> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.tryterra.co/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.tryterra.co/streaming-api/pricing.md).

# Pricing & Access

The Streaming API is a paid add-on, with usage measured in Streaming credits.

## The add-on

The Streaming API is available for **$99/month**, on its own or alongside any Terra plan. Activate it from the dashboard, either on the Streaming page itself or under **Settings → Plans & Pricing → Additional Products**.

Without the add-on active, all streaming authentication endpoints return `403 Forbidden`. No producer, consumer, or test-user tokens can be minted, so streaming (including the synthetic-data test mode) requires the add-on.

## Credits

Usage is measured in **Streaming credits**, a separate balance from your Unified API credits. Your subscription includes **20,000 Streaming credits per month**. Beyond that, they are billed at **$0.005 each** at the end of each billing cycle, and **$0.003 each** past 1,000,000 in a month. Included Streaming credits reset each billing cycle and do not roll over. Overage is billed, never blocked: streams are not cut off mid-session.

| Usage                                                                                  | Streaming credits                  |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| **Active streaming user**: a user who streams at least one event in the billing period | 1,000 credits ($5)                 |
| **Included events**: each active user's first 16,000 streamed events in the period     | Free                               |
| **Additional events**: each streamed event beyond a user's included 16,000             | 1/16 credit (16 events = 1 credit) |
| Synthetic test users (dashboard test mode)                                             | Free                               |

The included 20,000 Streaming credits cover **20 active streaming users per month** (each within their included events), or any mix of users and event overage.

{% hint style="info" %}
An **event** is one real-time payload streamed from a user's device, typically about one per second per active stream. It counts once, however many consumer connections receive it. The event allowance is applied per user: one heavy user cannot consume another user's unused headroom. Fractional Streaming credits round down in your favour, and duplicates are removed before counting.
{% endhint %}

### What this looks like in practice

* At roughly one event per second, a user's included 16,000 events cover about **4.5 hours of live streaming per month**.
* Each additional hour of continuous per-second streaming is about 225 Streaming credits (**≈ $1.13/hour**).
* A team of 20 users doing weekly one-hour live sessions (≈ 4 hours each/month) fits entirely inside the included 20,000 Streaming credits: **$99/month total**.

## Access states

* **Add-on active**: full access, including producer, consumer and SDK token minting, live streaming, replay and test mode.
* **Add-on not active**: token minting returns `403 Forbidden`. Existing sessions end when their tokens expire; nothing else about your Terra plan is affected.