A rate card is the published list of prices for each unit a product charges for, such as per API call, per GB, or per token. It is the reference that turns metered usage into a billable amount.
A rate card is the price list behind usage-based billing. It states what each billable unit costs, so when the system meters usage it knows how to turn quantity into money. For a usage product, the rate card is the source of truth for pricing, the way a menu is for a restaurant.
How Rate card works
A rate card maps each billable dimension to a price: $0.50 per 1,000 API calls, $0.10 per GB-month, $2 per 1M input tokens, and so on. When the billing system rates usage, it looks up each metered quantity on the rate card and multiplies to get the charge. Tiered rate cards add volume breaks, where the per-unit price drops past thresholds.
Rate cards can be standard (one public list for all customers) or per-contract (a negotiated card for a specific enterprise deal). The billing engine applies whichever card is attached to the customer when it rates their usage.
Rate card examples
A cloud provider publishes a rate card: compute per vCPU-hour, storage per GB-month, egress per GB. An AI API publishes per-token rates by model. An enterprise customer negotiates a custom rate card with lower per-unit prices in exchange for a volume commitment.
Tiered example: $1 per 1,000 calls up to 1M, then $0.80 per 1,000 beyond. The rate card encodes both the units and the tier breaks.
Rate card vs Negotiated pricing
| Standard rate card | Negotiated pricing | |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | All customers | A specific contract |
| Visibility | Public | Per-deal |
| Flexibility | Fixed | Custom rates and commits |
| Best for | Self-serve, transparency | Enterprise volume deals |
Benefits & when to use it
A rate card makes usage pricing transparent and operable. It lets customers predict cost, lets the billing system rate usage automatically, and lets the business change prices in one place. Any usage-based or hybrid product needs one, whether public or per-contract.
Rate cards become more important as pricing dimensions multiply. A product that charges on several units (calls, storage, tokens) needs a clear card so both the customer and the billing engine agree on what each unit costs.
FAQ
What is a rate card in billing?
The published list of prices for each billable unit a product charges for, such as per API call, per GB, or per token. The billing system uses it to convert metered usage into a charge.
What is the difference between a rate card and a price list?
They are essentially the same idea; "rate card" is the term used for usage-based and per-unit pricing, emphasizing the per-unit rates that meter usage converts against. A price list may also cover fixed products and plans.
Can different customers have different rate cards?
Yes. Many products use a standard public rate card for self-serve customers and negotiated per-contract rate cards for enterprise deals, often with volume discounts in exchange for commitments.
How Credyt handles Rate card
Credyt rates usage against the rate card attached to each customer and applies it in real time. As events occur, Credyt looks up the per-unit price and debits the wallet immediately, so a customer's balance reflects their rate card live rather than at month end. Per-customer rate cards let enterprise deals run alongside standard self-serve pricing in the same system. Explore Credyt →