--- title: "Spend control: caps per video, day and month" description: "Spend control with no credits: you pay each provider with your keys and CLAQON caps each video, day and month and reserves before spending. Here is how." url: https://claqon.com/en/features/spend-control/ language: en updated: 2026-10-12 alternates: es: https://claqon.com/funciones/control-de-gasto/ pt: https://claqon.com/pt/funcionalidades/controle-de-gastos/ --- Spend control # Spend control with no credits: a cap per video, per day and per month CLAQON spend control starts from a simple idea: you pay each provider with your own keys, at their prices, and CLAQON calculates, reserves and limits. Every video has a cap, paid services start with a zero budget and nothing expensive is requested until its conditions are met. [Pre-register](https://claqon.com/en/pre-registration/?modulo=funcion-gasto#configurador) [Work out your time](https://claqon.com/en/features/spend-control/#tu-tiempo) - No credits and no automatic top-ups - A paid budget that starts at zero - A reservation before every spend ![“Month-to-date spend” card with spend per account: total, full spend, published, failures, pending approval, cap and status.](https://claqon.com/recursos/img/capturas/en/gasto-mes-1600.webp) Real CLAQON interface with sample data. What it solves ## Why does money disappear on videos that fail? With cloud tools that charge by credits, a video that goes wrong also eats into your balance, and at the end of the month it is hard to know where the money went. It is one of the most common complaints among people who produce video with AI. CLAQON does not sell credits. You pay for the licence and, separately, for what your providers consume with your keys. In between, CLAQON acts as the financial controller: it quotes before spending, reserves the maximum, closes the gate if the budget does not stretch far enough and logs each spend with its origin. How it works ## From the limit you set to the entry in “Spend this month” 1. **You set the limits** A cap per video, a media budget per job, day and month and, if you want, a monthly cap per account. Paid items start at zero. 2. **CLAQON quotes** Before spending, it calculates the cost with a price catalogue that carries its source and date. Quotes expire. 3. **It reserves the maximum** Each job reserves the maximum number of attempts allowed, and each operation consumes within that reservation, without counting anything twice. 4. **It opens or closes the gate** There are budget gates before research, the script, the voice and the render. If the budget does not stretch far enough, the piece takes the “low-cost exit” and the idea goes back to the queue. 5. **It logs it** Paid calls go through a single spend log, which feeds the “Spend this month” card and the counter in the bar. Capabilities ## Caps, gates and the spend log - **Cap per video**: From 0 to 50 USD, with 0.5 USD by default. It is checked before every expensive stage. - **Media budget per account**: Maximums per job, per day and per month for paid voice, image and video, stored as whole microdollars. It starts at 0, with no overage and no automatic top-up. - **Quote and reservation**: Quotes expire. A paid request whose outcome is not on record is marked as an “uncertain outcome” and is never repeated on its own: it is reconciled by hand. No refunds are promised. - **Video gate**: No AI video clip is requested until 7 conditions are met: approved script, narration, plan, references, support scenes, operations with no uncertain outcome and a job with no incidents. - **Monthly cap Off by default**: Per account, up to 10,000 USD. It alerts you at 80%; at 100%, the account stops producing until the following month and promotion to long-form video is halted. If you choose, it also stops manual spending. - **Dedicated daily caps**: AI director: 25 calls and 0.05 USD a day. AI titles: 60 calls and 0.10 USD a day. The editor’s AI ideas: 30 calls and 0.10 USD a day. Continuous improvement: 1 model call, up to 250 YouTube Data units and 1 Tavily search a day. X in Tinta: 0.50 USD a month by default. - **“Paid options” Beta**: In Simple mode, six options, all switched off (AI title, AI description, frames, full editing, AI ideas and ideas with a topic), each with its estimated cost and the “I accept this cost” tick box. - **Single log and “Spend this month” Beta**: The card shows the month in UTC, the full spend and the breakdown by origin, and flags an incomplete or unknown figure. If an entry is lost, the cap gate rejects instead of letting things through. - **Counters in the bar**: The month’s spend and the YouTube quota, always visible in the panel bar. - **Price catalogue with an expiry date**: Every price has a source and a date, and is valid for 30 days at most. If the catalogue expires, nothing paid is quoted, not even the ElevenLabs voice. Your time counts too ## How much time do you spend today? Spending on providers is one part; the other is your time. Work out with your own figures how many hours a month producing takes you today and how many you would spend just reviewing. It is an indicative calculation: it does not promise any savings. ### Work out how many hours you spend today Pieces you publish per week Minutes each piece takes you today (research, script, voice, editing and publishing) Minutes you want to spend reviewing each piece Value of your hour (€) - **Hours per month you spend producing today**: — h - **Hours per month you would spend reviewing**: — h - **Hours per month that would be freed up**: — h - **Value of those hours per month**: — € An indicative calculation with your own figures (4.33 weeks per month). It is not a promise of results: the real time depends on your workflow and on what you decide to review. Limits ## What spend control does not do - The amounts are usage estimates, not invoices: what you pay is what each provider’s invoice says. - While there are known sources of spending outside the log (there are 4 today), the month is not declared complete. - Charges you make outside CLAQON with the same keys are not known automatically. - The price catalogue expires every month and has to be renewed by checking each price. If it is not renewed, everything paid stops; local voice and stock carry on. - The monthly cap per account comes switched off: until you set it, the per-video cap and the media budget apply. - The “Spend this month” card, the single log and “Paid options” are in beta. Frequently asked questions ## Questions about spending ### Do I have to buy credits to use CLAQON? No. You pay an annual licence per installation and, separately, what your providers consume with your own keys, directly to them and at their prices. CLAQON does not charge per video or per call. ### How much does it cost to produce a video? It depends on what you enable. With local voice, stock clips and rendering on your machine, the cost per video can be close to zero, and the AI model for the script is usually a small part of the spend. Paid voice, image or video are quoted before spending and stopped by your caps. [Read our guide on the real cost of a short](https://claqon.com/en/resources/real-cost-of-an-ai-short/). ### What happens when a cap is reached? If a piece does not fit within the per-video cap or the budget, it takes the “low-cost exit” before spending any more and the idea goes back to the queue. If the account reaches its monthly cap, it stops producing until the following month; at 80% you receive an alert. ### Is the “Spend this month” card my invoice? No. They are usage estimates, calculated with rates that carry their source and date, for the UTC month. They are for monitoring and stopping spending; the figure you pay is the one on each provider’s invoice. ### What happens if a paid request gets no response? It is marked as an uncertain outcome and is never repeated on its own, so that you do not pay twice. In the panel you record the provider’s identifier or the proof that there was no charge, and the job continues. No refunds are promised. Early access ## Produce with a spend cap you can check Tell us how much you spend today on tools and credits and what worries you. We will tell you what you could control with CLAQON. [Pre-register](https://claqon.com/en/pre-registration/?modulo=funcion-gasto#configurador) [See pricing and licences](https://claqon.com/en/pricing/)