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

# How credits work

> Squid ID runs on prepaid credits charged per identified visitor, with returning visitors billed at most once per calendar month per website.

Squid ID runs on prepaid credits. You add a balance, and each identified visitor (a match) draws from it at your current [per-match rate](/billing/pricing-tiers). There is no monthly plan or seat fee for matching. You pay for the matches you get.

The minimum top-up is \$5. Credits sit in two buckets, [bonus and paid](/billing/paid-vs-bonus). Bonus credits are spent first.

## If you're coming from RB2B

<div className="compare"><table><thead><tr><th /><th>RB2B</th><th>Squid ID</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Billing model</td><td>Monthly subscription with a credit allotment</td><td>Prepaid usage-based credits</td></tr><tr><td>Unused credits</td><td>Reset each month, do not roll over</td><td>Stay on your balance until spent (paid credits hold for 12 months)</td></tr><tr><td>Going over allotment</td><td>Free tier cannot buy overages</td><td>Top up any time, no tier to outgrow until 5,000 matches/month</td></tr><tr><td>Repeat visitor</td><td>Counts against monthly credits</td><td>Billed at most once per calendar month</td></tr></tbody></table></div>

<p className="why"><strong>Why this matters.</strong> RB2B's monthly credits expire whether or not you use them, and its Free tier cannot purchase overages once the allotment runs out. Squid ID credits are money you already paid; they stay on your balance, and you can always add more.</p>

## How charging works

<Steps>
  <Step title="You add a balance">
    Top up from [the dashboard](https://id.asksquid.ai/) under Settings → Billing. Add a card and top up, or set [auto-reload](/billing/auto-reload) so the balance refills itself.
  </Step>

  <Step title="A visitor is identified">
    When Squid ID resolves an anonymous visitor to a person, that is one match. Your balance is debited at the rate for your month-to-date volume.
  </Step>

  <Step title="A returning visitor re-bills monthly">
    Squid ID is a monthly-active model. The same visitor returning later in the same calendar month is not charged again. When they return in a new calendar month, they count as a new match and are billed once more, at most once per month.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Running out of funds

When your balance reaches \$0, matching pauses. Your websites stop resolving visitors until you top up. The dashboard shows an out-of-funds state, and matching re-enables automatically the moment funds return (for an active account).

<Warning>
  A paused or canceled account does not auto-resume on a top-up. You reactivate it from Settings → Billing. A canceled account keeps matching and spends its balance down until it hits \$0.
</Warning>

[Auto-reload](/billing/auto-reload) avoids the pause: when your credit balance drops to a trigger you set, it charges your saved card to refill the balance back up to a target.

## Related

* [Paid vs bonus credits](/billing/paid-vs-bonus)
* [Pricing tiers](/billing/pricing-tiers)
* [Auto-reload](/billing/auto-reload)
* [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting)