> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.orcapods.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Credits & Billing

> Prepaid credits, spend caps that gate runs, and per-run usage metering.

## Credits (a prepaid wallet)

Orca bills on **prepaid credits**. Your organization holds a **credit wallet**, and runs **draw down** from it as they meter LLM usage. When the balance runs low, you top up.

Top-ups go through **checkout** — **Polar** is the payment integration behind it. From the dashboard you start a checkout, complete payment, and the credits land in your wallet.

<Info>
  Credits are consumed as agents run and call models. To keep an eye on the balance and burn rate, watch the **[Usage](/dashboard/usage)** dashboard.
</Info>

## Spend caps (guardrails that gate runs)

**Spend caps** are per-tenant **daily** and **monthly** limits that **gate runs**. Before a run starts, Orca checks the tenant's spend against its caps; if the tenant is **over cap**, the run is **refused**. Caps are a safety guardrail against runaway spend — distinct from the wallet balance itself.

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
    A[Run requested] --> B{Over daily<br/>or monthly cap?}
    B -->|No| C{Credits<br/>available?}
    B -->|Yes| D[Run refused]
    C -->|Yes| E[Run proceeds<br/>meters usage]
    C -->|No| D
```

## Usage metering

Every run records **tokens and cost** as it meters LLM usage. This per-run metering is what draws down credits, enforces spend caps, and powers the **[Usage](/dashboard/usage)** dashboard, where you can break spend down over time.

## For operators / self-host

Spend caps are **opt-in** and tunable through environment variables:

| Variable                           | Purpose                                                                                                          |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `SPEND_CAP_ENABLED`                | Turns spend-cap gating on or off.                                                                                |
| `SPEND_CAP_FAIL_CLOSED`            | When enabled, refuse runs if the cap check itself can't complete (fail closed) rather than letting them through. |
| `TENANT_DAILY_CAP_DEFAULT_CENTS`   | Default per-tenant **daily** cap.                                                                                |
| `TENANT_MONTHLY_CAP_DEFAULT_CENTS` | Default per-tenant **monthly** cap.                                                                              |

Threshold email alerts (for example, approaching a cap) are delivered via **Resend**.

<Note>
  Pricing and specific credit amounts are managed in-product and on the hosted plan — this page intentionally avoids quoting figures. Check the dashboard for current balances, caps, and rates.
</Note>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Usage dashboard" icon="chart-line" href="/dashboard/usage">
    Token and cost breakdown per run and over time.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Roles & Access" icon="lock" href="/concepts/access-control">
    Who can manage billing and caps.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>