How Monthly Subscriptions Work
When your subscription is activated, you receive a fixed number of API calls to use over the next 30 days. Your usage counter resets automatically at the start of each new billing cycle. Unused calls do not carry over. Any calls left at the end of a billing cycle are forfeited, so it is worth planning your usage accordingly.
Current subscription plans:
- Starter — R149/month, 300 calls (R0.50 per call) — ideal for testing and proof of concept
- Basic — R299/month, 1,500 calls (R0.20 per call) — suitable for small apps and bots
- Professional — R599/month, 6,000 calls (R0.10 per call) — for production usage
- Unlimited — R1,000/month, unlimited calls (fair use and rate limits apply)
Grace Period
When your subscription expires, you enter a 7-day grace period. During this time you can still use any remaining API calls from your last billing cycle and renew your subscription at the standard price. If you do not renew within those 7 days, your subscription is marked as expired, API access is suspended, and any unused calls are permanently lost.
Top-up Calls
If you burn through your monthly call allowance before your billing cycle resets, you can purchase a top-up package to carry you through the remainder of the month. Top-up calls are added directly on top of your subscription limit and become available as soon as the payment is confirmed by our team.
A few things to know about top-ups:
- Top-up calls reset at the same time as your monthly usage counter and do not carry over to the next billing cycle.
- Top-up rates are intentionally higher per call than subscription rates. They are designed as a short-term safety net, not a replacement for a higher subscription tier. If you regularly need more calls, upgrading your subscription will save you money.
- Top-up purchases are non-refundable once activated.
Available top-up packages:
- 50 calls for R60 (R1.20 per call)
- 150 calls for R150 (R1.00 per call)
- 300 calls for R249 (R0.83 per call)
For comparison, the Starter subscription works out to R0.50 per call. Top-ups are priced as a convenience option, not a cost-efficient alternative to subscribing.
Upgrading Your Plan
You can upgrade to a higher tier at any time through the Buy Subscription page. When you upgrade mid-cycle on an active multi-month subscription, you only pay a pro-rata amount rather than the full monthly price of the new tier.
Pro-rata pricing works like this: the system calculates how many days are remaining in your current billing cycle and charges you the price difference between your current tier and the new tier, scaled to cover only those remaining days.
Example: You have 15 days remaining on a Starter subscription (R149/month) and decide to upgrade to Basic (R299/month).
Price difference: R299 − R149 = R150/month.
Pro-rata charge: R150 × (15 ÷ 30) = R75.
Your billing cycle end date stays the same. From the upgrade date you have access to the Basic call limit for the rest of that cycle.
If you are renewing an expired subscription or purchasing a single-month subscription for the first time, the full monthly price of the chosen tier applies regardless of the calendar date.
Monitoring Your Usage
You can check your current API call usage, subscription tier, and billing cycle dates at any time using the /api/check_subscription endpoint or through the subscription status page. This check does not count against your monthly call limit.