pricing-models

name	pricing-models
description	Use when choosing a pricing model for a SaaS product — metered (pay per use), credits (block when exhausted), balance (prepaid spend), seats (per-user), or boolean (feature flags). Covers decision frameworks, implementation patterns, and when to use each model.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"commet","version":"1.0.0","homepage":"https://commet.co","source":"https://github.com/commet-labs/pricing-models"}
references	["references/metered.md","references/credits.md","references/balance.md","references/seats.md","references/hybrid-models.md","references/choosing-a-model.md"]

Pricing Models

Decision Matrix

Question	Metered	Credits	Balance	Seats
Is usage predictable?	No	Somewhat	Somewhat	Yes
Need hard limits?	No	Yes	Optional	N/A
Per-user value?	No	No	No	Yes
Multi-feature spend?	No	No	Yes	No
Sub-cent pricing?	Yes	No	Yes	No
Customer wants cost control?	Low	High	Medium	High

Quick Comparison

Model	Charges When	Blocks on Limit	Best For
Metered	Period end (true-up)	Never	API calls, bandwidth, storage
Credits	Upfront (blocks)	Yes, hard stop	Image generation, exports, compute jobs
Balance	Real-time deduction	Configurable	AI token usage, multi-feature platforms
Seats	Period start (advance) + true-up	N/A	Team tools, per-user licenses
Boolean	Included in plan base	N/A	Feature flags, plan differentiation

Code Examples

Metered -- Track API usage

import { Commet } from "@commet/node";

const commet = new Commet({ apiKey: process.env.COMMET_API_KEY! });

await commet.usage.track({
  customerId: "user_123",
  feature: "api_calls",
  value: 1,
  idempotencyKey: "req_abc123",
});

Credits -- Check before consuming

const { data } = await commet.featureAccess.canUse({
  code: "image_generations",
  customerId: "user_123",
});

if (!data.allowed) {
  // Customer exhausted credits -- prompt to buy a credit pack
  const { data: portalData } = await commet.portal.getUrl({ customerId: "user_123" });
  return redirect(portalData.portalUrl);
}

await commet.usage.track({
  customerId: "user_123",
  feature: "image_generations",
  value: 1,
});

Balance -- AI token billing

import { tracked } from "@commet/ai-sdk";
import { anthropic } from "@ai-sdk/anthropic";
import { generateText } from "ai";

const result = await generateText({
  model: tracked(anthropic("claude-sonnet-4-20250514"), {
    commet,
    feature: "ai_generation",
    customerId: "user_123",
  }),
  prompt: "Explain quantum computing",
});
// Tokens tracked, cost calculated, balance deducted automatically.

Seats -- Manage team members

await commet.seats.add({
  customerId: "org_456",
  featureCode: "editor",
  count: 3,
});

const { data } = await commet.seats.getBalance({
  customerId: "org_456",
  featureCode: "editor",
});
// data.current = 3

Boolean -- Check feature access

const { data } = await commet.featureAccess.get({
  code: "custom_branding",
  customerId: "user_123",
});

if (!data.allowed) {
  // Feature not included in their plan
}

Detailed References

Need	Reference
Choosing between models	choosing-a-model.md -- Decision framework, real-world examples
Metered pricing	metered.md -- Pay-per-use, overage, included amounts
Credit-based pricing	credits.md -- Block purchases, hard limits, credit packs
Balance / prepaid	balance.md -- Prepaid spend, AI billing, top-ups
Seat-based pricing	seats.md -- Per-user, advance + true-up, seat features
Combining models	hybrid-models.md -- Base + usage, seats + metered, addons