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Charm Credits
Prepaid credits, no subscription, and they never expire.
What it is
CharmWriter is not a subscription. You buy Charm Credits once and spend them as you write, and they never expire. Every AI action — drafting prose, transcribing speech, updating the Story Bible, reviewing a chapter, generating an image — costs credits in proportion to the work done. Every new account gets a free credit on signup, with no card, which is enough to write a full chapter and decide whether the tool suits you.
Where to find it: Dashboard → credits pill (top right), or Workspace header → credits chip. Full detail: Settings → Billing.
What this covers
- Free credit on signup, no card required
- Four prepaid packs from $2.99
- Credits never expire
- Live balance in the header
- Per-book spend badge
- Out-of-credits prompt instead of silent failure
- Transaction history
- Refunds on unspent credits within 30 days
How to use it
- 1
Start with the free credit
Signing up grants one credit automatically. No card is asked for and there is no time limit on using it.
- 2
Watch the balance while you work
The credits chip sits in the dashboard top bar and the workspace header. It refreshes as you write, so you always know where you stand.
- 3
Buy a pack when you need one
Click the credits chip or go to Settings → Billing and choose a pack. Checkout runs through Stripe; credits land in your balance as soon as payment confirms.
- 4
Check what a book has cost
The workspace header carries a per-book spend badge. Click it for the running total for that manuscript alone, which is useful when you are writing more than one.
- 5
Review your history
Settings → Billing lists every purchase and every debit, so nothing about your balance is a mystery.
What it gives you
You do not pay for the months you are thinking
A subscription bills you in the months where you write nothing. Credits pay for the work you actually do, and wait patiently in between.
Costs are quoted before you spend
Anything with a meaningful price — an image, a long recording upload — tells you the estimate before it runs, not after.
Nothing fails silently
If a request would take you below zero, you get a clear prompt to top up rather than a broken screen or a half-finished chapter.
Refundable while unspent
Unspent credits are refundable within 30 days of purchase. Used credits are not — the AI work was already paid for on your behalf.
What spends credits, roughly ranked
Drafting prose in Writing mode is the largest single cost, followed by whole-chapter operations — AI Polish, Language Check, chapter review, rewriting a whole chapter. Generating an illustration or a cover is a fixed, quoted cost per image.
The background work is comparatively cheap: entity extraction, Story Bible updates, editorial questions, summaries and the Story Pulse all run on a fast, inexpensive model. Speech transcription is billed by the second of audio.
Reading your book, browsing the Story Bible, using the Story Map, editing text by hand and exporting cost nothing at all.
Good to know
- Credits are per account, not per book. All your books draw on the same balance.
- A cancelled or interrupted generation is still billed for whatever was produced before the interruption. The work reached the AI provider and was paid for.
- The "~N chapters" figure on each pack is an estimate. A dense, dialogue-heavy chapter costs more than a sparse one, and a chapter you rewrite five times costs five times.
- Prices are in US dollars.
Questions
Is there a subscription?
No. You buy credits once and use them at your own pace. There is no recurring charge and no plan to cancel.
Do credits expire?
No. Credits stay in your balance until you spend them. A book you set aside for a year is waiting with its credits intact.
How far does the free credit go?
Roughly one full chapter — enough to talk through a scene, have it drafted, watch the Story Bible fill in, and judge whether the result sounds like you.
Can I get a refund?
Unspent credits are refundable within 30 days of purchase. Email support@charmwriter.com with your order reference.
Does browsing my own book cost anything?
No. Only AI work costs credits. Reading, editing by hand, navigating the Story Map and exporting are free.
Start your first chapter
Every new account gets a free credit — enough to talk through a scene, have it drafted, and see how it reads.
Get started free