Pay per call.
Usage-based and transparent. You're billed only for what a call actually consumes, with a small per-call floor. The free tier gives you 100 free calls every month, and agents can pay with x402 (USDC) — no account.
Rate card
Money is tracked in micro-USD (1,000,000 µ = $1). Prices below are what you're charged (1.5× margin already included). A $0.002 minimum applies per call.
| What | Unit | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metadata + insights | per call | $0.00015 | title, author, duration, date, views/likes/comments |
| Search new | per call | $0.002 | find YouTube videos by keyword — POST /v1/search, own endpoint (not an extract field); up to 25 results per call, flat/floor-pinned regardless of how many; no download, no LLM — docs |
| Transcript | per audio-minute | $0.0015 | captions when present, else Whisper |
| Translation new | per audio-minute | $0.0015 | optional translate param, 25 languages — same rate as transcript, only billed when used; docs |
| Frames | per frame | $0.00012 | any size; jpg/png/webp |
| Text overlay (OCR) | per frame | $0.000225 | on-screen text per frame; add text_overlay alongside frames |
| Digest | per call | $0.00045 | LLM summary of the transcript; add digest to fields |
| Audio briefing new | per estimated spoken second | $0.000375 | spoken mp3 of the digest (~3-4¢ for a 90s briefing); add audio_digest to fields, pick a voice with voice, combine with translate for foreign-language audio; billed only when produced — details |
| Structured video understanding new | per video | $0.03 | typed JSON — chapters, entities, products shown, claims, key moments; add structured to fields; deterministic & cacheable; billed only when produced — details |
| Comments new | per call | $0.0045 | up to comments_cap top-level comments, YouTube only (Reddit's comment API was deprecated by Reddit 2026-05-28); add comments to fields; billed only when produced — docs |
| Comment sentiment new | per call | $0.006 | aggregated audience mood (percentages, themes, summary) over those comments; add comment_sentiment to fields; rides on top of the Comments call; billed only when produced — docs |
| Ask new | per call | $0.0075 | a short answer + timestamped quotes grounded in the transcript, instead of a full transcript dump; set the top-level ask param; never cached, billed only when produced — details |
| Bandwidth | per GB downloaded | ~$6.00 | only on calls that download the video/audio |
| Minimum charge | per call | $0.002 | so tiny calls still cover cost |
Metadata is effectively free. Bandwidth dominates heavy calls — request only the fields you need and downscale frames with width to keep cost low. Subtitles (?format=srt|vtt, or subtitle_format on MCP) are included at no extra cost beyond the transcript, translated automatically when translate is set — see the translation & subtitles docs.
Worked examples
| Call | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Metadata only (no download) | $0.002 (floor) |
| Transcript, 3-min video (~3 MB audio) | ~$0.02 |
| 60 frames @ 480px from a 3-min video | ~$0.08–0.12 |
| 60 frames + text_overlay | ~$0.10–0.15 |
| 1 frame (thumbnail grab) | $0.002 (floor) |
Every response includes a cost block with the exact micro-USD breakdown, so there are no surprises.
How to pay
POST /v1/checkout → Stripe Checkout. For humans.POST /v1/topup — no signup, no human. 1 USDC = $1 credit.Credit packs new
Buy a bigger pack via POST /v1/checkout (body { "pack": "5"|"20"|"100" }) and get a bonus on top. Paid credit never expires on a clock — no forced use-it-or-lose-it.
pack | Charge | Credit | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
"5" (default) | $5 | 5,000,000 µ | — |
"20" | $20 | 21,000,000 µ | +5% |
"100" | $100 | 112,000,000 µ | +12% |
Channel monitor (POST /v1/watch): subscribing, listing, and unsubscribing are free — each successfully delivered new_video webhook costs $0.0001 per delivered notification. A subscription pauses automatically at zero balance instead of running into debt.
Manage a saved card or auto-recharge below a balance threshold via POST /v1/billing/portal and POST /v1/billing/auto-topup — see the billing docs.
FAQ
Are there subscriptions or monthly fees?
No. Pay only for calls you make. Credits don't expire on a clock.
How do I know a call's cost before paying?
Light calls are floored at $0.002. For heavy calls, cost scales with minutes/frames/bandwidth; every response returns the exact cost breakdown. Cap work with frames.width and by requesting fewer fields.
What happens when my credit runs out?
The API returns 402 PAYMENT_REQUIRED. Top up with a card or x402 and retry.
Do agents really pay without an account?
Yes — x402 lets an agent settle USDC per top-up and immediately keep calling, no human in the loop.