---
id: KB-CD-021
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/credits-and-billing/is-this-going-to-cost-me
idioma: en
categoria: creditos
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CD-002, KB-CD-009, KB-CD-011]
citadoPor: [KB-CD-018]
---

# Is this going to cost me?

_Looking, searching and organising costs nothing. What costs is what goes outwards or through the AI — and you can tell before clicking._

**Responde a:** does this use credits · will i be charged for this · how much does sending a request cost · can i try without being charged

**The short rule: looking costs nothing; the platform DOING something for you does.** Signing in, searching, browsing and downloading something that already exists is free. Every action the platform performs and records —sending, creating, uploading, AI reading, certifying, signing, generating a report— consumes credits.

## The practical version

| What you do | Does it cost? |
| --- | --- |
| Signing in, looking, searching, organising folders | No |
| Downloading something already generated | No |
| **Sending something to someone outside** | **Yes** |
| **Creating a process, uploading a document, AI reading it** | **Yes** |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **What consumes is the ACTIVITY, not each item: asking four contacts for a document consumes once, not four times.** A bulk send counts as a single activity however many recipients it carries, and approving twenty validations at once likewise. It is the doubt that holds people back most at the start and the answer is in your favour — which is why splitting work into small sends «to spend less» does the opposite.

## If you are unsure before clicking

1. **Ask whether the platform will do something or merely show it to you** — Consulting what already exists costs nothing, however often you look.
2. **Count activities, not recipients or documents** — Four contacts on one request is a single activity.
3. **And if still unsure, check the consumption afterwards** — What was charged and why is recorded: you can verify rather than trust.

> [!WARNING]
> Two things you will not discover by yourself. **One: the licence and the balance are different, and the one that blocks is the licence** — with a lapsed licence you cannot operate however much balance you hold, whereas running out of credits does not strand you mid-task. **Two: if an action fails on your side —a mistyped address, an illegible document— the work was still done.** Which is why redoing things is what really pushes up the month, more than the price of anything.

**Can I try things without spending?**

Looking and browsing, as much as you like. Creating a process is already an action and counts.

**Will you warn me before charging?**

What consumes is knowable beforehand and recorded afterwards, with its reason.

**What if I run out of balance?**

It does not cut you off mid-task. What does block is a lapsed licence.

## Ejemplos

**Someone splits a request to ten suppliers into ten separate sends «to spend less».**

- Checks that the request counts as one activity, not one per recipient

→ The consumption of ten activities becomes that of one, and the work also lands sooner.

**People stop using the platform to look things up, fearing that looking costs.**

- Checks that signing in, searching and downloading what exists consumes nothing

→ The file gets consulted when needed instead of loose copies being kept elsewhere.

**There is doubt whether an action will consume.**

- Checks what consumes before doing it

→ The doubt is settled beforehand rather than after.

**Something is avoided just in case.**

- Checks the list of what consumes

→ Usage stops being held back out of caution.

**Consumption appears that nobody expected.**

- Checks which activity generated it

→ The charge has an explanation.

**An external partner does something and the charge is feared.**

- Checks which activities count and which do not

→ The team works knowingly.