Token Usage & Billing
Understand how tokens work, track your usage, and manage your billing.
What are Tokens?
Tokens are the units of measurement for AI model usage. Both input (prompts) and output (responses) are measured in tokens. A token is roughly equivalent to:
- 4 characters of English text
- ¾ of a word on average
📏 Example Token Counts
- • "Hello, world!" ≈ 4 tokens
- • A typical paragraph ≈ 100 tokens
- • A 500-word blog post ≈ 650-700 tokens
- • A 10-page document ≈ 4,000-5,000 tokens
Pricing Plans
Free
$0/month
- ✓ 10,000 tokens/month
- ✓ GPT-4o-mini only
- ✓ Hard cap at 15,000 tokens
- ✓ 50 requests/day
- ✓ All presets
- ✓ Basic integrations
Starter
$49/month
- ✓ 500,000 tokens/month
- ✓ All AI models
- ✓ Overage billing ($0.15/1k)
- ✓ Unlimited requests
- ✓ All integrations
- ✓ Automation & agents
Pro
$149/month
- ✓ 3,000,000 tokens/month
- ✓ All AI models
- ✓ Lower overage ($0.12/1k)
- ✓ Priority support
- ✓ Advanced automation
- ✓ Team collaboration
How Billing Works
Included Tokens
Each plan includes a monthly allocation of tokens:
- Free: 10,000 tokens reset on the 1st of each month
- Starter: 500,000 tokens reset on billing date
- Pro: 3,000,000 tokens reset on billing date
- Agency: 20,000,000 tokens reset on billing date
Overage Billing
Paid plans (Starter, Pro, Agency) include overage billing for usage beyond your monthly allocation:
| Plan | Overage Rate | Max Overage |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0.15 per 1,000 tokens | $200/month |
| Pro | $0.12 per 1,000 tokens | $200/month |
| Agency | $0.10 per 1,000 tokens | $200/month |
⚠️ Overage Protection
To protect you from unexpected charges, overage is capped at $200/month. Once you hit this cap, API requests will return an error until the next billing cycle.
Free Tier Limits
The free tier has additional restrictions:
- Hard Cap: 15,000 tokens maximum (including free 10k + 5k grace)
- Model Access: GPT-4o-mini only
- Rate Limit: 50 requests per day
- No Overage: Requests blocked after limits reached
Tracking Your Usage
Dashboard View
Your dashboard shows real-time token usage:
- Usage Bar: Visual progress bar showing tokens used vs. included
- Percentage: Current usage as percentage of monthly allocation
- Overage Indicator: Shows when you've exceeded included tokens
- Reset Date: When your tokens will reset
Usage Alerts
ARKA AI sends email alerts at key thresholds:
- 80%: Warning that you're approaching your limit
- 100%: You've used all included tokens (overage starts for paid plans)
- 120%: Significant overage charges are accumulating
Optimizing Token Usage
Choose the Right Model
Different models have different token efficiency and costs:
| Model | Best For | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o-mini | Simple tasks, quick responses | Lowest |
| GPT-4o | General purpose, balanced | Medium |
| GPT-4 | Complex reasoning, analysis | High |
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Long documents, creative writing | Medium |
| Claude 3 Opus | Maximum quality, research | Highest |
Best Practices
🎯 Be Concise
Shorter, focused prompts use fewer tokens. Remove unnecessary context or examples.
🔄 Reuse Outputs
Save successful outputs instead of regenerating. Create templates for common patterns.
📏 Set Max Tokens
Limit output length when you don't need long responses. Use maxTokens parameter.
🤖 Start Small
Use cheaper models (GPT-4o-mini) for testing. Upgrade to GPT-4 only when needed.
Billing Cycle
Your billing cycle depends on your plan:
- Free Tier: Resets on the 1st of each calendar month
- Paid Plans: Resets on your subscription anniversary date
For example, if you subscribed on January 15th:
- Billing date: 15th of each month
- Token reset: 15th of each month
- Overage charged: With your next monthly invoice
Managing Your Subscription
Upgrade or Downgrade
You can change your plan at any time from your dashboard:
- Upgrade: Takes effect immediately, prorated charge
- Downgrade: Takes effect at next billing cycle
- Cancel: Access continues until end of current billing period
Payment Methods
We accept:
- Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex)
- Debit cards
- ACH (for annual plans)
All payments are processed securely through Stripe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do unused tokens roll over?
No, tokens reset each billing cycle. Unused tokens do not carry over to the next month.
Can I buy additional tokens?
Paid plans include automatic overage billing. Free tier users must upgrade to get more tokens.
What happens if I exceed the overage cap?
API requests will return an error. You can upgrade to a higher tier or wait until your next billing cycle.
Can I get a refund?
We offer 7-day refunds for new subscriptions. Contact support@arka-ai.com for refund requests.