# Pricing & billing (/docs/concepts/billing)

Prepaid US-dollar balance, per-token charges, top-ups and refunds.



## How you pay [#how-you-pay]

cheapaimodel is prepaid. You top up a balance in US dollars, and each request deducts its cost from that balance. There is no subscription and no monthly minimum.

## What a request costs [#what-a-request-costs]

Each model has an input price and an output price per million tokens, listed in the [model catalog](/models). A request costs:

```text
input_tokens × input_price + output_tokens × output_price
```

The console's [Logs](https://console.cheapaimodel.ai/logs) page shows the tokens and cost of every call.

## Topping up [#topping-up]

Open the [Wallet](https://console.cheapaimodel.ai/wallet) page, choose a preset amount or enter your own, and pay through Stripe Checkout. Stripe emails the receipt. Credit appears once the payment succeeds. If a bonus applies to your top-up, the Wallet page shows it before you pay.

## Running out [#running-out]

When your balance can no longer cover a request, the gateway rejects it with `403`. Top up and retry; nothing else needs to change. You can turn on low-balance email alerts in the console's [notification settings](https://console.cheapaimodel.ai/settings/notifications).

## Refunds [#refunds]

Top-ups are non-refundable once credited, except in the cases set out in [Section 7.4 of the Terms of Service](/terms#clause-7-4), such as where the law requires a refund or where we charged you incorrectly. To ask about a refund, email [support@cheapaimodel.ai](mailto:support@cheapaimodel.ai) from the address you sign in with. Refunds go back to the original payment method where possible, and the refunded amount is deducted from your balance.