Usage & Billing

Understanding Chartly's usage limits, billing structure, and how to monitor your consumption to optimize costs and performance.

Plan Comparison

Feature	Trial	Starter	Growth	Enterprise
Monthly Charts	100 total	100,000	1,000,000	Custom
API Keys	1 trial key	5 keys	25 keys	Unlimited
Chart Formats	PNG, SVG	PNG, SVG	PNG, SVG	PNG, SVG, PDF
Max Dimensions	2000×2000	2000×2000	4000×4000	8000×8000
Cache Duration	30 days	90 days	1 year	Custom
Analytics	❌	Basic	Advanced	Custom
Support	Community	Email	Priority	Dedicated
SLA	❌	❌	99.9%	99.99%
Price	Free	£30/mo	£150/mo	Contact

Usage Limits

Chart Generation Limits

Charts are counted based on successful API calls to rendering endpoints:

✅ POST /v1/chart (generates new chart)
✅ GET /v1/chart (generates new chart)
✅ POST /v1/chart/create (creates permanent URL)
❌ GET /v1/chart/{id} (serves cached chart)
❌ GET /v1/metrics/{id} (analytics only)

Rate Limits

Plan	Requests/Minute	Requests/Hour	Burst Limit
Trial	10	100	20
Starter	60	1,000	120
Pro	300	10,000	600
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Custom

Dimension Limits

Plan	Max Width	Max Height	Max Pixels
Trial	2,000px	2,000px	4M pixels
Starter	2,000px	2,000px	4M pixels
Pro	4,000px	4,000px	16M pixels
Enterprise	8,000px	8,000px	64M pixels

Billing Details

Trial Account

Duration: 30 days from first API key generation
Limits: 100 total chart generations
Features: Full API access, all chart types
Restrictions: No account management, limited analytics
Upgrade: Seamless transition to paid plans

Paid Plans

Starter Plan - £30/month

Charts: 100,000 per month
Overage: £3 per 1,000 additional charts
API Keys: Up to 5 keys
Support: Email support (48h response)
Analytics: Basic usage dashboard

Growth Plan - £150/month

Charts: 1,000,000 per month
Overage: £1 per 1,000 additional charts
API Keys: Up to 25 keys
Support: Priority email + chat (24h response)
Analytics: Advanced metrics and insights
SLA: 99.9% uptime guarantee

Enterprise Plan - Custom Pricing

Charts: Custom volume pricing
Features: Everything in Pro plus:
- Custom chart dimensions
- PDF output format
- Dedicated support manager
- Custom SLA (up to 99.99%)
- Volume discounts
- Custom integrations

Billing Cycle

Monthly: Billed on the same day each month
Annual: 2 months free (16.7% discount)
Usage: Charts reset on billing date
Overage: Billed in next cycle
Proration: Upgrades are prorated

Monitoring Usage

Real-Time Dashboard

Access your usage dashboard at chartly.dev/dashboard:

# Get current usage via API
curl "https://api.chartly.dev/usage/analytics" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your_session_token"

Response:

{
  "currentUsage": {
    "period": "month",
    "count": 1547,
    "limit": 10000,
    "remaining": 8453,
    "resetTime": "2024-02-01T00:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "quickStats": {
    "totalRequests": 1547,
    "successRate": 98.7,
    "averageRenderTime": 245,
    "cacheHitRate": 78.2
  }
}

Usage Alerts

Set up automatic alerts when approaching limits:

Email Notifications

80% of monthly limit reached
95% of monthly limit reached
Overage occurred

Webhook Notifications

// Configure webhook endpoint
POST /webhooks/usage
{
  "event": "usage_threshold",
  "threshold": 80,
  "current_usage": 8000,
  "limit": 10000,
  "account_id": "acc_abc123"
}

API Key Usage Tracking

Monitor usage per API key for better cost allocation:

curl "https://api.chartly.dev/keys" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your_session_token"

Response:

[
  {
    "id": "key_abc123",
    "label": "Production API",
    "usage_this_month": 856,
    "last_used": "2024-01-15T14:22:00.000Z",
    "created": "2024-01-01T10:00:00.000Z"
  },
  {
    "id": "key_def456", 
    "label": "Development API",
    "usage_this_month": 124,
    "last_used": "2024-01-15T09:45:00.000Z",
    "created": "2024-01-10T15:30:00.000Z"
  }
]

