{"site":{"name":"Koji","description":"AI-native customer research platform that helps teams conduct, analyze, and synthesize customer interviews at scale.","url":"https://www.koji.so","contentTypes":["blog","documentation"],"lastUpdated":"2026-09-30T22:10:49.736Z"},"content":[{"type":"documentation","id":"dfe7eec9-a652-4219-a204-bd00834ca979","slug":"overage-billing-explained","title":"Running Out of Credits, Explained","url":"https://www.koji.so/docs/overage-billing-explained","summary":"Koji interviews cost from €1 per text interview (voice from €3, reports from €5 per refresh, phone from €0.60 per connected minute) at the €1.00 annual rate. Credits cost €2.00 pay as you go, €1.82 to €1.33 in one-time packs, about €1.20 on monthly plans, and €1.00 on annual plans with all credits granted upfront. Koji has no overage billing. Every conversation spends credits bought in advance: text 1 credit, voice 3, report refresh 5, phone 0.6 per connected minute. When a balance runs out, new interviews pause until the owner tops up; publishing is never blocked. The quality gate (1-5 scale, threshold of 3) still applies: low-quality conversations are always free.","content":"## There Is No Overage Billing on Koji\n\nThere is no overage. You pay as you go, and you only ever pay for the conversations that bring insights. Every conversation is paid for with credits you already bought. Your study pauses until you top up. Nothing is ever charged automatically.\n\n---\n\n## What Credits Cost\n\n| Action | Credits |\n|--------|---------|\n| **[Text interview](/docs/text-interview-experience)** | 1 credit |\n| **[Voice interview](/docs/voice-interview-experience)** | 3 credits |\n| **Report refresh** | 5 credits |\n| **Phone interview** | 0.6 credits per connected minute |\n| **[Quality gate](/docs/how-the-quality-gate-works)** | Still applies: low-quality conversations are free |\n\nIn euros, interviews start as low as €1 per qualified interview and €3 per qualified voice interview, with reports from €5 per refresh and phone from €0.60 per connected minute. Those floors are the €1.00 annual rate. The credit cost of an interview is the same on every plan, and only the price per credit changes. Choose what fits: pay as you go at €2.00 per credit with no subscription at all, one-time packs from €100 (€1.82 down to €1.33 per credit), monthly plans from €199 (about €1.20 per credit), or annual plans at €1.00 per credit with all credits granted on day one. You are never tied to a subscription. There is no overage. You pay as you go, and you only ever pay for the conversations that bring insights.\n\n**Enterprise plans** use committed credit volume at negotiated rates: see [/enterprise](/enterprise) for the structure.\n\n[Structured questions](/docs/structured-questions-guide) (scale, choice, ranking, yes/no) are included in every interview at no extra credit cost. Whether your interview uses open-ended questions, structured questions, or both, the credit cost stays the same.\n\n---\n\n## What Happens When Credits Run Out\n\n1. Conversations already in progress finish normally.\n2. New interviews pause: respondents opening your link see a polite hold message, and you get an email plus an in-app banner on the study's results page.\n3. Publishing is never blocked. You can keep editing and sharing your study at any balance.\n4. Add credits and the study resumes by itself. There is nothing to reconfigure.\n\n### Ways to Add Credits\n\nInterviews start as low as €1 per qualified interview and €3 per qualified voice interview; pick the route that fits:\n\n1. **Pay as you go**: buy exactly what you need at €2.00 per credit.\n2. **Credit packs**: one-time purchases from €100 (55 credits) to €2,000 (1,500 credits), €1.82 down to €1.33 per credit. Packs can be combined.\n3. **Plans**: Starter €199/month (165 credits), Pro €499/month (415 credits), Scale €999/month (830 credits). Annual pays ten months for the year and grants all credits upfront at €1.00 per credit.