AI credits and what each feature costs
Some things in SpeakAnyWay are powered by AI — generating a board from a prompt, suggesting the next word, turning a photo of a menu into a tappable board. Those actions use credits. Everything else — building boards by hand, editing, sharing, using a communicator — is free and doesn't touch your credits at all. This page explains what credits are, how many each AI action costs, and what happens when you run low.
How credits work
Every plan comes with a monthly pool of AI credits. When you use an AI feature, it spends a few credits from that pool. The amount depends on how much work the feature does behind the scenes — suggesting one word is cheap, building a whole multi-board scene costs more.
- Plan credits refresh every month. Each billing cycle your pool resets to your plan's full amount. Leftover plan credits from last month don't roll over — you start fresh.
- Top-up credits never expire. If you buy extra credits, they sit in your balance and get used only after your monthly plan credits run out. They carry over month to month.
- No hidden charges. Each AI action costs the number of credits listed on this page, and nothing extra is deducted behind the scenes. Menu boards are the one action with a variable cost — you pick an image budget up front, and any part of it you don't use is refunded automatically.
You can see your current balance and recent activity on your Account page, under "Your plan & credits." Your dashboard and the sidebar show how many credits you have left — for example, "398 of 400 left."
What each AI feature costs
Here's the current cost per action. Costs are grouped by the kind of thing they do.
| Feature | What it does | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Word suggestion | Suggest the next word or symbol on a board | 1 |
| Format a board | Clean up spacing, sizes, and tile order on an existing board | 2 |
| Import a board from a screenshot | Turn a photo of a printed or paper board into a digital one | 3 |
| Edit an image | Change colors, background, or details on an existing symbol | 5 |
| Create an image variation | Generate a new take on a symbol you already have | 3 |
| Generate a new image | Create a brand-new symbol from a word or description | 3 |
| Build a scenario | Create a multi-board scene like "ordering at a restaurant" | 5 |
| Build a menu board | Turn a real menu (photo or text) into a tappable board | 5 |
| Menu board image | Each AI-generated picture on a menu board, up to the budget you pick | 3 |
Menu boards have two parts. Reading the menu costs 5 credits, and each AI-generated picture costs 3 more — up to an image budget you choose when you build the board (the default is 10 pictures). So a menu board with 10 new pictures costs 5 + 10 × 3 = 35 credits. Pick a smaller budget for fewer pictures and a lower cost, or choose "No new images" to pay just the 5-credit reading fee and reuse pictures from the library. Any budget you don't end up using is refunded automatically, so you're only ever charged for the pictures you actually get.
How far your monthly credits go
| Plan | Credits per month |
|---|---|
| Free | 25 |
| Basic | 400 |
| Pro | 1,500 |
A few things worth knowing if you're on the Free plan:
- Twenty-five credits is enough to try things out — a batch of word suggestions, a few images, a screenshot import or two. It's meant for getting a feel for the AI, not running it all day.
- The bigger actions cost the most. Build a scenario costs 5 credits, so a Free month covers about five of them. Menu boards cost more because each new picture adds 3 credits on top of the 5-credit reading fee — a menu board with the default 10 pictures runs 35 credits, more than a Free month holds. On Free, build a menu board with a smaller image budget (or "No new images") to stay within your 25 credits. If you want to lean on the bigger features regularly, you'll want a top-up or a paid plan.
- Building boards by hand is always free. You never need credits to make, edit, or share a board the manual way.
Exact amounts can change as plans are updated — your Account page always shows the current number for your plan.
What happens when you run out
If an AI action would cost more credits than you have, the app stops before charging you and shows a message explaining you're out. Nothing breaks, and you don't lose anything you've already made — you just can't run that particular AI action until you have enough credits.
From there you can:
- Wait for your monthly refresh. Your plan pool resets at the start of your next billing cycle.
- Buy a top-up. Top-up credits never expire and kick in after your plan credits, so they're a good fit if you only occasionally need more.
- Upgrade your plan. A higher plan comes with a bigger monthly pool. See Plans and slot limits for what each tier includes.
Common questions
- Do I need credits to build a board myself? No. Credits are only for the AI features. Making boards by hand, editing tiles, picking voices, and sharing are all free and unlimited within your plan.
- Why did one action cost more than another? Different AI features do different amounts of work. Suggesting a single word is light; building a whole scenario or menu board generates a lot at once, so it costs more.
- Why does my menu board cost more than 5 credits? A menu board is a 5-credit reading fee plus 3 credits for each AI-generated picture, up to the image budget you pick when you build it. Choose a smaller budget — or "No new images" — for a lower cost. Any budget you don't use is refunded automatically.
- Do leftover credits roll over? Your monthly plan credits don't — they reset each cycle. Top-up credits do carry over and never expire.
- Which gets used first, my plan credits or my top-up? Plan credits first, then top-ups. That way the credits that expire get used before the ones that don't.
- Can I see what I've spent? Yes. Your Account page shows recent credit activity — refreshes, spends, top-ups, and refunds — for the last 30 days.
- What if a cost in the app doesn't match this page? Go by the app. The amount it actually charges is the live, current cost. This page reflects those costs too, but if you ever see a difference, trust what the app shows.