Cost Optimization

Efficient Chart Usage

1. Use Caching Effectively

// Good: Create permanent URLs for repeated use
const chartUrl = await chartly.createChart(config, { width: 600, height: 400 });
// This URL can be reused without additional API calls

// Avoid: Regenerating identical charts
const chart1 = await chartly.generateChart(config); // Counts as 1 usage
const chart2 = await chartly.generateChart(config); // Counts as 1 usage (unnecessary)

2. Optimize Dimensions

// Good: Reasonable dimensions for use case
const dashboardChart = { width: 400, height: 300 }; // 120K pixels

// Avoid: Unnecessarily large charts
const oversizedChart = { width: 2000, height: 2000 }; // 4M pixels

3. Batch Operations

// Good: Batch multiple charts at once
const charts = await Promise.all([
  chartly.createChart(salesData, opts),
  chartly.createChart(trafficData, opts),
  chartly.createChart(revenueData, opts)
]);

// Avoid: Sequential individual requests
// (Same total usage, but better performance)

Signed URLs for Public Access

Use signed URLs to share charts without consuming additional API calls:

// Generate once, share multiple times
const signedUrl = chartly.createSignedUrl(chartConfig, {
  expirationMinutes: 1440, // 24 hours
  width: 600,
  height: 400
});

// Share this URL in emails, Slack, etc.
// No additional API calls when users view the chart

Development vs Production

Use separate API keys and accounts:

// Development environment
const devChartly = new ChartlyClient({
  apiKey: process.env.CHARTLY_DEV_API_KEY
});

// Production environment  
const prodChartly = new ChartlyClient({
  apiKey: process.env.CHARTLY_PROD_API_KEY
});

Payment & Invoicing

Payment Methods

Credit/Debit Cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
PayPal: Available for all plans
ACH/Bank Transfer: Enterprise plans only
Wire Transfer: Enterprise plans only

Invoicing

Automatic: Charges occur on billing date
Receipts: Emailed immediately after payment
Invoices: Available in dashboard with download
VAT/Tax: Applied based on billing address
Purchase Orders: Enterprise plans only

Failed Payments

If payment fails:

Day 1: Email notification + retry attempt
Day 3: Second retry + email warning
Day 7: Final retry + account suspension warning
Day 10: Account suspended (read-only access)
Day 30: Account terminated + data deletion

During suspension:

✅ Existing charts remain accessible
✅ Dashboard and analytics available
❌ New chart generation disabled
❌ API key creation disabled

Plan Management

Upgrading Plans

Upgrades take effect immediately with prorated billing:

# Via API
curl -X POST "https://api.chartly.dev/subscription/create" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your_session_token" \
  -d '{
    "plan": "pro",
    "billing_cycle": "monthly"
  }'

Response:

{
  "checkout_url": "https://checkout.stripe.com/pay/cs_...",
  "effective_date": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
  "proration_amount": 89.67
}

Downgrading Plans

Downgrades take effect at the next billing cycle:

Immediate: New limits apply to API usage
Billing: Reduced rate starts next cycle
Credits: Unused credits carry forward

Cancellation

Cancel anytime with no penalties:

Immediate Effect: No new charges
Access: Full access until end of billing period
Data: Account remains read-only for 30 days
Reactivation: Full restoration within 30 days

Enterprise Features

Volume Discounts

Monthly Charts	Discount
500K - 1M	10%
1M - 5M	20%
5M - 10M	30%
10M+	Custom

Custom SLAs

Standard: 99.9% uptime
Premium: 99.95% uptime
Mission Critical: 99.99% uptime

Dedicated Infrastructure

Private Endpoints: Custom domain (charts.yourcompany.com)
Regional Deployment: Choose your data center
Isolated Processing: Dedicated rendering capacity
Custom Caching: Extended retention periods

Priority Support

Dedicated Manager: Named support contact
24/7 Response: Critical issues < 1 hour
Phone Support: Direct line to technical team
Custom Integration: Help with complex setups

Compliance & Security

Data Retention

Plan	Chart Cache	Analytics	Billing
Trial	30 days	30 days	N/A
Starter	90 days	1 year	7 years
Pro	1 year	3 years	7 years
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	7 years

Data Management

Smart Caching: Configurable retention periods
Data Export: Download your data anytime
Data Deletion: Complete data removal on request
Transparent Policies: Clear usage and privacy policies