\n\n---\n\n## Your Spending Is Capped by Design\n\nBecause Koji only spends credits you already bought, your maximum spend is always the amount you chose to buy. There are no surprise line items and no caps to configure.\n\n---\n\n## The Quality Gate Still Protects Every Credit\n\nThe [quality gate](/docs/how-the-quality-gate-works) applies to **all conversations**:\n\n- If a conversation scores below 3 on the 1-5 scale, it is **completely free**\n- You are never charged for low-quality interactions\n- This protection applies equally to text and voice interviews\n\nFor example, if you run 10 voice interviews and 3 of them score below the quality threshold, you spend 21 credits (7 x 3), not 30.\n\n---\n\n## Packs, Pay As You Go, or a Plan?\n\nEvery route buys the same interviews. Only the price per credit changes, from €2.00 pay as you go down to €1.00 on annual, which puts text interviews as low as €1 and voice as low as €3.\n\n### Pay as you go or a pack makes sense when:\n- You run studies occasionally or one at a time\n- Your usage varies a lot month to month\n- You want to buy once and not think about billing again\n\n### A plan makes sense when:\n- You run research every month\n- Your monthly usage would cost more as packs than the plan's price\n- You want the lowest rate: about €1.20 per credit monthly, or €1.00 on annual with all credits upfront\n\n### Example calculation:\nIf you regularly use about 150 credits a month (say 50 voice interviews):\n- As packs: the €250 pack covers it at €1.67 per credit\n- On Starter (€199/month, 165 credits): about €1.21 per credit with headroom\n- On Starter annual (€1,990 for 1,990 credits): exactly €1.00 per credit\n\nFor a full plan comparison, see the [Plan Comparison Guide](/docs/plan-comparison-guide).\n\n---\n\n## Monitoring Your Balance\n\nKeep track of your credits:\n\n1. **Balance in the top bar**: your live credit balance is always visible in the app, with a tooltip translating it into interviews\n2. **Dashboard**: view usage and remaining balance in detail\n3. **Alerts**: you are warned in the app and by email as your balance gets low, and told immediately if a live study is turning respondents away\n\nFor more on how credits work, see [Understanding Usage and Credits](/docs/understanding-usage-limits).\n\n---\n\n## What Appears on Your Invoice\n\nEvery purchase is a normal, predictable line item:\n\n- **Plan**: your plan's monthly or annual fee\n- **Packs and pay as you go**: the one-time amounts you chose to buy\n\nThere is never a usage-based surprise at the end of the month. For details on managing your payment method, see [Managing Payment Methods](/docs/managing-payment-methods).","category":"Billing & Plans","lastModified":"2026-08-19T20:17:20.947426+00:00","metaTitle":"No Overage Billing on Koji, Explained","metaDescription":"Koji interviews from €1 per text interview (voice from €3). €2 pay as you go, packs from €100, plans from €199/mo, annual €1 per credit. No overage billing, ever.","keywords":["koji overage","overage billing","credit overage","koji metered billing","usage-based pricing"],"aiSummary":"Koji interviews cost from €1 per text interview (voice from €3, reports from €5 per refresh, phone from €0.60 per connected minute) at the €1.00 annual rate. Credits cost €2.00 pay as you go, €1.82 to €1.33 in one-time packs, about €1.20 on monthly plans, and €1.00 on annual plans with all credits granted upfront. Koji has no overage billing. Every conversation spends credits bought in advance: text 1 credit, voice 3, report refresh 5, phone 0.6 per connected minute. When a balance runs out, new interviews pause until the owner tops up; publishing is never blocked. The quality gate (1-5 scale, threshold of 3) still applies: low-quality conversations are always free.","aiPrerequisites":["understanding-usage-limits","how-the-quality-gate-works"],"aiLearningOutcomes":["Understand why Koji has no overage billing","Know that the quality gate protects you at any balance","Know what happens when your credit balance runs out","Decide between pay as you go, packs, and plans"],"aiDifficulty":"beginner","aiEstimatedTime":"6 min read"}],"pagination":{"total":1,"returned":1,"offset":0}}