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

> ## Agent Instructions
> Install the Courier skill before writing code: `npx skills add trycourier/courier-skills`. It carries the verified SDK shapes and the rules you cannot get wrong.
> Authenticate every request with `Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>`. A workspace has several environments and each has its own keys, which are plain `pk_` strings with no environment prefix. Start with Test.
> Send with `client.send.message` from the Node SDK (`@trycourier/courier` v7 and later, where the client is the default import). Reference a template by its `nt_` id or its alias.
> A send accepts a bare Elemental element list, but storing content on a template requires the top-level elements wrapped in a channel element.
> To translate a template, write one locale at a time with `PUT /notifications/{id}/locales/{localeId}`, which merges into the existing translations. `PUT /notifications/{id}/content` and `PUT /notifications/{id}/elements/{elementId}` overwrite translations along with the content, so send each element's `id` and `locales` back, and first remove every `checksum` and any `locales` key that starts with an underscore.
> Templates and journeys can be built in the Courier app or created through the API. Either way they live in the workspace and are referenced by ID when you send.
> The hosted MCP server is https://mcp.courier.com. For a briefing on what Courier is and when to use it, read https://www.courier.com/llms.txt.
> Prefer the Guides tab for how-do-I questions and the Docs tab for how-does-it-behave questions. The API reference lives under /api-reference.

# Billing: sends, AI credits, and device previews

> What Courier bills for: message sends, AI credits, and the Device Preview add-on. Plan pricing, how each one is counted, and common billing questions.

export const AppLink = ({href, children, name, bare}) => {
  const label = children || name || "Open in Courier";
  if (bare) {
    return <a href={href} target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">{label}</a>;
  }
  return <a className="cx-endpoint" data-kind="app" href={href} target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">
      <span className="cx-endpoint-label">{label}</span>
      <span className="cx-endpoint-method" aria-hidden="true">↗</span>
    </a>;
};

export const Doc = ({href, children, name, bare}) => {
  const label = children || name || href;
  if (bare) {
    return <a href={href}>{label}</a>;
  }
  return <a className="cx-endpoint" data-kind="doc" href={href}>
      <span className="cx-endpoint-label">{label}</span>
      <span className="cx-endpoint-method">DOC</span>
    </a>;
};

Your Courier bill has up to three parts, each metered separately:

| What | How it's counted | How you pay |
| :- | :- | :- |
| Message sends | One unit per template send, per recipient | Per send, set by your plan |
| AI credits | Per AI journey node run or AI Translation request | Credit packs, 100 credits per \$1 |
| Device previews | One preview per device in a run | Monthly add-on, plus overage |

## Message sends

Your plan sets the price per send:

| Plan | Price |
| :- | :- |
| Developer | Free for 10,000 sends a month |
| Business | \$0.005 for every send, with a credit card on file |
| Enterprise | Custom volume pricing below \$0.005 per send |

Adding a credit card to a Developer workspace moves it to Business. [Courier pricing](https://www.courier.com/pricing) has the current plans.

### How sends are counted

One send is one template sent to one recipient. **A multi-channel template counts as one send**, even when it delivers separate messages over email, SMS, and push:

| Scenario | Units |
| - | - |
| One email to Sarah Bennett | 1 |
| Email, push, and Slack to Sarah Bennett via one profile | 1 |
| One send to a list of 100 users | 100 |
| One send to three recipients by email address | 3 |

A send counts whether or not the provider delivers it. Undeliverable messages and messages blocked by preferences count too. Sends from every <Doc href="/docs/workspaces/environments">environment</Doc> count, including Test and custom environments.

The per-send price covers every channel, including Courier Inbox, which has no fee of its own. The providers you connect, such as SendGrid or Twilio, bill you separately under their own pricing.

## AI credits

AI credits pay for <Doc href="/docs/journeys/nodes/ai">AI journey nodes</Doc> and <Doc href="/docs/design/elemental/locales#translate-in-design-studio">AI Translation</Doc>, and both draw from one balance. Credits cost \$1 per 100, and you buy them in packs in the console on the Business or Enterprise plan. They're billed separately from your sends.

* AI journey nodes cost a set number of credits per run for the model you pick, plus overage past 3,072 input tokens or 1,000 output tokens. A journey test run that reaches an AI node costs the same as a real one. The per-model costs are in <Doc href="/docs/journeys/nodes/ai#billing">AI node billing</Doc>.
* AI Translation costs 2.5 credits per translation request, plus token overages. A long template can take more than one request per locale.

Auto top-up buys another pack when your balance falls below a threshold, 100 credits by default.

## Device previews

<Doc href="/docs/design/templates/device-preview">Device Preview</Doc> is a paid monthly add-on, so it needs a credit card on file. Enable it in <AppLink href="https://app.courier.com/settings/billing">Settings → Billing</AppLink>.

Each device in a run counts as one preview. The add-on comes in three tiers, each with a set number of previews a month. Each preview past that bills as overage:

| Monthly price | Previews included | Overage per preview |
| -: | -: | -: |
| \$20 | 100 | \$0.20 |
| \$50 | 400 | \$0.15 |
| \$100 | 1,000 | \$0.12 |

Included previews reset monthly and don't roll over. A run request that Courier rejects isn't billed.

