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

> ## Agent Instructions
> Flowy is a node-based AI creative platform: you generate images, video, audio, 3D and vector on an infinite Canvas, refine on the Studio timeline, and export or publish from the same project.
> Prefer the Flowy MCP server (https://mcp.tryflowy.ai/mcp) or the REST API at https://apis.tryflowy.ai/v1 for programmatic work. Install with `flowy mcp install` from the @flowy/cli package.
> Credits are workspace-scoped. Generations reserve credits on start and only deduct on success, so failed runs refund automatically.

# Credits and Costs

> Check your balance, see what a run will cost before you spend it, and know what happens when you run out.

Every workspace spends from one shared credit wallet. This page is about watching that number. The mechanics of how credits move are covered in [how credits work](/billing/credits).

## Check your balance

Open **Settings → Billing** for the headline numbers, available credits, plus anything temporarily on hold for generations still in flight. For where those credits actually went, open **Settings → Usage**: an activity heatmap, a spend breakdown by type, project, or member, and a full row-by-row ledger you can export as CSV.

## See a cost before you run it

You don't have to guess. Open any billable node's settings and a credit estimate sits alongside the other controls, prefixed with `~`. It updates live as you change duration, resolution, or model, so you can see the effect of a heavier setting before you commit. The AI assistant shows the same kind of estimate (`≈N credits`) when it proposes a generation for your approval. A trailing `+` on an estimate means the exact price depends on the model's own output and can only be confirmed once the run completes.

Not every node costs credits: **Router** and **Composition** nodes are free. They organize and assemble media you already generated rather than creating anything new. Sketches, sticky notes, and groups show no cost at all, since they never generate.

## What makes video expensive

Video is the most credit-intensive node type on the canvas, and three things drive the price up: the **model** you pick, the **duration** of the clip, and the **resolution** you generate at. A short, lower-resolution clip on a lighter model costs a fraction of a long 4K clip on a premium one. Images and audio are generally far cheaper than video. The [AI assistant](/canvas/ai/overview) is metered separately from node generations, spending credits as it plans, edits nodes, and analyzes your work.

<Tip>
  Anchor your look and iterate one variable at a time (see [generation help & tips](/help/generating)). It's both the fastest way to a good result and the cheapest, since you're not re-rolling from scratch each time.
</Tip>

## When you run out

A generation can't start without enough available credits. Flowy tells you the balance is short rather than starting a run it can't finish. Because the wallet is shared across the workspace, what's left depends on everyone's spending, not only yours.

From here you have three options:

* **Top up** from **Settings → Billing**: any amount from $5 to $1,000, stacking on top of any monthly allowance. Purchased credits never expire.
* **Turn on auto-reload** so the wallet tops itself up below a threshold you set, before a long render ever stalls.
* **Upgrade your plan** for a monthly credit allowance on top of what you can already top up. See [plans & upgrades](/help/plans-and-upgrades).

<Note>
  A failed generation never costs you anything, reserved credits refund automatically, so running low isn't the same as losing work. See [refunds](/help/refunds) for the full lifecycle.
</Note>