Billing & Credits FAQ
Plans & Pricing
Section titled “Plans & Pricing”What’s included in the free plan?
Section titled “What’s included in the free plan?”The free plan includes unlimited writing and editing, up to 2 projects, 60 worldbuilding entities, and full manuscript export (.docx, .epub). AI tools require purchasing a credit top-up or subscribing to Pro or Pro+. Your work is always yours — there’s no read-only mode if you don’t pay.
What’s the difference between Pro and Pro+?
Section titled “What’s the difference between Pro and Pro+?”Both plans unlock unlimited projects and entities, custom entity types, cloud sync, and every AI tool including deeper analyses like Book Synthesis, Character Enrichment, Arc Discovery, and Character Trajectory.
- Pro ($12/month or $120/year) — all AI tools, no bundled credits. Use your own API key (no markup) or pay as you go with top-ups.
- Pro+ ($17/month or $170/year) — everything in Pro, plus $7.50/month in included AI credits and early access to new AI tools as they ship.
Pick Pro if you already have API keys or prefer pay-as-you-go. Pick Pro+ if you want the simplest setup — credits just work, no key management needed.
How do the annual plans save money?
Section titled “How do the annual plans save money?”Both annual plan prices use “2 months free” economics — roughly 17% off the monthly rate. Pro annual is $120/year (vs. $144 paying monthly). Pro+ annual is $170/year (vs. $204 paying monthly) and may appear as Coming soon until its release guard is enabled. Annual billing changes the renewal date, not the credit clock: an active annual Pro+ plan still receives one $7.50 included-credit window each month.
Is there a free trial?
Section titled “Is there a free trial?”Yes. Every new account gets a 21-day free trial with full Pro access and a one-time $3 promotional AI credit. No credit card required. When the trial ends, you drop to the free plan — your work stays exactly where it is.
What happens to my work if I cancel?
Section titled “What happens to my work if I cancel?”Nothing changes with your content. All your manuscripts, entities, worldbuilding data, and AI analysis results remain accessible and editable. You lose the ability to create new entities beyond 60, run AI tools (unless you buy credit top-ups), and use custom entity types. Manuscript export always works regardless of plan.
If you had a Pro+ subscription, included credits remain governed by their current monthly allowance window and do not roll into a later window; cancellation does not create another included bundle after paid eligibility ends. Top-up credits you purchased separately remain on your account until they expire (roughly 12 months from purchase).
What happens if my payment fails?
Section titled “What happens if my payment fails?”Your subscription shows a payment-problem status and paid features pause until payment succeeds; we do not promise a fixed grace period. Update your payment method through Settings → Billing → Manage. Purchased top-ups and your work are unaffected.
Credits & Usage
Section titled “Credits & Usage”How do AI credits work?
Section titled “How do AI credits work?”Every AI tool run (scene analysis, character enrichment, book synthesis, etc.) costs a small amount of credits, typically between $0.02 and $0.30 depending on the tool and your manuscript size. Pro+ subscribers get $7.50/month in credits included. You can also purchase additional credit top-ups at any time, on any plan.
Credits are denominated in dollars and drawn down as you use AI tools. When you use Wonderthrough’s keys, a small platform markup (15%) is applied on top of the raw model cost — this covers payment processing, reliability, and the cost of running the service. When you use your own API key, there’s no markup.
Some automatic supporting work is included and does not use your credits. The cost label follows the route for the specific request: Wonderthrough-key, your own key, local, or included.
What do Expected and Required mean?
Section titled “What do Expected and Required mean?”Expected is the likely price for the request and is the amount shown beside an AI action. Open the cost details to see Required available balance, the conservative maximum Wonderthrough may temporarily set aside before a Wonderthrough-key run starts. Required already includes the platform markup.
Only actual AI usage is charged. When the run finishes, unused reserved credits are returned automatically. This means your final charge can be lower than Required. If your balance is between Expected and Required, the run waits until enough balance is available so it cannot overrun your wallet.
