Why This Matters
Pay As You Go is a metered plan. Two minutes spent understanding what consumes credits — and what doesn’t — saves more money over a year than any other operator skill on this plan. This page is the canonical credit-cost cheatsheet.The One-Sentence Rule
1 credit = 1 photo processed with AI search enabled. Everything else on this page is a refinement of that.Full Credit-Cost Table
What Drives Most of Your Bill
Almost every PAYG bill is dominated by two numbers:- Total photos processed with AI on. This is your base cost.
- Re-processing watermarks. This is the most common surprise expense.
Per-Credit Cost in Dollars
The exact per-credit cost is shown on Credits → Available Credits → Show (toggle the eye icon). The dashboard pulls the rate from your account configuration. For most accounts on USD pricing, it’s a couple of cents per credit — multiply by your photo count for an estimate.Worked Example: A 5,000-Photo Race
A typical race photographer running a 5,000-photo event with BibTrack on (BIB search) and FaceFind on (selfie search):
If they had checked the watermark on a 100-photo Custom Batch first, they would have spent 5,100 credits instead — a 7% saving on that one event.
Worked Example: An Internal Team Photo Booth
A company photo booth at a town hall, 1,200 photos, no AI search needed (internal use only, attendees know which photos are theirs):
Yes — an internal-only gallery on Pay As You Go can cost 0 credits to run, beyond the time of your operator. This is a legitimate use case.
How to Estimate Before You Sync
The “+10% buffer” rows assume one watermark re-process. If you’ve tested on a Custom Batch first (recommended), you can drop the buffer to ~5%.
What If You Don’t Have Enough Credits?
The Process Photos dialog blocks you with an error message before any credits are spent: “You have N credits available, but need M credits for this processing job.” You have three options:- Top up to cover the batch. Open Credits → Purchase Credits (minimum 1,000 credits per purchase).
- Process a smaller batch. Use the Custom Batch option and enter a number that fits in your balance. Then top up and run the rest.
- Disable AI search for this event. If you don’t actually need face search or BIB search, turn both off in event Configuration. Processing will then cost 0 credits.
Common Questions
Are credits used per photo or per attendee search?
Are credits used per photo or per attendee search?
Per processed photo, at processing time. Search by attendees on the public gallery is free for you.
Does re-running Sync Images double-charge?
Does re-running Sync Images double-charge?
No. Sync Images only ingests new photos. Photos already in the database are skipped. Sync as often as you like during a live event.
Why does re-processing the watermark cost 10% and not 100%?
Why does re-processing the watermark cost 10% and not 100%?
Re-watermarking re-renders the watermark layer over already-processed photos but skips the AI indexing (the expensive part). 10% reflects that smaller compute cost. The dashboard tells you the exact credit number before you confirm.
If I only enable BIB Search and not Selfie Search, do I save credits?
If I only enable BIB Search and not Selfie Search, do I save credits?
No. If either AI option is on, processing costs 1 credit per photo. To get to 0 credits per photo, both must be off.
What's the cheapest way to test a new event setup?
What's the cheapest way to test a new event setup?
Use Custom Batch with 100 photos as your first run. That’s 100 credits worst case. Verify the watermark, gallery look, and a couple of test searches. Then run the rest.
Do credits expire?
Do credits expire?
No. Pay As You Go credits stay in your balance until you spend them, with no expiry date.
Next Steps
Avoid Credit Foot-Guns
The 5 mistakes that quietly burn the most credits.
Buy More Credits
The top-up walkthrough.
Manage Credits
Track your balance and monthly usage.
When to Upgrade
When per-credit math flips toward the Pro subscription.