# How credits work

Source: https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/credits-explained
Last updated: 2026-10-15

Credits are ListPlus's currency for anything that costs real money to
produce: a data lookup from a provider, an AI command, or a file import.
Plans decide how many records you can work with, which tools you can connect
and what a credit costs;
credits pay for use, on every plan including Basic.

## Value and where credits come from

One credit costs about €0.03 (about $0.035 if you pay in US dollars) with Pro
or Premium, and €0.05 ($0.06) on Basic — with a subscription credits cost
40% less. Credits can be fractional — a small lookup
can cost 0.1 or 0.25 of a credit. Lookups and file imports show their price
before you confirm; AI commands, AI derivations (gender, job title, industry
…) and AI Research are billed by usage instead, so their charge only appears
afterwards. You start with 25 free credits on sign-up, add more any time in
packs (see "[Buying credits](https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/buying-credits)"), and get a one-time bonus the first time you
subscribe to Pro or Premium (see "[Plans and pricing](https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/plans-and-pricing)"). Credits never expire,
however you got them.

## What costs credits

Credits pay for: data lookups (enrichment) such as a verified email, phone
number or company profile; Segment Search results, 2 credits per page;
imports from a file or a LinkedIn import; every request to a connected
tool (importing, reloading, syncing back, exporting to Google Sheets); each
record a pipeline delivers to a tool or webhook; AI commands and AI derivations (gender, job title, industry …) on a list; AI
Research; and recognizing contacts in your Inbox — every recognition run
costs at least 0.5 credits, more for free-text entries. The exact price of
every action is in the price list, and most provider lookups charge only
when something is actually found — see "[What does one contact cost?](https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/what-does-one-contact-cost)" and
"Cost examples" for worked-through cases.

Every charge is a one-off, with one exception: an **alert** on the
Watchlist — on a contact (job change, new LinkedIn posts) or on a company
(new job postings, funding rounds) — is billed per contact or company and month, the first
month when you start and then monthly until you stop. Alerts are the only
recurring credit charge in ListPlus (see "[The Watchlist (saved contacts)](https://listplus.ai/en/help/inbox-and-saved/saved-contacts)"
and "[Companies on the Watchlist and company alerts](https://listplus.ai/en/help/inbox-and-saved/watch-companies)").

## Your balance

Your balance is shown as a number, above a small **CR** label, at the bottom
of the left navigation, and again wherever an action's cost is shown. It
turns red once it drops below 5 credits; clicking it opens Settings →
Credits & usage, where the owner finds **Buy credits** and members find
**Ask for credits** (only the owner can buy credits for their workspace).
In a workspace someone else owns, the balance shown is the owner's (for
example "Anna's credits"). Once it rounds down to 0, a popup offering to
top up also appears automatically next to the balance in the navigation. Settings →
Credits & usage breaks down what you spent by day, by AI model and by
the last 100 transactions — see "[Where did my credits go?](https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/where-did-my-credits-go)" for the full
walkthrough.

## When you don't have enough credits

An action is refused whenever your balance is below that action's price —
for example, 1 credit left won't cover a 2-credit lookup, even though your
balance isn't literally zero. A refused action does nothing until you top
up; anything you already found stays in your lists and on the Watchlist. See "[Not
enough credits](https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/not-enough-credits)" for the exact messages you may see and what to do about
them.

## Credits in a workspace

Everything that costs credits in a workspace is paid from the balance of the
workspace **owner**, whoever in the team does it. Your own balance pays for
the workspaces you own. See "[Credits, plan and limits in a workspace](https://listplus.ai/en/help/workspaces/billing-in-workspaces)".

## Credits and plans are separate

Subscribing to Pro or Premium does not add credits every month — plans only
raise your record limit and unlock integrations, and the only credits tied to
a plan are the one-time bonuses on first subscription. Every plan, including
Basic, draws from the same credit balance for lookups and AI. Details and
numbers are in "[Plans and pricing](https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/plans-and-pricing)".

## For advanced users

AI commands are metered by the amount of text they process (input and
output), not by a flat per-command price; replies that run a command show
their exact charge at the end, and every charge appears on the Credits & usage page in Settings. Paid actions run a balance check first,
so you're told upfront if you can't afford an action. In a shared workspace,
a running batch can still stop partway when teammates use up the same
balance at the same time; the remaining rows are then not charged. Credits can have decimals (e.g.
0.25 credits), so a cheap lookup isn't rounded up to a whole credit. There is
no auto top-up: when you're out, you buy a pack yourself.

**Related topics:** plans-and-pricing · price-list ·
what-does-one-contact-cost · cost-examples · where-did-my-credits-go ·
buying-credits · not-enough-credits · record-limit · billing-in-workspaces.

## FAQ

### What are credits in ListPlus?

Credits are ListPlus's currency for paid actions: data lookups (enrichment), AI commands, AI derivations, AI Research and imports. Plans only unlock features and your record limit, so you need credits on every plan, including Basic. Lookups and imports show their price before you confirm; AI commands, derivations and AI Research are billed by usage and shown afterwards.

### How much is one credit worth?

One credit costs about €0.03 ($0.035 in US dollars) with Pro or Premium, and €0.05 ($0.06) on Basic. Per-action prices are set in credits, so an action costs the same number of credits on every plan — only the money per credit differs. See the price list for what individual actions cost.

### Do credits expire?

No. Credits never expire, whether they came from your sign-up bonus, a purchased pack, or a plan's one-time bonus — they stay on your balance until you use them.

### How many credits do I get when I sign up?

Every new account gets 25 free credits, no credit card required. From there you can top up in packs at any time — see "[Buying credits](https://listplus.ai/en/help/plans-credits-billing/buying-credits)" for the pack sizes and prices.

### Do paid plans include credits every month?

No. Pro and Premium raise your record limit and unlock integrations, but there's no monthly credit allowance — credits are bought separately in packs. See "Is the plan credit bonus paid every month?" in Plans and pricing for how each plan's one-time bonus works.

### What does it mean when my balance turns red?

Your balance turns red once it drops below 5 credits, as an early warning to top up. Once it rounds down to 0, a popup offering to top up appears automatically next to the balance in the navigation.

### What happens when I run out of credits?

An action is refused whenever your balance is below that action's price — for example, 1 credit left won't cover a 2-credit lookup, even if your balance isn't literally zero. Nothing you already found is lost: results already in your lists and on the Watchlist stay exactly as they are.

### Can my credit balance go negative?

No. ListPlus checks your balance before a paid action runs and blocks it if you can't afford it, so your balance never drops below zero.

### Why do I see decimal amounts like 0.25 or 4.1 credits?

Credits can have decimals, so a small lookup like an email verification can cost 0.3 credits instead of rounding up to a whole one. This lets ListPlus charge close to the real cost of each action rather than overcharging for cheap ones.

### Are there any recurring credit charges?

Only alerts on the Watchlist: on a contact (Job change 2 credits checked weekly or 14 daily, New LinkedIn posts 1 credit weekly or 7 daily) or on a company (New job postings 0.05 weekly or 0.2 daily, Funding rounds 0.25), each per contact or company and month. An alert is charged for the first month when you set it and then monthly from the workspace owner's balance until you stop. Every other action — lookups, AI, imports, Inbox recognition — is a one-off charge.

### Do AI commands use credits?

Yes. AI commands on a list are billed by how much text they process, typically around 0.2 credits per command, and replies that run a command show their exact charge at the end; every charge is listed on the Credits & usage page in Settings.