BibGenie DocsPricing & Credits
Understand Free, Pro, Max, Lifetime, and how BibGenie credits are consumed.
BibGenie uses credits to meter official model usage. Credits are not the same as request counts: the cost of a request depends on the model, context length, output length, and tool usage.
Core product distinction
All plans can use OpenAlex, Web Search, and Web Extract. Free charges 1 credit per successful external tool call; paid plans include those calls at no additional credit cost and provide more monthly credits. Max provides the highest monthly credits for heavy reading, comparison, and review workflows.
Plan Comparison
| Plan | Price | Monthly credits | Main capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 200 credits / month | Core features + OpenAlex, Web Search, and Web Extract at 1 credit per successful call |
| Pro Monthly | $9.99 / month | 10,000 credits / month | Everything in Free + no additional credit charge for external tool calls |
| Pro Yearly | $99 / year | 10,000 credits / month | Everything in Pro Monthly |
| Max Monthly | $30 / month | 35,000 credits / month | Everything in Pro + more room for deep reading, comparison, and review generation |
| Max Yearly | $295 / year | 35,000 credits / month | Everything in Max Monthly |
| Lifetime | $199 one-time | 10,000 credits / month | Long-term Pro benefits |
Checkout is the source of truth
Prices, discounts, and promotions may change. The final price is the one shown on the Pricing page and in Stripe Checkout.
Credit Booster
Free and paid users can buy an additional credit package:
| Package | Amount | Price | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booster | 5,000 credits | $6.99 | 6 months |
How Credits Are Consumed
Credit usage is mainly affected by:
- Model choice: higher-cost models usually consume credits faster.
- Input length: PDFs, notes, snapshots, images, and chat history increase input tokens.
- Output length: long reviews, long tables, and full notes use more tokens.
- Tool usage: search, attachment reading, web search, and web extraction may involve multiple model calls.
- External tools: on Free, each successful OpenAlex, Web Search, or Web Extract call costs 1 credit. Paid plans include these calls at no additional credit cost. Model usage in the surrounding conversation is metered separately.
- Model multiplier: labels such as
1.5xor2xprovide an approximate usage hint.
BYOK and local models
Custom models, Ollama, and LM Studio do not use BibGenie's official model service, so they do not consume BibGenie credits. Any cost or compute usage is handled by your provider or your local machine.
How Many Credits Does Reading a Paper Use?
There is no fixed amount. Credit usage depends on the selected model, input context, output length, and current model pricing. Check the Usage page for the exact charge recorded for each request.
What Happens When Credits Run Out?
If your credit balance is insufficient, official model requests may not continue. You can:
- Wait for the next monthly refresh.
- Upgrade to Pro, Max, or Lifetime.
- Buy a Credit Booster.
- Use BYOK or a local model.
Checking Your Balance
After signing in, BibGenie syncs your account status and credit balance. You can also check your balance from the website account area or the plugin user page.