Understanding Billing: Personal Keys vs. Convenience Credits
Last Updated: July 17, 2026
When I built ClusterWriter, my goal was to make automated content creation as open and flexible as possible. You should not be forced into a single, restrictive subscription model. That is why I designed two ways to fund and run your autoblogging pipeline: using your own personal API keys, or purchasing convenience credits directly through the dashboard.
Comparing the Two Billing Options
Here is a quick breakdown of how these two options compare:
| Feature | Option A: Personal Keys | Option B: Convenience Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Overhead | High (Requires setting up separate accounts with LLM and search providers) | None (Ready to run immediately after purchase) |
| Platform Surcharge | $0.00 (No markup fee applied by ClusterWriter) | 30% markup on raw API costs + flat-rate task fees |
| Execution Speed | Depends on your personal API tier and limits | Fast (Uses optimized system API keys with high limits) |
| Billing Management | Managed across multiple external providers | Managed in a single dashboard within ClusterWriter |
| Ideal For | High-volume users and developers who already have API keys | Users who want a quick, setup-free experience |
Option A: Connecting Your Personal API Keys
If you already have developer accounts with AI and search providers, you can connect your own API keys in your settings.
When you use this option, I do not charge any markup fee ($0 platform surcharge). You pay the external providers directly for exactly what you consume.
To set this up, go to your settings panel and input your keys for the services you want to use, such as:
- Anthropic (for Claude models)
- Deepseek
- Exa Search
- Runware AI
- Apify
* Keep in mind that your generation speed and monthly usage will be limited by the rate limits of your personal API accounts. You will also need to manage billing and invoices with each provider separately.
Option B: Using Convenience Credits
For those who want to skip the technical setup, I offer convenience credit packs. You do not need to register on any third-party websites or copy API keys.
You can purchase one of three credit packs directly inside the app:
- Bronze Pack: $20
- Silver Pack: $50
- Gold Pack: $100
I believe in straightforward pricing. There are no promotional tricks or fake balances (the ratio is strictly 1:1, meaning $1 spent equals $1 of real credit).
Wallet Deduction Rates for Convenience Credits
When you use convenience credits, the cost of each article is calculated and deducted from your wallet based on the actual APIs utilized during the generation process.
Dynamic Processing Fees
For dynamic tasks, your wallet is charged the exact cost of the API call plus a 30% surcharge:
- Cost formula:
Raw API Cost * 1.30 - Applicable services: Anthropic, Deepseek, Exa Search, Runware AI, and Apify.
Flat-Rate Task Fees
Some tasks have tiny or highly variable costs that are difficult to track dynamically. To keep things simple and fair, I charge a small flat rate per call or run:
- RapidAPI (Reddit Scrape): $0.005 per API call
- TinyPNG (Image Compress): $0.015 per image compression
- Jina Reader (Blog Scrape): $0.002 per web page scraped
- Google Cloud: $0.02 per article run (covers NLP and Knowledge Graph API costs combined)
Hybrid Configuration: Mix & Match
You don't have to choose between going 100% Option A or 100% Option B. I designed the system to support a hybrid setup, allowing you to mix and match both methods to fit your budget and workflow.
If you have a personal API key for a specific serviceālike Anthropic for Claude modelsābut don't want the hassle of setting up Exa Search or Runware AI, you can input your Anthropic key, leave the other fields blank, and explicitly toggle on the "Rent Status" for Exa Search and Runware AI in your settings panel.
Here is how the routing and billing works in a hybrid setup:
- For services where you provide your own key (and Rent Status is toggled OFF): ClusterWriter will charge you $0.00 in convenience credits. You will pay the provider directly based on their raw API pricing.
- For services where you toggle Rent Status ON: ClusterWriter will route requests through my global system keys and deduct the corresponding convenience credits (including the 30% surcharge or flat-rate fee) from your wallet.
- Important: Simply leaving an API key field blank without toggling on "Rent Status" will not trigger automatic renting. The system will throw a validation error warning you that the required API key is missing before running the pipeline.
This hybrid approach gives you the ultimate control. You can keep your costs low for your primary LLMs while enjoying zero setup friction for secondary tools by renting them.
Free Trial Policy for New Users
I want you to be confident in the quality of the articles before spending any money. That is why every new account gets a free trial to test the system.
The free trial includes the following limits:
- A maximum of 3 articles
- Active for 7 days from registration
- A total budget limit of $2.00
The trial runs on shared system API keys. You do not need to configure any keys or make any payments to start generating your first draft. Once you reach any of these limits, you will need to either connect your own keys or buy credit packs to continue.