For a multi-step action, Required applies to the next request—not necessarily the whole batch. Wonderthrough checks again before each AI request, so completed steps are preserved if a later step cannot start.
What’s the difference between monthly allowance and top-up credits?
Section titled “What’s the difference between monthly allowance and top-up credits?”Your monthly allowance (Pro+ only) follows its own monthly credit window and doesn’t roll over. That window is separate from subscription billing: monthly Pro+ usually renews and resets on related monthly clocks, while annual Pro+ is billed annually but its $7.50 included allowance still resets monthly. Settings → Billing shows Renews/Ends from the subscription clock and Resets from the allowance clock. Top-up credits carry over month to month and expire approximately 12 months after purchase. Credits are spent from your monthly allowance first, then from your oldest top-up balance.
Do unused monthly credits roll over?
Section titled “Do unused monthly credits roll over?”No. Your Pro+ included allowance expires at each monthly allowance boundary, including on an annual plan. Top-up credits do roll over until they expire.
When do top-up credits expire?
Section titled “When do top-up credits expire?”Approximately 12 months from the date of purchase. You can see the expiration date for each purchase in Settings → Billing → Credit Balance (click the info icon next to your top-up balance).
What happens when I run out of credits?
Section titled “What happens when I run out of credits?”When a Wonderthrough-key AI request needs more available balance than you have, its cost receives warning treatment and the budget prompt shows Expected, Required, Available, and any Shortfall. This can happen even with a positive balance because Required is a conservative pre-run reserve. Your writing, editing, and worldbuilding tools continue to work normally; only wallet-paid AI requests that do not fit are paused.
Tools routed to your own key do not use the Wonderthrough wallet, local tools are free, and included supporting tasks require no credits.
Can free users buy credits?
Section titled “Can free users buy credits?”Yes. Free users can purchase credit top-ups (starting at $5) to run individual AI tools without subscribing. A free-tier top-up also unlocks scene-level AI tools (analysis, writing assist, calendar parse, and extraction) for 12 months, and adds 1 bonus entity slot per $1 spent — so a $10 top-up both credits $10 of AI runs and adds 10 slots to your 60-entity cap.
How do entity slot packs work?
Section titled “How do entity slot packs work?”Separate from credit top-ups, you can buy entity slot packs to permanently expand your worldbuilding capacity. Slot packs start at $5 and scale at 5 slots per $1 — so $5 adds 25 slots, $10 adds 50, $15 adds 75. Slots never expire. Purchase credit accumulates toward a future Pro subscription, so buying slots now isn’t wasted if you decide to upgrade later. The maximum purchased slot total is 150 (reachable at $30 in slot packs); beyond that, Pro gives unlimited entities.
Does Pro+ currently unlock additional AI tools?
Section titled “Does Pro+ currently unlock additional AI tools?”Pro+ includes the product entitlement for future early-access tools, but no live AI pipeline is currently classified as Pro+-only. When an early-access tool is introduced, it may be limited to Pro+ during its initial rollout before graduating to the standard paid toolset.
Your Own API Keys
Section titled “Your Own API Keys”Can I use my own API key instead of credits?
Section titled “Can I use my own API key instead of credits?”Yes. In Settings → Keys & Models, you can add your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google API key. When a request routes to your key, the AI provider bills it directly at its published rates — no markup from Wonderthrough and no Wonderthrough credit debit.
On the Wonderthrough desktop app, your-own-key requests go directly from your computer to the AI provider — Wonderthrough’s servers are never in the path. On the web app, all requests (including your-own-key) route through Wonderthrough’s servers for authentication, rate limiting, and entitlement enforcement. Your API key is stored securely server-side and is never held in your browser. Content is purely in transit and is not stored, cached, or logged by us. If direct-to-provider routing matters to you, use the desktop app.
Do I still need a subscription if I use my own key?
