We’re introducing a new prepay billing model that gives developers more control and predictability over their API spend.
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Today, we are announcing Prepay Billing in Google AI Studio, a significant update to how you can pay for the Gemini API. This feature offers increased spend predictability and a simplified workflow for both prototyping and scaling applications. Prepay Billing is available in AI Studio for new Google Cloud Billing Accounts in the US that enable the Gemini API, with a global rollout in the coming weeks.
Get predictable, accessible billing from day one
With Prepay Billing, you can now purchase Gemini API credits when setting or linking a Google Cloud Billing Account in Google AI Studio. This flow ensures that developers can start building immediately without the risk of surprise charges at the end of the month.
The process is simple: top up your account with credits (with the option to reload credits automatically when your balance is low) and make API calls against that balance. Everything is managed within the Google AI Studio billing interface, providing a transparent view of your spend and remaining budget.
Smarter spend management and billing options
Our goal is to give maximum control and transparency into your Gemini API usage. Earlier this year, we launched Spend Caps to give you project level control over your monthly spends and revamped Usage Tiers to get you access to higher quotas with more transparency.
We’ve designed Prepay Billing to evolve alongside your application. Once you have established a consistent payment history and graduate to our higher Usage Tiers, you have the option to switch all your future Gemini API usage to a standard postpaid billing account. This allows you to consolidate your Cloud billing and unlock higher rate limits without missing a beat.
We hope these updates provide you the flexibility and confidence you need to build with the Gemini API. We will continue to launch improvements that provide you with a transparent, reliable and developer-friendly platform.
Prepay is not available for Invoiced (or Offline) accounts.