## FAQ

### Plans and send pricing

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How much does Courier cost?">
    Courier has three plans. Developer is free for 10,000 sends a month. Business is pay-as-you-go at $0.005 for every send. Enterprise has custom volume pricing below $0.005 per send. Pricing is based on sends, not on seats or channels.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Courier have a free plan?">
    The Developer plan is free and includes 10,000 sends a month, journeys, broadcasts, the MCP server, the CLI, and the SDKs.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I estimate my monthly bill on the Business plan?">
    Your send cost on Business is `monthly sends × $0.005`, counting every send. For example, 50,000 sends a month costs $250, 200,000 costs $1,000, and 1,000,000 costs \$5,000. AI credits and the Device Preview add-on bill on top of that.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens when I go over 10,000 sends a month?">
    Sending more than 10,000 a month takes the Business plan, which you get by adding a credit card. Business charges \$0.005 for every send, including the first 10,000, with no seat or channel fees.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I upgrade to the Business plan?">
    Add a credit card in <AppLink href="https://app.courier.com/settings/billing">Settings → Billing</AppLink>. A workspace with a card on file is on the Business plan, which also unlocks AI credits and the Device Preview add-on.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Courier offer volume discounts?">
    The Enterprise plan has custom volume pricing below \$0.005 per send, quoted by Courier's sales team based on your volume. It also adds role-based access control, observability integrations, a dedicated Slack channel, and an enterprise SLA.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Courier charge per seat or per channel?">
    Courier charges per send only, so adding teammates or channels doesn't change your bill.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Courier's price include provider fees, such as SMS or email provider charges?">
    Courier's per-send price covers Courier. Every provider you connect, for email, SMS, push, or chat, bills you its own fees, such as per SMS segment. Courier Inbox, the in-app channel, has no fee beyond the per-send price.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does it cost extra to send from an AI agent?">
    Sending from an AI agent costs the same as any other send. Agents use Courier's MCP server, CLI, or SDKs, all included on the free Developer plan, and there's no per-agent fee.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is my new workspace on the Developer plan?">
    A new workspace isn't attached to an existing Enterprise contract or plan. If your contract covers multiple workspaces, contact your Courier account team or [support](mailto:support@courier.com) to add the new workspace to your plan.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Who can change the plan or payment method?">
    Administrators manage billing, including the plan and payment method. The Manager role doesn't include billing. With <Doc href="/docs/workspaces/team-access#custom-role-scopes">custom roles</Doc>, the `billing` scope grants `ViewBilling`, `UpdatePaymentMethod`, and `UpdatePlan`.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Counting sends

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What counts as a send?">
    A send is one template sent to one recipient. A multi-channel template counts as one send, even when it delivers separate messages over email, SMS, push, Slack, and Inbox.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do test sends count toward my bill?">
    Sends made with a Test key count the same as Production sends, and so do sends from custom environments.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do undelivered messages count?">
    A send counts whether or not the provider delivers it, so bounced and undeliverable messages count.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How are sends to a list or audience counted?">
    A send to a list or audience counts once per recipient. A send to a list of 100 users is 100 sends.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How can I reduce my send count?">
    <Doc href="/docs/journeys/nodes/digest">Digests</Doc> and <Doc href="/docs/journeys/nodes/batch">batching</Doc> combine several events into one notification, so a user gets one send instead of many. That lowers your Courier bill and your provider costs.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### AI credit costs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What do AI credits cost?">
    AI credits cost \$1 per 100 credits. You buy them as packs in the console, billed separately from your sends.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Which plans can use AI credits?">
    AI credits are available on the Business and Enterprise plans. On the Developer plan, credit packs can't be bought and AI journey nodes can't be placed on the canvas.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What uses AI credits?">
    AI journey nodes and AI Translation both use AI credits, and they draw from the same balance.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How many credits does an AI journey node use?">
    An AI journey node uses a fixed number of credits per run for the model you pick, plus overage when the input passes 3,072 tokens or the output passes 1,000 tokens. Web search on Anthropic models adds 2 credits per run. <Doc href="/docs/journeys/nodes/ai#billing">AI node billing</Doc> lists the cost of every model.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How much does AI Translation cost?">
    AI Translation costs 2.5 credits per translation request, plus token overages. A long template can take more than one request per locale.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do journey test runs use AI credits?">
    A journey test run that reaches an AI node uses the same credits as a real run, because it calls the same model.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does a skipped AI node use credits?">
    An AI node whose conditions aren't met is skipped and uses no credits.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How does auto top-up work?">
    Auto top-up charges your card for another credit pack when your balance falls below a threshold. The default threshold is 100 credits.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Device preview costs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How much does Device Preview cost?">
    Device Preview is a monthly add-on in three tiers. $20 a month includes 100 previews, then $0.20 each. $50 includes 400, then $0.15 each. $100 includes 1,000, then $0.12 each.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What counts as one preview?">
    Each device in a run is one preview. A run across 12 email clients uses 12 previews.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do unused previews roll over?">
    Included previews reset each month and don't roll over.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Am I billed for a rejected preview run?">
    Courier checks a run request before the run exists, so a rejected request isn't billed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I turn on Device Preview?">
    Enable the Device Preview add-on in <AppLink href="https://app.courier.com/settings/billing">Settings → Billing</AppLink>. It needs a credit card on file.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>