AI credits
Every AI operation in DeltaVault is metered in credits: one transparent unit for what a run costs, whether it discovers tables, drafts a business model, or answers in the Ask AI panel. Credits replace the raw token and dollar figures you may have seen before, so you compare a discovery run and a modeling run on the same scale.
This page is about running on DeltaVault’s platform key. Credits are how DeltaVault meters the AI it pays for on your behalf. If your organization runs on its own provider key, none of the allowance, buffer or top-up machinery below applies to you: your provider bills your account directly, at your provider’s rates, and DeltaVault does not sit in the middle. That is how the free edition works, and it is why a free organization has no allowance to run out of and no AI Usage page to watch it on: the usage page, the credit total in the top bar and the budget settings meter the platform allowance, and the free edition does not have them. See AI regions and bring your own key. Cost estimates before a run work either way.
What a credit is
Section titled “What a credit is”A credit is a fixed unit of AI cost. One credit is one cent of the underlying provider list cost, so the number tracks real spend without asking you to reason about tokens or exchange rates. You always see whole-feeling credit amounts in the product: on the cost estimate before a run, on the usage total in the top bar, and on the AI Usage page.
Dollars never appear on an AI operation in the product. The only place money enters is when you buy a top-up pack, where Stripe shows the price at checkout.
How effort changes the cost
Section titled “How effort changes the cost”Every AI task runs at an Effort level, and Effort is the biggest lever on what a run costs:
- Quick runs the fastest, cheapest model. Good for high-volume or lower-stakes work.
- Standard is the default and balances speed against depth.
- Deep reasons harder, for complex work.
- Expert runs the most capable model, always reasoning, at the highest cost.
Each level up the ladder maps to a more capable and more expensive model, so the same task costs more credits on Expert than on Deep, more on Deep than on Standard, and more on Standard than on Quick. When you change the Effort on a run, the credit estimate shown before you start updates to match.
The estimate gets more accurate over time. For the AI skills, DeltaVault calibrates the estimate from real run history once there is enough of it; until then it uses a sensible built-in figure. Either way you see the number before the run starts, never after.
Your monthly allowance and buffer
Section titled “Your monthly allowance and buffer”An organization running on the platform key has a monthly credit allowance, set by your plan. As AI runs, credits are drawn down against it. You can see the month-to-date total against your allowance in the top bar and on the AI Usage page.
On your own provider key there is no allowance and nothing to draw down, and the free edition shows no credit total in the top bar at all. The rest of this section does not apply to it.
When you reach the allowance, a buffer of ten percent of your allowance keeps work flowing for a little longer so a run in progress is not cut off at an awkward moment. While you are in the buffer, DeltaVault shows a notice that you have used your allowance and are drawing on the buffer, so there is no surprise.
The allowance resets on the first of each month (in UTC). Top-up credits you have bought do not reset: they carry over until you use them.
What happens when you run out
Section titled “What happens when you run out”If you use the whole allowance and the buffer, AI operations are blocked until you add credits or your organization’s allowance is raised. DeltaVault shows a clear “out of AI credits” notice rather than failing a run silently, and the notice offers a way to top up straight away.
Spending draws down in this order: your monthly allowance first, then any top-up credits, then the buffer. That means a top-up you buy is held in reserve behind your plan allowance and is there when the allowance runs low.
Top up when you need more
Section titled “Top up when you need more”If your organization can buy top-ups, the AI Usage page and the out-of-credits notice both offer three fixed packs, one button each:
- Buy 1,000 credits
- Buy 5,000 credits
- Buy 20,000 credits
There is no intermediate step: each button goes straight to its own pack. Buying is an organization administrator’s action, so if you are not one, the purchase does not go through. Selecting a pack opens Stripe-hosted checkout, where you pay by card. No card details ever touch DeltaVault. When the payment completes, the credits are added to your organization’s balance and appear on the AI Usage page within moments. Top-up credits are shared across the organization, not per member, and they never expire at the monthly reset.
If top-ups are not switched on for your organization yet, the same places show a note to email support@deltavault.ai to top up instead. The DeltaVault team adds the credits for you.
Where to see your usage
Section titled “Where to see your usage”The AI Usage page is the home for credit spend: your month-to-date total against your allowance, a spend chart over the last 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days, and a breakdown by activity that drills down to a single request. See See your AI usage for the full tour.