To power the AI tools and chatbots in your app, you’ve linked an OpenAI API key. This API key enables the app to access OpenAI’s models for generating responses, creating content, and more. However, for it to function, the account tied to the API key must have sufficient credit. OpenAI charges based on token usage, where a token is a piece of text—like a word or a punctuation mark. This guide will walk you through how to add credit to your OpenAI account and understand how token billing works to keep your AI tools running smoothly.
What are tokens?
Tokens are small chunks of text, such as words or punctuation. For example, the sentence “ChatGPT is great!” consists of 6 tokens. OpenAI charges based on the number of tokens used for input (what your users type) and output (the AI’s response). As for costs, OpenAI provides pricing details on their website, typically on a per-thousand-token basis. For example, 1,000 tokens might cost $0.002 depending on the model.
Add a payment method to your account
Log in to Your OpenAI Account. Visit https://platform.openai.com/ and use the credentials associated with your API key to log in.
Navigate to the Billing Section. Once logged in, click on the Settings icon in the top-right corner, right before your profile picture. You will be directed to the Settings page. From the left sidebar, select ‘Billing’.
Add Payment Method. In the Billing section, click ‘Add a payment method’. Enter your credit card or payment details and save them. You can add several payment methods and set one of them as default.
Add Credit. Go back to the Billing Overview page. Click on the ‘Add to credit balance’ button.
Select the amount of credit you want to add. Options usually range from USD $10 to $500, depending on your requirements. Then, confirm your payment. Once processed, the credit will be available in your account.
💡PRO TIP: Add at least USD $10 in credit to your account. In most individual accounts, this amount will suffice for using both the AI chatbot and the AI content generators during a month.
Optionally, enable automatic recharge. When your credit balance reaches $0, your API requests will stop working. You can enable automatic recharge to automatically keep your credit balance topped up. To do this, go back to the Billing Overview page and click on the ‘Enable auto recharge’ button.
Indicate when should the credit be recharged, and to which amount, and save. Now that your account has sufficient credit, your OpenAI-powered tools and chatbots will continue to work smoothly without interruptions!
Monitor your usage
Open the Usage section. On the left sidebar, locate the ‘Usage’ tab. There you will find detailed graphs of your token spent on both monthly and project basis.
💡PRO TIP: If you’re using different API keys for multiple accounts, assign each key to a separate project within OpenAI. This approach allows you to track spending for each account individually without requiring separate OpenAI accounts.
Set Limits. You can set usage limits and alerts to prevent unexpected overcharges by clicking on ‘Limits’ at the left sidebar and scrolling down. This is specially recommended if you have enabled auto recharge. Regularly check the remaining balance to ensure uninterrupted access to the API.