Section titled “Do I still need a subscription if I use my own key?”You need either an active subscription, an active trial, or purchased credit top-ups to access AI tools. Your own API key reduces cost (no Wonderthrough markup) but doesn’t bypass the access requirement for deeper-analysis tools like Book Synthesis and Arc Discovery.
How is cost displayed with my own key?
Section titled “How is cost displayed with my own key?”Cost estimates show the raw provider estimate without Wonderthrough’s markup. Your provider bills your key directly, and its final charge may differ from the estimate based on actual usage.
Why can I still see a Wonderthrough balance when I use my own key?
Section titled “Why can I still see a Wonderthrough balance when I use my own key?”Your saved key and your Wonderthrough wallet can coexist, and routing is decided per request. When Wonderthrough AI is enabled in Settings, the nav always shows your exact Wonderthrough balance—even if it is $0 and even if you also have your own keys. If Wonderthrough AI is off, the amount remains visible as a muted badge with the tooltip “Wonderthrough AI is off.”
Which payment path should I choose?
Section titled “Which payment path should I choose?”When is Pro the right fit?
Section titled “When is Pro the right fit?”Choose Pro if you want the feature access but expect to run most AI work through your own API keys, or if you prefer paying for AI usage separately instead of through bundled credits.
When is Pro+ the right fit?
Section titled “When is Pro+ the right fit?”Choose Pro+ if you want the simplest setup, expect to use Wonderthrough’s keys often, or want the included monthly credit allowance and early-access tools in one plan.
When are top-ups the right fit?
Section titled “When are top-ups the right fit?”Choose top-ups if you are on the free plan and only need occasional AI runs, or if you want a pay-as-you-go path without committing to a subscription yet.
Top-ups are also useful as overflow if you already subscribe but need more platform-credit balance for a heavier month.
When is BYO the right fit?
Section titled “When is BYO the right fit?”Choose BYO if you already have provider accounts, want raw provider pricing without Wonderthrough’s markup, or care about the desktop app’s direct-to-provider privacy path.
BYO is usually strongest when paired with Pro if you expect regular use, and with a trial or top-ups if you are still evaluating whether the AI tools are worth deeper commitment.
Managing Your Subscription
Section titled “Managing Your Subscription”How do I update my payment method?
Section titled “How do I update my payment method?”Go to Settings → Billing → Manage. This opens the Stripe Customer Portal where you can update your card, view invoices, or cancel your subscription.
Why does my plan say it’s still updating after Checkout?
Section titled “Why does my plan say it’s still updating after Checkout?”Returning from Stripe tells the app to refresh; the return link itself does not activate a plan. Wonderthrough waits until the server reports the exact plan you selected with current payment proof. If that takes longer than the initial refresh window, use Refresh billing status—the message does not mean your payment failed.
How do I view my usage history?
Section titled “How do I view my usage history?”Settings → Billing → Usage (expand the section). You can filter by time period (daily/monthly), date range, and key source (platform credits, your API keys, or local AI). The chart shows spending over time and the table below breaks it down by AI tool. To download your usage history as a file, use the Export… button in Settings → Privacy & Data → Manage your data — see What does “Export usage history” include?.
What’s your refund policy?
Section titled “What’s your refund policy?”Wonderthrough offers a 21-day free trial with full Pro access, so you have plenty of time to evaluate before committing. After the trial, refunds work as follows:
- Monthly subscriptions are refundable within 48 hours of the first successful charge.
- Annual subscriptions are refundable within 7 days of the first successful charge.
- Top-up credits are refundable within 48 hours of purchase if they are fully unused. Partial use of any amount forfeits refund eligibility.
- After these windows, charges are non-refundable. Cancellation stops auto-renewal and your access continues through the end of the current billing period.
- Promotional or grandfathered pricing is maintained while your subscription is continuously active. Canceling forfeits the special rate; resubscribing is at the then-current standard rate.
If you believe you were charged in error, encountered a billing issue, or have an exceptional circumstance, contact support and we’ll review case-by-case. We respond to refund inquiries within 2 business days.