Usage and billing
What costs money in Machine, where to see your balance, how to see what each bot and model has cost, export your usage, and add credits.
What costs money
Machine is paid from your balance. It goes down when:
| What | Why it costs |
|---|---|
| A model does work | Each turn costs a little, depending on the model and how much the bot reads and writes. Bigger models and longer threads cost more. |
| A bot's computer is awake | Computers cost while they run. They sleep when idle. See Cost and sleep. |
Models running on your own Claude or Cursor subscription use your plan for the model's work.
Your balance
Your balance shows next to your name at the bottom of the sidebar, with a coin icon. Hover it for details, like 2,350 credits · 100 daily, and click it to open billing on the web.
For the full picture, open Settings → Usage → Wallet. It shows your total balance, made of:
| Part | How it works |
|---|---|
| Plan credits | Come with your plan. They reset with your plan. |
| Top-ups | Credits you've bought. They never expire. |
| Daily credits | A small amount that refills every day. |
When your balance drops under $1 (100 credits), the sidebar chip turns amber. The Wallet's balance turns amber too, with the warning "Your balance is low. Add credits to keep your bots running."
Credits and dollars are the same money
The sidebar chip counts in credits, the same way the Machine web app does: 100 credits = $1. Settings → Usage shows the same balance in dollars. So a chip showing 2,350 and a Wallet showing $23.50 mean the same thing. Above 10,000 credits the chip shortens the number, like 12.5k.
Add credits
Click Add credits in Settings → Usage, or click your balance in the sidebar. Billing opens on the Machine web app, where you can top up or change your plan. No payments are taken inside Machine Desktop.
On an iPhone or iPad, the app shows your balance but has no Add credits button, and the balance can't be clicked. Add credits from the Machine web app or Machine Desktop instead.
See where it went
Usage
Settings → Usage → Usage shows turns and cost per bot, for the threads you've opened since starting the app, with a total for All bots.
History
Settings → Usage → History is the full record.
- Choose a period: This month, Last month, or Last 30 days.
- Group it by Bot, Model, Person, Day, or Engine.
- Click Export CSV to download it as a spreadsheet.
Use Model to see which models cost the most, and Bot to see which bots do the most work. Person shows all your usage in one row, labelled This computer. Engine shows Machine's models as Machine.
Per bot
Open a bot's settings and go to Usage for that bot's turns, tokens, and cost. All bots → takes you back to Settings.
Per thread
The usage chip in the chat header shows what the current thread has cost. Hover it for the details. See Send messages and watch a bot work.
Under a finished reply, the run footer shows what that one turn cost. Bot settings → History sums up the whole thread, split into model and compute.
Ways to spend less
| Tip | Why |
|---|---|
| Start a new thread for each new task. | The model re-reads the whole thread every turn, so long threads cost more per message. |
| Compact long threads. | Summarizes older messages. See Find, share, and export. |
| Use a smaller model for simple jobs. | See Choose a model. |
| Lower the reasoning effort for quick tasks. | See Reasoning effort. |
| In group chats, use "Only when mentioned". | Not every bot answers every message. See Group chats. |
| Let computers sleep, or stop them when you're done. | See Cost and sleep. |
| Check History weekly. | Spot surprises early. |