. Packs do not expire while your account remains in good standing.

This includes two common cases:

• No subscription yet: Purchase is blocked until you subscribe
• Previous plan canceled/inactive: Purchase is blocked until you start a new active plan

The Subscription Tab

The Subscription tab shows your current plan and where you manage plan changes.

Accessing Subscription

1. In the sidebar, click Credits & Billing
2. Click the Subscription tab

What You'll See

If you have an active plan, you'll see:

• Plan tier (Explore, Essential, Professional, Ultimate)
• Billing period (monthly/annual)
• Renewal date (or cancel date if cancellation is pending)

If you don't have an active subscription, you need to pick a plan here first. That unlocks credit purchases in the Credits tab.

The Credits Tab

In the Credits tab, you can see your current balance and, when eligible, buy extra credit packs.

Accessing Credits

1. In Credits & Billing, click the Credits tab
2. View your balance card showing subscription credits + purchased credits breakdown

If You Have No Active Plan

Here's the key rule: if you do not have an active subscription, you cannot buy extra credits.

You'll see a blocked state message like:

• "Cannot purchase credits" panel, or
• "You need an active subscription plan to buy extra credits…"

To unlock purchases, go back to the Subscription tab and activate a plan.

If You Have an Active Plan

When your subscription is active, the Buy Credits section is enabled:

1. View package options (small/medium/large)
2. Select a package
3. Click Purchase Credits
4. Complete checkout (secure via Polar)

The Usage Logs Tab

The Usage Logs tab is your audit trail for all credit movement.

1. Click the Usage Logs tab
2. Scroll through the table to see events like:
   • Monthly allocation
   • Purchase top-up
   • Usage deductions

Practical Scenarios

Scenario 1: New User with No Plan

Situation: I'm new and I want extra credits. I go to Credits, but purchase is blocked.

Solution: Switch to Subscription, pick a plan, and then return to Credits to buy packs.

Scenario 2: Returning User with Canceled Plan

Situation: My old subscription ended, so I can't buy packs anymore.

Solution: The fix is the same — choose a new active plan in Subscription, then purchases work again.

Scenario 3: Active Subscriber Needs More Credits Now

Situation: I already have an active plan, so I need to top up immediately.

Solution: Go directly to the Credits tab and buy a credit pack — purchases are enabled.

Quick FAQ

Summary

That's pricing and billing in PlaylistCraft:

• Choose a plan (Explore from $39/mo) for monthly credits
• Keep an active plan to buy credit packs
• Budget by action: songs (55 cr), render (65 cr base), backgrounds (5–100 cr), optional captions (+20/+30)
• Use Usage Logs to track every credit movement