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

# How usage is billed

> Plan credits, top-up credits, and how calls consume your balance

Calls, phone numbers, SMS, and email all draw on one prepaid credit balance, at the rates set for your workspace.

## The prepaid model

Usage is billed in **credits** against a prepaid workspace balance. Credits can come from:

1. **Your plan** — included credits are added after a successful plan payment.
2. **Top-ups** — one-off or automatic credit purchases.
3. **Transfers** — credits received from a white-label reseller or workspace administrator.

Included plan credits are used before purchased credits and renew with the billing period. Purchased credits roll over.

## What a call consumes

Calls use credits according to the rate shown for your workspace:

* Voice time is billed **per second**, with a **30-second minimum** — a call that ends after 10 seconds still deducts 30 seconds of voice-time credits.
* Calls through managed phone numbers can have a destination-dependent rate. The telephony portion of that rate is rounded up to the next full minute, even though the voice-time portion is billed per second.
* Web calls have no managed-number charge.
* **Outbound calls only start billing once the call connects.** Dialing and ringing are never charged — the clock starts when the person (or their voicemail) answers.

<Note>
  Calls through your **own SIP trunk** ([BYO](/telephony/sip-trunks)) still use voice-time credits. Your carrier bills its own connection charges separately.
</Note>

## Other charges

| Item                                      | Billing                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Phone numbers                             | Monthly fee per number; price depends on country and type. [Verifying your own number as a caller ID](/telephony/caller-id) or connecting a [BYO SIP trunk](/telephony/sip-trunks) has no monthly number fee. |
| Web calls                                 | Voice-time credits                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| AI avatar in the web widget               | Voice-time rate plus the avatar surcharge shown in your plan                                                                                                                                                  |
| Outbound SMS                              | Per-segment credits — see [SMS](/api-reference/sms)                                                                                                                                                           |
| Email                                     | Per-message credits for both sending and receiving, at your workspace rate — see [Email](/channels/email)                                                                                                     |
| Knowledge-base search and assistant tools | No separate usage charge                                                                                                                                                                                      |

### Extra and regulatory fees

A few less common charges and special cases:

* **Premium or vanity number types**, where a country offers them, carry a higher monthly price than a standard local number — shown in the marketplace before you buy.
* **Uncommon languages or voices** outside the standard catalog are not self-serve. [Contact support](/support) if you don't see what you need.
* **Regulatory or carrier surcharges** in some countries (for example emergency-services or universal-service fees) are passed through as part of the destination-dependent rate rather than billed separately.
* **Going over a plan limit** depends on which kind of limit it is. Usage keeps running on credits: call time always draws on your balance, and automation runs past the monthly allowance debit credits at your workspace rate. Counted resources — assistants, campaigns, knowledge bases, tools, members, cloned voices — are hard limits: the extra one is blocked rather than billed, so you upgrade the plan instead of paying an overage fee.

## How a call is charged

At the start of a phone call, credits are **held** for the maximum talk time at your workspace credit rate (talk plus telephony). That hold is not the bill.

After the call:

* unused hold is **released**
* **Credits billed** is the final amount deducted
* **Telephony** is the final telephony portion after the live connection price at your workspace rate (not the hold estimate)

`GET /api/v1/calls/{id}` and MCP `get_call` return the same figures: `billing.credits_charged`, `billing.telephony_credits`, `billing.credits_reserved`, `billing.credits_released`.

<Note>
  The hold is sized for the **maximum** duration the call could run, not the duration you expect — that's what makes it a hold rather than the bill. If your balance covers a typical call but not the theoretical maximum, the call can be blocked before it starts even though you technically have "enough" credit. Lower the assistant's **Max. Call Duration** (Conversation → Limits in the assistant editor) or top up to raise the ceiling.
</Note>

## Review your usage

* **Usage** shows consumption by day, assistant, and call.
* Each call detail shows duration, reserved credits, credits billed, released hold, and telephony when billed.
* Workspace owners and admins can review consumption for the active workspace.

## Troubleshooting

**Usage higher than expected?** The two most common causes:

* **A large outbound campaign ran.** More calls placed means more voice-time credits consumed — check the campaign's delivery stats before assuming something is wrong.
* **Multiple phone numbers are active.** Each rented number's monthly fee applies independently, so idle numbers you're no longer using still bill until released.

Check **Usage** for a day-by-day breakdown, or open a specific call's detail to see exactly how its credits were reserved and billed.

## For white-label resellers

Resellers set their own customer prices in [Plans & limits](/admin/plans-and-limits). Customer invoices, payments, and top-ups are managed through the reseller's connected billing account.