Why This Matters
Almost every “my credits ran out faster than expected” support ticket on Pay As You Go traces back to one of the five mistakes on this page. Read this once, and most of the surprise expenses on PAYG go away.Foot-Gun #1 — Re-Processing the Watermark After Going Live
The mistake: You process 5,000 photos, go live, then realise the watermark logo was the wrong file or the position is wrong. You re-process the watermark on all 5,000 photos. The cost: 10% of the processed-photo count. 500 credits for a 5,000-photo event. 2,500 credits for a 25,000-photo race. The fix:Always test on a Custom Batch first
On the Process Photos dialog, pick Custom Batch and process 100 photos. Open the gallery and inspect.
Confirm the watermark is final before the big sync
Look at logo position, opacity, size, and that the right file is loaded. Approve from the same browser the attendee will use.
Foot-Gun #2 — Leaving AI Search On When You Don’t Need It
The mistake: Every event you create has Enable Selfie Search and Enable BIB Search on by default in your habit, even when the gallery is internal-only and nobody will ever use search. The cost: 1 credit per photo. A 1,200-photo internal team event = 1,200 credits when it could have been 0. The fix:Decide upfront whether attendees will search
Internal company events, family galleries, single-day photo booths where everyone scrolls — these usually don’t need AI search.
Turn both off in event Configuration
On the event details, go to Configuration and turn off both Enable Selfie Search and Enable BIB Search. The Process Photos dialog will then say “This batch does not require AI credits.”
This only works for events where AI search isn’t valuable. A public race or a large festival absolutely needs FaceFind / BibTrack — leave them on. Don’t sacrifice the customer experience to save credits.
Foot-Gun #3 — Storing Originals When You Don’t Need To
The mistake: You enable Store Original Memories on Create New Event “just in case”, on every event. The cost: Originals add to your usage. Over a year of events, this can quietly double your credit consumption. The fix:- Leave Store Original Memories off unless you have a concrete reason to keep originals (e.g. Enterprise photo sales, archival contract, a specific request from the client).
- Originals are not required for FaceFind, BibTrack, watermarking, or gallery viewing.
- You can always re-upload originals from your local archive later if you need them.
Foot-Gun #4 — Running Out Mid-Sync
The mistake: You start processing 8,000 photos with 5,000 credits available. The dashboard processes the first 5,000 photos, hits zero credits, and pauses. You buy 1,000 more credits, only enough to process 1,000 of the remaining 3,000. You run out again. Stop-start cycles waste your time, not your credits — but they make events feel chaotic and they make customers wait. The fix:Check your balance before starting Sync, not after
Open Credits in the sidebar. Confirm available credits ≥ expected photo count (with a 10% buffer if you might re-process the watermark).
Top up to cover the whole event in one purchase
Top-ups have a 1,000-credit minimum. Buying 8,000 once is the same per-credit cost as buying 1,000 eight times — but only one trip to the payment gateway.
Use the credit estimate table
See Photo Processing Costs for recommended top-up sizes by event size.
Foot-Gun #5 — Not Checking the Monthly Usage Summary
The mistake: You buy credits when you run out and never look at the trend. Three months later, you’re surprised by how often you’ve topped up. The cost: Lost insight. You miss the moment when your usage justifies switching to the Pro subscription, or when one runaway event consumed credits for an unrelated reason. The fix:Open Credits → Monthly Usage Summary at month-end
The Credits page shows current month + the previous 3 months as cards with the total credit usage and the number of usage transactions per month.
Spot the trend
If your monthly usage has been steadily growing for 3+ months, you may be at the point where Pro’s economics work better than top-ups. See When to Upgrade.
Quick Pre-Flight Checklist Before Every Event
Tape this to your monitor:- Watermark verified on a 100-photo Custom Batch before the big sync.
- AI search toggles match what your customers actually need (off for internal galleries, on for public events).
- Store Original Memories is off unless you have a reason to keep originals.
- Credits balance ≥ 1.1 × expected photo count.
- You’re an admin of the organisation (operators can’t top up).
Common Questions
Is it cheaper to buy credits in big batches or small ones?
Is it cheaper to buy credits in big batches or small ones?
Per-credit cost is the same regardless of batch size. The minimum per top-up is 1,000 credits. Buy enough to cover your next event, not your whole year — credits don’t expire, but neither do they discount at higher volumes.
If I disable AI on an event after photos are already processed, do I get a refund?
If I disable AI on an event after photos are already processed, do I get a refund?
No. Credits are spent at the moment of processing. Disabling AI later prevents future charges on that event but doesn’t refund past ones.
What if I need to fix the watermark on a single photo, not all 5,000?
What if I need to fix the watermark on a single photo, not all 5,000?
The dashboard’s Reprocess Watermark flow re-processes the whole event, not individual photos. For one-off fixes, contact support@9pic.ai — we can help with single-image overrides.
Are there any free actions I might be missing?
Are there any free actions I might be missing?
Yes — uploading, syncing, branding, going live, team invites, and viewing the gallery are all free. Only the process step (with AI on) and the re-process watermark step cost credits.
Next Steps
Photo Processing Costs
Full credit-cost cheatsheet.
Manage Credits
Track balance and monthly usage.
Buy More Credits
Top-up walkthrough.
When to Upgrade
When the per-credit math flips toward Pro.