Credits, billing & usage
Understand how credits work, manage your plan, and track usage.
Last updated Sep 6, 2026
Zense AI uses credits to power AI features. Settings → Billing covers your
plan and payment history; Settings → Usage shows limits, charts, and
transactions.
Credits are the currency behind Chat, Image Studio, and Video Studio. Understanding how they work helps you plan usage and avoid surprises.
Where to look
Under Settings → Application:
- Billing — your current plan (Free, Pro, or Max), upgrade options, and
billing history (invoices and payments) on one page. - Usage — credit limits, usage charts, and transaction history (route:
/settings/credits).
The profile menu credits strip also links to Usage for a quick glance.
Types of credits
Chat credits and Studio credits are tracked separately — Image and Video Studio credits can be topped up individually.
- Chat credits — used by chatting and agent tools (messages, web search,
website crawl, YouTube transcript, image generation/editing in chat, app building). - Image Studio credits — used by Image Generate Studio.
- Video Studio credits — used by Video Generate Studio.
Image and Video Studio credits are individual and can be topped up.
Usage breakdown & active top-ups
Settings → Usage shows each pool as used / limit with a progress bar. Expand
the breakdown to see how your limit is built:
| Source | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Plan | Monthly allotment from Free, Pro, or Max |
| Top-up | Credits you purchased (Image or Video Studio) |
| School bonus | Extra credits assigned by your school admin |
Below the rows, Active top-ups lists every bonus pack still in effect — chat,
image, or video — with remaining / total credits and an expiry date
(individual and school packs expire after 30 days). Use Top up next to Image
or Video Studio to buy more credits without changing your plan.
How your limit is set
Your total credit limit can come from your plan, individual top-ups, or school-assigned bonuses.
Your credit limit can combine:
- Plan default — comes with your plan (manage upgrades on Billing).
- Individual top-up — extra credits you add from Usage.
- School bonus — assigned by your school admin (school accounts).
Chat credits typically reset each month on your reset date.
School vs individual accounts
School accounts have limits managed by the administrator; individual accounts manage their own plan.
- Individual accounts manage their own plan and top-ups via Billing and Usage.
- School accounts have limits managed by the school administrator, and
usage counts toward the school's pool for your role. Trial schools show
School (Trial) on the sidebar chip; limits still come from the school.
Track and export usage
In Settings → Usage you can view usage by metric (chat, image, video,
messages, and more) over the last 7 / 30 / 90 days, see summaries, and export
a report.
Reaching your limit? Individual users can upgrade on Billing or top up from
Usage; school users should contact their school admin. For detailed rates
and school pool assignment, see Pricing & Credits.
