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Credits & Pricing

Understanding Veila's transparent pricing model, credit system, and how we use your payments to build a privacy-focused future for AI.

How Credits Work

Veila uses a simple credit system for all AI model usage:

  • $1 = 100 credits or 1 credit = 1 cent
  • Pay-as-you-go: Only pay for what you actually use
  • No subscriptions: No monthly fees or commitments
  • Transparent costs: See exactly what each message costs

Model Pricing

Our pricing is based on third-party API costs plus a 30% markup to cover development and operations:

Formula: 3rd Party API Price + 30% = Veila Price

This markup allows us to:

  • Maintain and improve the platform
  • Cover server and infrastructure costs
  • Develop new privacy features
  • Offer a sustainable free tier

Usage Examples

To help you estimate costs, here's what typical usage looks like. We assume one A4 page = 500 tokens for these calculations:

Usage Input on avg. per day Output on avg. per day GPT-5 GPT-5 Mini GPT-5 Nano
Light 1 A4 page 3 A4 pages $ 0.61 / month $ 0.12 / month $ 0.02 / month
Medium 10 A4 pages 10 A4 pages $ 2.19 / month $ 0.44 / month $ 0.09 / month
Heavy 20 A4 pages 50 A4 pages $ 10.24 / month $ 2.05 / month $ 0.41 / month

Reading example: if you use a state of the art model (GPT-5) heavily (20 A4 pages input and 50 A4 pages output every day), you will spend $ 10.24 per month (consists of $ 7.88 OpenAI API costs that we transfer to OpenAI and $ 2.36 that we use for ongoing operation and development).

Even with heavy usage and a state of the art model, you would spend less than half of what an OpenAI Pro subscription costs.

Note: Exact costs depend on current API pricing and may vary. Check in-app for real-time pricing.

Free Tier

We believe everyone should have access to privacy-focused AI, regardless of their budget:

How It Works

  • Daily Reset: Users with low balances are automatically topped up once per day
  • Individual Limit: Each user receives a daily allowance to try Veila
  • Global Budget: We have a fixed daily budget for all free tier credits combined

Why the Limits?

Veila is funded by an independent developer, not a big tech company. The daily limits protect our sustainability:

  • Cross-financing: Paying users support the free tier for everyone
  • Responsible Growth: We can only offer free usage that our paying users can sustain
  • Long-term Vision: This model ensures Veila remains available for years to come

Our Mission

Veila exists to prove that you don't have to sacrifice privacy for great AI. We believe:

  • Your conversations belong to you — not to AI companies building profiles
  • Privacy should be accessible — not just for those who can afford enterprise solutions
  • Transparency matters — you should know exactly how your data is handled

By choosing Veila, you're voting for a future where privacy and AI can coexist.

Supporting Our Mission

Make Veila Your Main AI Assistant

The best way to support us is simple: use Veila for your daily AI needs and buy credits as you need them. Every conversation you move from other platforms to Veila helps prove there's demand for privacy-focused AI.

Vote with Your Wallet

When you buy credits, you're casting a vote for a world where:

  • AI companies respect your privacy
  • You own your data
  • Innovation doesn't require surveillance

Supporter Credit Packages

Want to make an even bigger impact? Consider our supporter packages:

  • Contribute beyond your usage to help us grow
  • Finance ongoing development of new privacy features
  • Enable free tier access for users who can't afford to pay

Your extra support lets us offer free access to students, researchers, and others who need privacy-focused AI but lack the budget.

Financial Transparency

We believe in complete transparency about where your money goes:

When You Pay $20 for Credits

API Costs: $16

  • Since our markup is 30%, $15.38 go directly to the model provider (OpenAI/Anthropic/etc.) for your usage. 30% of that, i.e. $4.62 stay with us, and we use it to pay what follows.

VAT: $1.25

  • VAT in Switzerland is 8.1%, and we pay this on the part going to the provider ($15.38 in this example). $15.38 x 8.1% = $1.25.

Payment Processing Fees: $1.18

  • Fee: 3.9% + $0.40
  • For this example: $20 x 3.9% + $0.40 = $1.18

Veila Revenue: $1.52

  • We are left with $20 - $15.38 - $1.25 - $1.18 = $2.19
  • We use this for:
    • Platform development and maintenance
    • Server costs and infrastructure
    • Domain names and services
    • Hopefully, an independent security audit soon

Our Commitment

  • No hidden fees: What you see is what you pay
  • Fair markup: Just 30% to keep the lights on and innovate
  • Transparent usage: Track every credit in your account
  • Open about limits: We're honest about our constraints as an indie project

Pricing Updates

We may update our prices in the following cases.

  • Provider changes: When AI companies change their pricing, ours updates accordingly
  • Notice: We'll notify users of any pricing changes
  • Fair adjustment: Markup percentage remains consistent unless operational costs change significantly

The Bottom Line: Veila isn't trying to get rich from your data. We're trying to build a sustainable alternative that respects your privacy. Your support — whether through usage, credits, or supporter packages — makes this mission possible.

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