Transactional email credits, billing, and overage
Transactional email is billed with credits: one credit per recipient a message is sent to. Every account includes a monthly allowance to get started, and you can add a larger monthly amount whenever your volume grows. This guide explains how credits work, how they're billed, what happens when you run out, and where to track your usage.
In this guide, you'll find:
- How transactional credits work
- Choosing your monthly credit amount
- Event storage
- Changing your credit amount
- What happens when you run out
- Tracking your usage
- FAQs
1 How transactional credits work
A credit is used for each recipient a transactional message is delivered to. If a single request has more than one recipient (for example a To plus a CC), each recipient counts as one credit.
- Every account includes a free monthly allowance of transactional credits, so you can start sending right away.
- Credits are a monthly amount that resets each billing cycle. Unused credits don't roll over to the next month, so choose an amount that fits your typical monthly volume.
- System messages Tarvent sends on your behalf don't use your credits.
2 Choosing your monthly credit amount
When your volume outgrows the included allowance, you can select a larger monthly credit amount. Amounts scale from a few thousand credits up to millions, so you can match your sending. The amount you choose is a recurring monthly subscription, billed alongside your plan.
Tip: Pick an amount that covers a typical month rather than your busiest month ever. If you occasionally go over, overage (covered below) has you covered, and you can move up an amount at any time.
3 Event storage
Transactional messages generate events (delivered, opened, clicked, bounced, and so on). Your credit amount includes a standard window for keeping that event data. If you need to keep it longer, you can choose a longer event-storage window for an added percentage of the credit price. The storage window and its cost are shown when you choose your amount.
4 Changing your credit amount
You can change your monthly credit amount at any time from your plan settings.
- Moving up takes effect immediately. The extra credits are added to your current month, and your recurring monthly amount going forward becomes the new amount. You're billed the prorated difference for the rest of the current billing period.
- Moving down takes effect at your next billing cycle. You keep your current credits for the rest of the month, and the lower amount starts at the next reset.
Before you confirm any change, the review screen shows exactly what you'll be charged now, including any account credit applied.
5 What happens when you run out
What happens when you reach your monthly credits depends on whether you're on the included allowance or a purchased amount:
- On the included free allowance, sending pauses once you've used your monthly credits. Requests beyond the limit return a "credits unavailable" response. To send more, select a monthly credit amount.
- On a purchased amount, you can keep sending past your monthly credits. The extra is billed as overage.
When overage applies:
- Credits used beyond your monthly amount are billed at a per-credit rate based on your credit tier.
- Overage is totaled after the billing period and charged separately, as a monthly true-up to your saved card.
- Only messages that were successfully sent count toward overage.
- Overage doesn't apply during your account's first month of service.
6 Tracking your usage
Go to Account > Overview to see where you stand: transactional credits used against your monthly amount, and any overage that's building up for the current period. Your plan settings show your current amount, event-storage window, and cost.