1. Credits, Plans, Free Trial, and Daily Credits

Generation and cloud rendering run on credits. Your balance, plan, and renewal date live in Settings > Usage; the plan line under your name in the left sidebar shows the plan at a glance (for example Pro · Free trial, or Gift Trial while you are on welcome credits). Credit amounts are shown with up to one decimal (for example 2.5 credits).

Plan Cards and App Store Billing

Each card in the plans modal shows the plan's credits, +N credits every day where the plan has daily credits, its storage, and a feature list.

The first feature is Up to N videos — the plan's credits divided by the price of one 4-second Lite 720p clip, computed from the live price table (the line is omitted while prices have not loaded). The rest of the list:

Plan	Includes
`Standard` (`What's included`)	`AI script, image & audio generation`, `Cloud video rendering`, `5 cloned voices of your own`, `Reusable character & style library`, `Publish straight to TikTok, Reels & Shorts`.
`Pro` (`Everything in Standard, plus`, tagged `Most popular`)	`More monthly credits for bigger projects`, `Priority GPU rendering queue`, `10 cloned voices of your own`, `Priority support`.
`Max` (`Everything in Pro, plus`)	`Our highest monthly credit allotment`, `Top-priority rendering at peak times`, `20 cloned voices of your own`, `Early access to new features`, `Dedicated priority support`.

App Store Billing

A plan bought in the Aificient iPhone app is billed through the App Store, and the web and desktop apps say so wherever billing is managed. The plan cards then show the credits the App Store plan grants, which can differ from the web plan; a pending change is managed in the App Store too.

Message	Where you see it
`Your plan is billed through the App Store. To change or cancel it, open your subscriptions in your Apple Account — from the Aificient app on your iPhone, or on the web.`	A banner at the top of the plans modal, with a `Manage in App Store` button.
`Manage in App Store`	The current plan's card, and `Settings > Usage` next to `Billed through the App Store`.
`Change in App Store`	The other plan cards, with `Your plan is billed through the App Store, so it changes there.`
`Not in the App Store`	A plan Apple does not sell, with `This plan isn't sold in the App Store, where your subscription is billed.`
`Your subscription is set to cancel <when>. You'll keep full access until then. To keep it, turn renewal back on in the App Store.`	`Settings > Usage` after a cancellation.
`Your plan is billed through the App Store. Manage it in your Apple Account's subscriptions.`	Any Stripe-side action on such an account is refused with this message.

Welcome Credits

A new account starts with a small welcome gift of credits (Gift Trial). It is sized for one or two Lite 720p cloud clips, not a whole video — enough to try the pipeline.

Note: While you are on welcome credits with no plan, new stories and posters default to the Lite tier, and renders made on gift credits carry a small visible Aificient watermark.

Free Trial

When a free trial is on offer for your account, it applies to one plan (normally the cheapest). You save a card and receive the trial's credits immediately; nothing is charged for the trial's days, and the plan starts billing when the trial ends unless you cancel.

Start free trial buttons carry a gift-box glyph; the sidebar trial card and the trial badges keep a small flag.

Where you meet it:

The closing step of the introduction tour — Try <Plan> free for N days, with Start free trial and See all plans.
The sidebar card above your profile row — Try <Plan> free / N days free · N credits; one click opens the checkout. It shows only while the account has no subscription and disappears the moment a plan or trial starts.
The chat, when a story, poster, or character turn is refused for lack of credits (see "Running Out of Credits").
The out-of-credits card inside a project — Keep creating — N days on us.
The plans modal (Compare plans / See plans anywhere, or Settings > Usage) — the trial plan's card shows 0 / N days, then <price> / <interval>, the trial credits, and a gold Start free trial button. Clicking it shows Opening secure checkout in your browser. Your trial credits are granted as soon as your card is saved — nothing is charged today.

Checkout always opens outside the app: your default browser on the desktop, a new tab on the web. When you return, a result card tells you how it went:

Result card	What it means
`Your free trial has started`	The card adds `N credits are ready to use.` and the date the plan bills.
`That card can't start a trial`	The card gives the reason and a `Try another card` button. Prepaid and disposable cards cannot start a trial; a card that already started a free trial on another account cannot start a second one.

