# Credits or Subscription for an AI Product? What 1,170 Products Do (2026)

> 63% of AI products sell credits, 30% sell plans. Median pack $34.90, plan $23.50 a month. When each fits, from 1,170 products.

Source: https://agentaos.ai/answers/credits-or-subscription-for-ai-product (canonical HTML page). Publisher: AgentaOS (Aristokrates OÜ, Estonia).

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Pricing

# Should I sell credits or a subscription for my AI product?

**The problem**“My AI tool costs me money every time someone uses it. A flat monthly plan feels risky, but credits feel fiddly.”

**Most AI products sell credits.** Of 1,170 AI products we read, 63% sell credit packs (median \$34.90) and 30% sell monthly or yearly plans (median \$23.50 a month). Credits fit uneven, compute-heavy use; a plan fits a tool people open every week. Many products do both: a plan with some credits included, plus packs to top up.

By [Panche Isajeski](https://agentaos.ai/about), founder of AgentaOS. Data checked 17 October 2026. General information, not financial advice.

[Set up credits or a plan](https://app.agentaos.ai/?src=answer-credits)[See the full data](https://agentaos.ai/data/ai-pricing-2026)

The data

## What 1,170 AI products *charge*

| Billing model     | Share of AI products | Median price | Middle half   |
|-------------------|----------------------|--------------|---------------|
| Credit packs      | 63%                  | \$34.90      | \$10 to \$99  |
| Monthly plan      | 17%                  | \$23.50      | \$10 to \$70  |
| Yearly plan       | 13%                  | \$179        | \$90 to \$479 |
| One-time purchase | 7%                   | \$40         | \$9 to \$149  |

1,170 products from 242 AI startups on public merchant-of-record storefronts, read 17 October 2026; list prices in USD; share of products with a clear billing model. Full method and CSV: [How AI products price in 2026](https://agentaos.ai/data/ai-pricing-2026). For non-AI products, credit packs are 42%.

Which fits

## Credits, a plan, *or both*

- **Credits fit when usage is uneven.**Each generation, call or minute costs you compute, and buyers use it in bursts. Credits keep your margin per use and let a buyer start small.
- **A plan fits when value is steady.**If the product is used every week (a workspace, a dashboard, a daily tool), a monthly plan matches how people use it and gives you predictable revenue.
- **Many do both.**A plan that includes some credits each month, plus packs to top up. That is how the 63% and the 30% meet.

This is our reading of the data, not a rule. Test it with your own buyers.

How to set it up

## Selling credits *without a billing system*

1.  **Credit packs.** Create each pack as a one-time product (for example 100 credits for €29). When the payment webhook arrives, add the credits to the buyer’s balance in your app.

2.  **A plan.** Create a monthly or yearly subscription product. A yearly plan at 7 to 8 months of the monthly price is where the median sits.

3.  **Both.** One subscription plus one or more packs, each with its own buyer link. Your app grants the monthly credits on each renewal webhook.

AgentaOS sells one-time products and subscriptions and sends a webhook for each payment and renewal; the credit balance lives in your app. Your AI agent can set this up over MCP: “create a €29 pack of 100 credits and a €19 monthly plan”.

Questions

## Related *questions*

### Should I sell credits or a subscription for my AI product?

Most AI products sell credits: 63% of 1,170 AI products with a clear billing model sell credit packs, 17% monthly plans and 13% yearly plans. Credits fit uneven, compute-heavy usage; a plan fits steady weekly use. Many products combine a plan with top-up packs.

### What do AI credit packs cost?

The median AI credit pack costs \$34.90; the middle half costs \$10 to \$99 (1,170 AI products, October 2026).

### What does a monthly AI plan cost?

The median monthly AI plan is \$23.50 and the median yearly plan \$179, so a year costs about 7.6 months at the median.

### Can I sell credit packs without building a billing system?

Yes. Sell each pack as a one-time product through a merchant of record and add the credits in your app when the payment webhook arrives. The merchant of record handles the payment, tax and invoice.

### Do AI products offer a free plan?

Rarely on the storefront: only 2.5% of AI stores list a free product.

Keep reading

## Related

[How AI products price in 2026 (open data)](https://agentaos.ai/data/ai-pricing-2026)[Should I price in EUR or USD?](https://agentaos.ai/answers/should-i-price-in-eur-or-usd)[Can I sell subscriptions without Stripe?](https://agentaos.ai/answers/sell-subscriptions-without-stripe)[Pricing Intelligence](https://agentaos.ai/ai-pricing-agent)