--- title: "How Credits, Plans & Billing Work in FirstSales | FirstSales" description: "Understand credit costs per action, the four plans, buying top-ups via Dodo, reading usage history, and why there's no surprise auto-recharge." canonical: "https://firstsales.io/tutorial/understand-credits-and-billing/" --- [Home](/)/[Tutorials](/tutorial/)/How Credits, Plans & Billing Work in FirstSales Billing & Credits # How Credits, Plans & Billing Work in FirstSales Understand credit costs per action, the four plans, buying top-ups via Dodo, reading usage history, and why there's no surprise auto-recharge. 8 min read·Beginner·6 steps 1. 1 ## How credits work FirstSales runs on **credits**. Every billable action spends a set amount, so you pay for what you use. Typical rates: * **Manual email** — 1 credit * **AI-drafted email** — 2 (Standard) or 8 (Premium) * **Signature polish** — 1 * **Find a lead** — 15 · **Deep enrich** — 35 * **Maps scraper** — 5 per place, 5 per email found * **Research** — 30 (Standard) / 60 (Premium) * **Contact cleaning** — 0.2 per contact Your plan grants a monthly credit allotment; top-ups add more on demand. 2. 2 ## Find billing Open **Billing**. It's four tabs: **Overview** (balance and plan at a glance), **Usage** (consumption history), **Payments** (top-ups and receipts), and **Plan** (subscription tiers). Credits and dates in the history are shown in **UTC** and are **net of refunds**. ![Find billing](/tutorials/billing-01-overview.webp) 3. 3 ## Pick a plan On the **Plan** tab, choose a subscription. Each tier grants a monthly (or annual) credit allotment: * **Starter** — $29/mo ($288/yr), 4k/48k credits * **Growth** — $79/mo ($756/yr), 12k/144k credits * **Pro** — $149/mo ($1,428/yr), 30k/360k credits * **Business** — $499/mo ($4,788/yr), 175k/2.1M credits Annual billing saves \~20%. Pick the tier whose monthly credits match your real sending volume. ![Pick a plan](/tutorials/billing-02-plans.webp) 4. 4 ## Top up credits Need more mid-cycle? On **Payments**, buy a top-up via Dodo at **$1 = 100 credits**. Quick amounts are $50 / $100 / $250 / $500, with a **$50 minimum** and **$10,000 maximum** per purchase. Top-up credits stack on top of your plan allotment. 5. 5 ## Read your usage history The **Usage** tab itemizes each charge — the action, the credits spent, and the timestamp (UTC). Refunds appear as their own line items (e.g. "Contact Cleaning Refund", "Admin Refund"), and the running balance is already net of them, so what you see is what you actually paid. 6. 6 ## Know what auto-renews (and what doesn't) There is **no auto-recharge** — credits never top up automatically when you run low, so you're never surprised by a charge. The only automatic renewal is your **annual plan**, which you can toggle. Watch your balance on the Overview tab and top up deliberately before a big send. ## Pro tips Hard-won shortcuts that keep warm-up on track. 1 ### Size the plan to your monthly volume Estimate credits/month from your send mix (AI drafts at 2–8, cleaning at 0.2/contact, enrichment at 15–35) and pick the tier that covers it. Annual saves \~20% if the volume is steady. 2 ### No auto-recharge — watch the balance Credits don't refill themselves mid-cycle. Before a large campaign or enrichment run, check Overview and top up so a send doesn't stall on an empty balance. 3 ### AI Premium costs 4× AI Standard Standard drafts are 2 credits, Premium 8\. Reserve Premium for high-value prospects; use Standard for volume to stretch your allotment. 4 ### History is net of refunds and in UTC If the numbers look off versus your local clock, remember timestamps are UTC and the balance already subtracts refunds — the line items show the gross action and its refund separately. ## Frequently asked questions What does each action cost in credits? Roughly: manual email 1, AI draft 2 (Standard) / 8 (Premium), signature polish 1, find-lead 15, deep enrich 35, Maps scraper 5/place and 5/email, research 30/60, contact cleaning 0.2/contact. What plans are available? **Starter** ($29/mo, 4k cr), **Growth** ($79/mo, 12k), **Pro** ($149/mo, 30k), and **Business** ($499/mo, 175k). Annual billing grants \~12× the monthly credits and saves about 20%. How do I buy more credits? On the **Payments** tab, top up via Dodo at **$1 = 100 credits** (quick amounts $50/$100/$250/$500, min $50, max $10,000). Top-ups stack on your plan allotment. Does FirstSales auto-recharge my credits? No. There's **no auto-recharge** — you top up manually. The only automatic renewal is the annual plan subscription, which is a toggle. Why are my usage timestamps off? Consumption history is shown in **UTC**, not your local time, and the balance is **net of refunds**. Refunds show as separate line items. Where do I see my remaining balance? On the Billing **Overview** tab, which shows your current credit balance and active plan at a glance. ## Ready to put this into practice? Start your FirstSales trial and launch a warmed, authenticated mailbox in minutes. [Start for $1](https://app.firstsales.io) [All tutorials](/tutorial/)