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

# AI Credits: How to Manage Strategy Evaluation Costs

> AI credits pay for strategy evaluations on Everstrike. Get free grants at signup, daily replenishment, or deposit funds to cover expenses automatically.

AI credits are the currency that powers your strategy evaluations on Everstrike. Every time a strategy runs an evaluation, it consumes credits from your balance. Understanding how credits work helps you keep your strategies running without interruption.

![AI credits pay until you deposit over \$4.50 on Mainnet](https://mintcdn.com/everstrike-50e7a7f9/zD8Yl4qdQhHNoMT1/images/help/which-balance-pays.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=zD8Yl4qdQhHNoMT1\&q=85\&s=fe233ca0a2dac25e9d18a6a3a5431299)

Which balance pays for your strategies.

## Free Credits

When you create an account, Everstrike gives you a set of free credits for completing onboarding tasks. Together these grants are enough to run a strategy continuously for 24 hours.

| Task | Credit grant |
| - | - |
| Sign up | \$0.50 |
| Verify your email | \$0.25 |
| Make your first deposit | \$0.25 |
| **Total** | **\$1.00** |

### Daily Replenishment

Until you have deposited more than \$4.50, your free credit balance refills automatically each day at **00:00 UTC**, up to **\$0.25**. After that, your USD balance pays for strategies and the daily allowance ends.

> [!NOTE]
>
> On Mainnet, creating a strategy requires a verified email or a first deposit. Verifying your email also starts daily replenishment.

## Add More Credits

Deposit funds into your Everstrike account to increase your available credit. Once you have deposited more than **\$4.50** in total on Mainnet (in USDC or USDT), Everstrike automatically uses your USD balance to pay strategy expenses: 1 credit is \$1, and credits don't expire. Your dedicated free credit balance no longer applies from then on. Deposits made in DEX mode and in CEX mode both count.

The [AI credits page](https://app.everstrike.io/app/ai-credits) has suggested amounts and a link to Deposits.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Testnet funds cannot pay strategy expenses. If you need additional testnet credits, request \$10 through the [testnet credits form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScnHGRHSZt7Dh30svtpsmuVziovshbchD08nJe8G45_eYLEvQ/viewform).

## Checking Usage

The [AI credits page](https://app.everstrike.io/app/ai-credits) shows your available credits, what your strategies used over the last 7, 30 or 90 days, the daily cost of your running strategies and how long your balance lasts at that pace. It also breaks spending down by strategy, with a tip when one strategy uses most of your credits, and lists each day's usage, which you can export as CSV.

Only strategy evaluations use credits. The assistant chat has its own free daily message limit, and Strategy Lab backtests run in your browser at no cost.

View a strategy's expected credit consumption at any time in the [Strategies Overview](https://app.everstrike.io/app/strategies). Before submitting a new strategy, the **Preview** tab shows you the expected cost so you can confirm it fits your budget. You can also compare models and evaluation frequencies in the [strategy costs](https://docs.everstrike.io/ai/strategies.md#strategy-costs) reference. With the default model, GPT-6 Luna, each evaluation costs \$0.0005, and limiting a strategy's input data lowers that further.

## Insufficient Credits

> [!WARNING]
>
> Your strategies run while your balance covers **one evaluation of every running strategy**: for each one, its model's cost per evaluation, plus that cost again for each of its markets. Below that, the Everstrike UI shows **No credits** on your strategies and none of them run. Add credits, or pause some strategies to lower the amount needed. Your strategies resume automatically once your balance is sufficient.
>
> If you start an evaluation with **Evaluate now** and no result comes back, the app tells you; this usually means your credits ran out.

> [!TIP]
>
> Pause a strategy at any time to stop credit consumption immediately. Paused strategies do not generate events, place trades, or draw down your balance.


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