> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://game-narrative.docs.kitefrost.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Billing

> Understand pricing tiers, Story Units, and how billing works.

## Plans

All packs share the same platform-wide tiers. Pricing is per-account, not per-pack.

| Tier           | Price   | Story Units/mo | SU Overage |
| -------------- | ------- | -------------- | ---------- |
| **Free**       | \$0     | 10 SU          | -          |
| **Pro**        | \$19/mo | 100 SU         | \$0.30/SU  |
| **Studio**     | \$49/mo | 500 SU         | \$0.20/SU  |
| **Enterprise** | Custom  | Custom         | Negotiated |

<Note>
  1 Story Unit = 5 NPCs, 1 encounter, or 1 session recap. BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) is available on all paid plans - you pay your own LLM provider costs directly, with zero markup from us.
</Note>

## Story units

Story Units (SU) are the universal usage currency across all packs. Every API operation that involves LLM generation consumes Story Units:

| Operation               | SU Cost |
| ----------------------- | ------- |
| NPC generation (5 NPCs) | 1 SU    |
| Encounter generation    | 1 SU    |
| Session recap           | 1 SU    |
| Dialogue generation     | 0.2 SU  |
| Project context query   | 0.1 SU  |

When your Story Unit quota is exhausted, the API returns HTTP 402 with error code `budget_exceeded`. Upgrade your plan or wait for the next billing cycle.

## Usage metering

Usage resets on your billing cycle date. Query your current usage:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl https://api.kitefrost.ai/v1/billing/su-usage \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_key_here"
  ```

  ```json Response theme={null}
  {
    "period_start": "2026-04-01T00:00:00Z",
    "period_end": "2026-04-30T23:59:59Z",
    "story_units_used": 42,
    "story_units_limit": 100,
    "overage_units": 0,
    "tier": "pro"
  }
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Feature gates by tier

| Feature              | Free | Pro | Studio |
| -------------------- | ---- | --- | ------ |
| NPC generation       | ✓    | ✓   | ✓      |
| All SDKs             | ✓    | ✓   | ✓      |
| VTT export           | -    | ✓   | ✓      |
| Session recaps       | -    | ✓   | ✓      |
| Campaign persistence | -    | ✓   | ✓      |
| BYOK                 | -    | ✓   | ✓      |
| Collaboration        | -    | -   | ✓      |
| Shared NPC libraries | -    | -   | ✓      |
| Priority queue       | -    | -   | ✓      |

## Payment processing

Billing is processed by our payment provider. When you subscribe:

1. A customer record is created linked to your account.
2. A subscription tracks your plan and billing cycle.
3. Story Unit usage is reported to the payment provider at the end of each period.
4. Invoices are emailed automatically and available in **Settings → Billing**.

## Upgrading and downgrading

Plan changes take effect immediately. When upgrading mid-cycle:

* You are charged a prorated amount for the remainder of the period.
* Your Story Unit limit increases immediately.

When downgrading mid-cycle:

* The new plan takes effect at the start of the next billing period.
* No refund is issued for unused capacity.

## Enterprise

Enterprise plans include:

* Custom Story Unit volumes and SLAs
* Dedicated infrastructure options
* Volume discounts on BYOK token pass-through
* Invoice billing (net-30)
* SSO / SAML integration
* Audit log export

Contact [sales@kitefrost.ai](mailto:sales@kitefrost.ai) to get a quote.

## Dunning and failed payments

If a payment fails, the payment provider retries on days 3, 5, and 7. After the final retry, your account is downgraded to Free and generation access is suspended until payment is resolved.