Security Certifications

SOC 2 Type II: Annual compliance audit
ISO 27001: Information security management
Edge Security: Cloudflare's enterprise-grade protection
PCI DSS: Payment card security standards

Billing API

Get Current Plan

curl "https://api.chartly.dev/billing/info" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your_session_token"

Response:

{
  "plan": "pro",
  "billing_cycle": "monthly",
  "usage_limit": 100000,
  "current_usage": 15847,
  "billing_period_start": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "billing_period_end": "2024-02-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "next_billing_date": "2024-02-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "amount_due": 149.00
}

Usage History

curl "https://api.chartly.dev/usage/analytics?days=90" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your_session_token"

Invoices

curl "https://api.chartly.dev/billing/invoices" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your_session_token"

Response:

{
  "invoices": [
    {
      "id": "inv_abc123",
      "date": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
      "amount": 149.00,
      "status": "paid",
      "download_url": "https://api.chartly.dev/billing/invoices/inv_abc123/pdf"
    }
  ]
}

FAQ

Billing Questions

Q: Do unused charts roll over to the next month? A: No, chart limits reset each billing cycle. However, overage credits can carry forward.

Q: What happens if I hit my limit mid-month? A: Your account will continue working with overage charges applied. You'll be billed for excess usage in the next cycle.

Q: Can I change my billing cycle? A: Yes, you can switch between monthly and annual billing. Changes take effect at the next billing date.

Q: Do you offer refunds? A: We offer prorated refunds for downgrades and cancellations within the first 30 days.

Usage Questions

Q: How do I reduce my chart usage? A: Use permanent chart URLs and signed URLs for sharing instead of regenerating identical charts.

Q: Do cached chart views count against my limit? A: No, only chart generation APIs count. Serving cached charts via /v1/chart/{id} is unlimited.

Q: Can I track usage by team or project? A: Yes, use separate API keys for different teams/projects and monitor usage per key.

Need Help?

📊 Usage Questions: contact@chartly.dev
💳 Billing Support: contact@chartly.dev
📞 Enterprise Sales: contact@chartly.dev

Plan Comparison​

Usage Limits​

Chart Generation Limits​

Rate Limits​

Dimension Limits​

Billing Details​

Trial Account​

Paid Plans​

Starter Plan - £30/month​

Growth Plan - £150/month​

Enterprise Plan - Custom Pricing​

Billing Cycle​

Monitoring Usage​

Real-Time Dashboard​

Usage Alerts​

Email Notifications​

Webhook Notifications​

API Key Usage Tracking​

Cost Optimization​

Efficient Chart Usage​

1. Use Caching Effectively​

2. Optimize Dimensions​

3. Batch Operations​

Signed URLs for Public Access​

Development vs Production​

Payment & Invoicing​

Payment Methods​

Invoicing​

Failed Payments​

Plan Management​

Upgrading Plans​

Downgrading Plans​

Cancellation​

Enterprise Features​

Volume Discounts​

Custom SLAs​

Dedicated Infrastructure​

Priority Support​

Compliance & Security​

Data Retention​

Data Management​

Security Certifications​

Billing API​

Get Current Plan​

Usage History​

Invoices​

FAQ​

Billing Questions​

Usage Questions​

Plan Comparison

Usage Limits

Chart Generation Limits

Rate Limits

Dimension Limits

Billing Details

Trial Account

Paid Plans

Starter Plan - £30/month

Growth Plan - £150/month

Enterprise Plan - Custom Pricing

Billing Cycle

Monitoring Usage

Real-Time Dashboard

Usage Alerts

Email Notifications

Webhook Notifications

API Key Usage Tracking

Cost Optimization

Efficient Chart Usage

1. Use Caching Effectively

2. Optimize Dimensions

3. Batch Operations

Signed URLs for Public Access

Development vs Production

Payment & Invoicing

Payment Methods

Invoicing

Failed Payments

Plan Management

Upgrading Plans

Downgrading Plans

Cancellation

Enterprise Features

Volume Discounts

Custom SLAs

Dedicated Infrastructure

Priority Support

Compliance & Security

Data Retention

Data Management

Security Certifications

Billing API

Get Current Plan

Usage History

Invoices

FAQ

Billing Questions

Usage Questions