# Usage and cost

> Credits per scan, how often each source is searched, runway and top-ups, and what the Usage tab shows

On overhear.dev, scans are paid for with prepaid **credits**: buy a pack, scan until it runs out, top up. There is no subscription, credits never expire, and every new account starts with **1,000 free credits**. See [pricing](/pricing).

## What a scan costs

One scan of one keyword makes one search per source it covers. Each search uses credits, weighted by what the source costs us to search:

| Search | Credits |
| --- | --- |
| X | 2 |
| Reddit | 1 |
| LinkedIn | 3 |
| YouTube | 2 |
| Web | 1 |
| Hacker News | 1 |
| Reply draft or correction request (per click) | 15 |

A failed search uses no credits. A source you turn off on the **Keywords** tab is not searched and costs nothing. Welcome credits are spent first, then the credits you bought.

A lead from X that reaches your minimum fit costs **1 more credit**: its author's public profile (bio and follower count) is looked up once, so you can see who is asking before you reply. A profile that cannot be found still counts; an author already looked up for your organization is not looked up again.

**Scan now** on the **Keywords** tab searches every source that is on right away and costs the same as a scheduled scan.

**Draft reply**, **Redraft** and **Draft correction request** cost 15 credits a click. A draft that fails costs nothing.

Buttons that cost credits show their price next to the label; a button without one is free.

## How often each source is searched

On the **Keywords** tab, every keyword has one select per source: hourly, every 6 hours, daily or off. You pay for each search, so you set the pace. Next to the selects is what the keyword costs a day.

New keywords start at a pace that matches how fast each source changes:

| Source | Brand keyword | Competitor or lead phrase |
| --- | --- | --- |
| X | Hourly | Every 6 hours |
| Reddit | Hourly | Every 6 hours |
| LinkedIn | Every 6 hours | Every 6 hours |
| YouTube | Daily | Daily |
| Web | Daily | Daily |
| Hacker News | Daily | Daily |

A brand keyword at that pace costs about **2,640 credits a month**. Every source daily is **300 credits a month**, every source hourly **7,200**.

## Balance, runway and top-ups

The **Usage** tab and **Settings → Organization** show your balance, the credits you use per day (your scan schedule plus the last 7 days of Scan now and reply drafts), and how many days the balance lasts at that rate. The organization owner buys more there; payment runs through Creem, and the credits arrive within moments. Prices exclude tax: Creem adds VAT or sales tax at checkout, and EU and UK businesses with a valid VAT ID pay none (reverse charge).

We email the owner once when the balance will last less than 7 days. When it runs out, scans pause, the dashboard shows a banner and the owner gets one email. Scans resume as soon as credits arrive.

## The Usage tab

Besides the balance, the tab lists each keyword's fastest source and credits per day, the credits your organization spent in the last 30 days on scans, reply drafts, author lookups and Fact check, and the latest searches: when, which keyword and source, how many mentions each found and how many were new, and how long it took.

> **Tip:** To make credits last longer, scan keywords that rarely find anything less often, turn off sources that only find unrelated posts, or remove those keywords.

## Self-hosting

A self-hosted Overhear has no credits. The Usage tab shows what treg and the models actually cost, reply drafts included: projected cost per month, spend in the last 30 days by provider and by keyword, and the cost of each search.

## Reading your homepage

Starting a project from a domain reads your homepage once. That call shows in the list too and uses no credits.