How credits work
Zense AI uses three separate credit pools — chat, image studio, and video studio — each billed differently.
Last updated Sep 6, 2026
Credits are the currency behind AI features in Zense AI. Your account tracks how
much you can spend (limit) and how much you have used (usage) for each pool.
Understanding the three pools helps you plan usage, read your balance in Settings,
and — for schools — assign credits fairly across teachers and students.
Three credit pools
| Pool | Powers | Typical billing unit |
|---|---|---|
| Chat credits | Chat, Tutors, agent tools, in-chat image generation | Per assistant message (flat rate per model) |
| Image Studio credits | Image Generate Studio, Tutor slides/infographics | Per output image (model + size/quality) |
| Video Studio credits | Video Generate Studio | Per output video (model + duration + resolution) |
Chat credits and studio credits are tracked separately. Image and Video Studio
credits can be topped up on their own.
Chat credits vs tokens
Chat is not billed token-by-token in the app. Each model has a fixed credit
cost per assistant message (shown in the model picker).
Behind the scenes, that cost is derived from OpenRouter pricing using a
representative message profile (~12,000 input tokens + ~1,000 output tokens per
message — history, system prompt, and tool context make chats input-heavy). The raw
cost is then compressed onto a 0.5–12 credit scale so cheap and flagship
models are not dozens of times apart — friendlier for school shared pools.
Reasoning depth (when a model supports it) may use more tokens in practice, but
the credit charge stays the flat model rate — see Chat & text model pricing.
Tokens still matter for you: Settings → Usage and conversation details show
promptTokens, completionTokens, and totalTokens for transparency — but your
billable unit is one message, not each token.
What one chat credit is worth
Chat credits come from your subscription plan, not a standalone top-up SKU.
The Pro plan (99 HKD/month, 2,000 chat credits) sets the reference value:
- 1 chat credit ≈ 0.0495 HKD (99 ÷ 2,000)
Image and video studio credits are sold separately at different rates (see the
studio pricing articles in this collection).
Image and video credit worth
| Pool | Top-up rate | HKD per credit |
|---|---|---|
| Image Studio | 9 HKD / 100 credits | 0.09 HKD |
| Video Studio | 19 HKD / 100 credits | 0.19 HKD |
A chat credit is worth roughly 55% of an image credit — chat credits are
granted in larger monthly bundles (e.g. 2,000 vs 200 image on Pro).
Individual plan allotments (monthly)
| Plan | Chat | Image Studio | Video Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 100 | 40 | 50 |
| Pro | 2,000 | 200 | 400 |
| Max | Unlimited | 500 | 1,200 |
Chat credits on paid plans reset each month on your reset date. Studio credits
from your plan reset with the same cycle; personal studio top-ups are tracked
separately.
School accounts
School users draw from school-managed pools instead of individual plans:
- Chat — shared teacher pool and student pool (configured in School Management).
- Image Studio — per-user cap (default 100 per member) plus a school
bonus pool from admin top-ups. - Video Studio — per-user cap (default 200 per member) plus a school
bonus pool.
See School credits: users, top-up & assign in this collection for the full
admin workflow.
Where to check your balance
- Settings → Usage — limits, usage charts, and transaction history.
- Settings → Billing — current plan, upgrades, and billing history.
- Composer / Studio — estimated cost before you generate (studio checks credits
before starting).
School users who hit a limit should contact their school admin. Individual users
can upgrade or top up from Settings.
