> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.usedecentral.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.usedecentral.org/core-concepts/credits.md). # Credits Credits are the unit of account for inference jobs on Decentral. One credit equals exactly $0.01 USDC. You purchase them with USDC and spend them on inference requests. Credits exist to separate the payment unit from the on-chain settlement unit. Rather than executing a USDC transfer on every keystroke of a conversation, credits let you fund a balance once and spend it across many jobs without a wallet approval prompt each time. *** ## Credit properties | Property | Value | | ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | Value | 1 credit = $0.01 USDC | | Purchased with | USDC (SPL) via Solana Pay | | Transferable | No; credits are bound to the purchasing wallet | | Expiry | Never | | Minimum purchase | 100 credits ($1.00 USDC) | | Refundable | Yes; unspent credits can be withdrawn as USDC at any time | Credits are non-transferable by design. This prevents a secondary market for credits and keeps billing simple: one wallet, one balance. *** ## Buying credits **From the web app:** 1. Connect your Solana wallet at `usedecentral.org/app` 2. Click "Add credits" in the top navigation bar 3. Enter an amount 4. Approve the USDC transaction from your wallet The USDC transfer goes directly to the `job_escrow` program's credit PDA for your wallet. The credit balance updates immediately after transaction confirmation. **From the API:** Credits must be funded via the web app or Solana Pay. There is no API endpoint to initiate a credit purchase. **Via Solana Pay QR:** The credit purchase screen generates a Solana Pay QR code that you can scan from any compatible mobile wallet. The QR encodes the exact USDC amount and the destination PDA. *** ## Pricing tiers | Tier | Model range | Cost per request | | -------- | --------------------------- | ------------------ | | Lite | 1B to 3B parameter models | 2 credits ($0.02) | | Standard | 7B to 8B parameter models | 8 credits ($0.08) | | Pro | 13B to 27B parameter models | 18 credits ($0.18) | | Max | 70B+ parameter models | 40 credits ($0.40) | Pricing is per request for completions up to approximately 500 output tokens. For longer completions, billing switches to a per-1,000-output-token rate: | Tier | Per 1,000 output tokens | | -------- | ----------------------- | | Lite | 1 credit ($0.01) | | Standard | 4 credits ($0.04) | | Pro | 9 credits ($0.09) | | Max | 20 credits ($0.20) | The credit cost for your request is locked in escrow before the job begins. If the job fails or times out, the locked credits are returned to your balance automatically. *** ## Checking your balance **Dashboard:** Your credit balance is displayed in the top navigation bar of the web app at all times. **API:** Make a `GET /v1/account` request with your API key. The response includes `credits_remaining` and `usdc_value`. ```json { "wallet": "7xKXtg2CW87d97TXJSDpbD5jBkheTqA83TZRuJosgAsU", "credits_remaining": 1420, "usdc_value": 14.20, "last_topup_at": "2026-06-15T09:43:00Z" } ``` **On-chain:** Your credit balance is stored in a PDA derived from your wallet address in the `job_escrow` program. You can query it directly using the Solana JSON RPC or any Solana explorer. *** ## Low balance alerts You can configure a webhook to fire when your credit balance falls below a threshold. See the \[Webhooks]\( ) page for the `credit.low` event. The web app also displays a warning banner when your balance drops below 100 credits. *** ## Withdrawing unused credits If you want to withdraw your remaining credits as USDC: 1. Go to Settings in the web app 2. Click "Withdraw credits" 3. Enter the number of credits to withdraw (or withdraw all) 4. Approve the transaction from your wallet The USDC is transferred from the credit PDA back to your wallet in the same transaction. There is no fee for withdrawals. *** ## Credits vs $DECENTRAL Credits and $DECENTRAL are separate and serve different purposes. | | Credits | $DECENTRAL | | --------- | -------------------------- | --------------------------------- | | Purpose | Pay for inference jobs | Stake, govern, earn protocol fees | | Value | Fixed at $0.01 USDC | Market price | | Earned by | Purchasing with USDC | Providing compute, staking | | Spent on | Inference requests | Staking (locked, not spent) | | On-chain | Credit PDA in `job_escrow` | SPL token account | You do not need $DECENTRAL to use Decentral as a user. You do not need credits to provide compute. They operate in parallel. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.usedecentral.org/core-concepts/credits.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.