During the Trial

The plans modal shows You're on a free trial of <Plan> until <date>, when it becomes a paid plan. You can switch plans after that, or start the plan now to get its full credits today. Other plans read Available after trial.

Start plan now opens a confirmation — Ends your <Plan> trial today. Your card is billed right away and the plan's full credits unlock immediately. — with Due now, Credits unlocked, and Then rows. If you use up the trial's credits early, the out-of-credits card says You've used your trial credits and offers Start my plan now.

Note: Once a subscription is active — including a free trial — new stories and posters default to the Pro tier. UGC ads always start on Lite, on every plan.

Daily Credits

Accounts on an active plan or free trial can claim a free top-up of credits once per calendar day. The amount comes with your plan: plan cards in the plans modal show +N credits every day, and the trial offer says Plus N credits to claim free every day of the trial. Accounts with no subscription have nothing to claim.

Note: The day resets at midnight in Europe/Madrid (00:00 CET or 00:00 CEST), the same moment for everyone — not 24 hours after your last claim.

Claiming always takes a click; nothing is credited automatically. Three places offer it:

A popup, once per day. It opens the first time the app sees an open claim that day on that device, and stays out of the way while the plans modal, an out-of-credits card, a billing result, or the tour is open. Closing it with ×, Esc, or the backdrop leaves the claim on the sidebar card.
The sidebar card above your profile row. One tap claims. This card takes priority over the free-trial card and the desktop-app link, and it reappears on its own after the next reset, even in a session left open overnight.
The out-of-credits card inside a project, when you hit zero on a plan or trial.

Where	Before you claim	After you claim
Popup	`Your daily credits are ready` / `A fresh top-up lands on <Plan> every single day — today's is waiting.` with a `Claim N credits` button.	`+N credits added` / `They're in your balance now — N credits to spend.` with a `Claimed` check pill in place of the button and a small confetti payoff; it closes by itself after about two seconds.
Sidebar card	`Daily credits ready` / `Claim N credits`; its tooltip reads `Claim today's N credits — free with your plan, every day at 00:00 CET.`	`+N credits added` / `Back tomorrow at 00:00 CET`, then it fades out.
Out-of-credits card	`Today's free credits are still unclaimed.`, and the primary button becomes `Claim N credits free`.	The gauge climbs back and the card closes by itself so you can retry the generation.

From the second consecutive day the card and popup show a streak (3-day streak · keep it going). Once today's credits are claimed the controls disappear; the out-of-credits card instead shows a countdown chip such as Free credits in 6 hours (tooltip Resets at 00:00 CEST (Europe/Madrid)).

There is no separate toast — the card or popup state is the confirmation. If a claim is refused because it was already made on another device, the app re-syncs your balance; any other failure shows Unable to claim your daily credits.

Running Out of Credits

In the creation chat, a refused turn gets a plain reply instead of an error bar, followed by a card. The reply is one of:

You've used up all the credits on your current plan. Upgrade to keep generating — you'll get more credits instantly.
You've used up your welcome credits. Start your free trial to keep generating — you'll get N credits right away.
This account doesn't have any credits yet. …

The card is Try <Plan> free for N days with Start free trial and See all plans when a trial is on offer; otherwise Out of credits / Upgrade plan or No credits yet / See plans.

Inside a project (a generation run or a cloud render submission), an out-of-credits card takes over with an animated gauge counting down to 0 credits left and one of:

Card title	Button
`Keep creating — N days on us`	`Start free trial`
`You've used your trial credits`	`Start my plan now`
`You're out of credits` (on a paid plan)	`Upgrade plan`
`You're out of credits`	`Choose a plan`

With Upgrade plan the card explains Move up a tier and the extra credits land instantly — you only pay the difference for the days left., or for an App Store plan Your plan is billed through the App Store: move up a tier there and the extra credits land as soon as Apple confirms it.

On a plan or trial the daily-claim lifeline described under "Daily Credits" appears here too. Not now closes the card.

Cloud renders that cannot be fully paid for are sent scene by scene until the balance runs out. The rest are listed in the generation report: Not enough credits to render this scene. Render it from the scene panel once you have more credits.

Credits & Plans