Definition
Credit-based search pricing meters per-query consumption (each call uses 1+ credits depending on parameters) rather than per-tier features, fitting AI agent workloads where light queries (1 credit) cost less than heavy queries (3-5 credits with deep extract or AI Overview parameters).
In Depth
Per-tier pricing (Starter $X/mo for Y queries) was the 2010s SaaS norm; credit-based pricing fits modern agent loops better because workloads are unpredictable. Scavio uses credit-based: 1 credit per /search call, 1 per /extract, 1 per /reddit/search. Tavily's PAYG works similarly at $0.008/credit. Brave Search API meters per 1K requests with included token costs for the Answers API. Honest tradeoff: credit-based pricing makes monthly cost less predictable; teams that prefer fixed budgets can set a soft cap or pre-buy credits at flat rate. The structural advantage: an agent that runs 3,000 queries one week and 200 the next pays in proportion.
Example Usage
The credit-based pricing meant the agent's heavy-research week cost $14 and the light-research week cost $1.20, matching actual usage rather than paying flat $30/mo regardless.
Platforms
Credit-Based Search Pricing is relevant across the following platforms, all accessible through Scavio's unified API:
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