Qrop credits and API subscriptions: how billing works

What's free, and who it's for

Qrop is genuinely free to use without registering. Anonymous visitors get 5 QR code generations per day, capped at 512px output, with a small 'Generated by Qrop' badge composited into the logo slot of each code. There's no signup required and no credit card needed.

If you register a free account, the allocation increases significantly: both personal and company accounts get 50 free generations per month, completely watermark-free, with output up to 2048px, more than enough for most print applications. Logo-embedded codes draw from the same free pool, so you can try branded QR codes before committing to credits.

The free tier is designed to be genuinely useful for individuals, small projects, and occasional use. You'll hit the limit if you're generating QR codes regularly for client work, or integrating generation into an application; that's when credits and API plans come in.

• Anonymous (no account): 5 generations/day, 512px max, watermarked.
• Free registered account (personal or company): 50 generations/month, 2048px max, no watermark, logos included from the same pool.

Credit packs: one-off top-ups for web use

Credit packs are the right purchase if you use the Qrop web interface and occasionally exceed your free monthly allocation. They're a one-off payment (no subscription, no recurring charge) and credits don't expire. You can buy as many as you need and use them across any number of months.

Credits are consumed from your purchased balance after your free monthly allocation is used up. One standard generation costs 1 credit. Adding a logo costs 1 free generation while your free allocation lasts, then 2 credits from your purchased balance.

There are four pack sizes:

• 250 credits, R50. Equivalent to R0.20 per generation. Good for occasional extra use.
• 750 credits, R115. Equivalent to ~R0.15 per generation. Better value for a few active months.
• 1,500 credits, R195. Equivalent to R0.13 per generation. Worth it if you consistently exceed the free allocation.
• 5,000 credits, R450. Equivalent to R0.09 per generation. The best per-credit rate in the pack range, for heavy use.

Credit consumption order: free first, then purchased

Qrop always draws on your free monthly allocation before touching your purchased credit balance. You never burn a credit you paid for while free credits are still available. The order is strict: free allocation first, then purchased credits.

At the end of each billing period, any unused free allocation simply expires; it doesn't roll over. Purchased credits persist indefinitely.

Example: you're on a free account with 50 generations/month. In a busy month you generate 65 QR codes. The first 50 come from your free allocation at no cost. The remaining 15 draw from your purchased credit balance at 1 credit each, so 15 credits consumed from your pack.

Logo generations

Adding your logo to a QR code is a registered-only feature. While your free monthly generations last, a logo code costs one of them, exactly like a plain code. Once the free pool is used up, a logo code is charged 2 credits from your purchased balance instead of 1.

This matters if logo-branded codes are your primary use case: if you will go past 50 a month, keep a credit balance to cover it. If you're on the API (subscriptions), every API generation costs 1 credit flat, whether or not it includes a logo.

Example: you've used all 50 free generations this month and want 3 more logo-embedded codes. Each costs 2 credits from your purchased balance (6 credits total). A plain code at that point would cost 1.

API plans: metered subscriptions for developers

If you're integrating QR generation into an application (a SaaS product, an agency CMS, a logistics system, an e-commerce platform) the API is the right surface. It accepts a Bearer API key, supports batch generation of up to 100 codes per request, and returns PNG, SVG, or PDF output.

API access requires an active subscription. Plans are billed monthly via PayFast in ZAR and renew automatically. Each plan includes a monthly credit allocation for API calls, and that allocation is a hard limit: there is no overage billing, so you never get a surprise charge. If you need more in a heavy month, buy a prepaid API top-up pack (5,000 credits for R200, 10,000 for R350, or 25,000 for R750) or upgrade your plan.

There are two plans currently available:

• Starter, R149/month, 3,000 credits included. 5 requests/second, 100 requests/minute. Right for low-to-moderate volume integrations: a few thousand codes a month, a single integration, a small team.
• Pro, R299/month, 9,000 credits included. 15 requests/second, 400 requests/minute. Right for mid-volume integrations: a growing SaaS product, an agency with multiple client feeds, or any use case that consistently bumped against the Starter ceiling.

How API credits are consumed

Every successful API call to `/api/v1/generate` or `/api/v1/generate/batch` costs 1 credit per QR code generated. A batch of 50 codes costs 50 credits. Validation failures (contrast too low, invalid data) cost 0 credits, you're never charged for a request that doesn't produce output.

The consumption order within a subscription is: carried credits from the previous period → included credits for the current period → your purchased credit balance, which is where API top-up packs land. When all three are used up, API requests return a 402 and nothing is charged, so you always know the most a month can cost.

Example: you're on the Starter plan (3,000 included credits/month). You carried 400 credits from last month. This month you generate 3,600 QR codes. The first 400 draw from carried credits, the next 3,000 from the included allocation, and the last 200 need a purchased balance, such as an API top-up pack. Without one, requests after the 3,400th return a 402 until you top up or the plan renews. Total month: R149, or R349 if you buy the 5,000-credit top-up at R200.

Credit carry-over: unused credits roll forward

If you don't use all your included API credits in a month, the unused portion rolls forward to the next period rather than expiring. This is intentional, you shouldn't be penalised for a quieter month. The carry-over pool is capped at 3× the plan's monthly allocation to keep the model balanced.

For the Starter plan (3,000 credits/month), that cap is 9,000 carried credits. For Pro (9,000/month), the cap is 27,000 carried credits.

Example: you're on Starter and used only 1,200 credits last month. The remaining 1,800 carry forward. This month you're busier and generate 4,000 codes. You draw the 1,800 carried credits first, then 2,200 from the included allocation, and still have 800 included credits left.

Upgrading and downgrading your API plan

You can change your API plan at any time from the billing dashboard. Upgrades (moving to a plan with more included credits) take effect immediately: a pro-rated charge is calculated for the remaining days in the current billing period, and your new rate limits and credit allocation apply as soon as the payment clears.

Downgrades are deferred to the next billing cycle. Your current plan's allocation and rate limits remain active until the period ends, at which point the lower plan takes effect. You always keep full access through the end of the period you've paid for.

Cancellation also defers to period end. API access continues until your current period expires, you're not cut off mid-period. After that, your API keys stop working and the account returns to a free status. You can re-subscribe to any plan at any time from the billing dashboard without contacting support.

What you need to start using the API

1. Register for a Qrop account at /register, only a name and email address required.
2. Navigate to the billing dashboard and subscribe to an API plan (Starter or Pro). PayFast processes the payment; you'll receive a confirmation immediately.
3. Go to the API Keys tab in your dashboard and create an API key. Copy it immediately. Qrop stores only a hash of the key and cannot show it again. If you lose it, create a new one and revoke the old.
4. Make your first API call: POST to /api/v1/generate with Authorization: Bearer <your-key> and a JSON body specifying the data type, content, and output format. The response is a base64-encoded image or a redirect to an SVG stream.
5. Check /api/v1/usage to see your current period's credit consumption, carry-over balance, and rate limit ceilings at any time.

A worked example: agency generating client QR codes

A useful way to understand the credit model is through a concrete scenario. Suppose you run a small design agency generating branded QR codes for client marketing campaigns. A typical month might look like this:

Client A (a restaurant chain) needs 300 QR codes linking each table to a unique URL, with the chain's logo composited in. Client B (a retail group) needs 150 QR codes for a poster campaign, no logos. Client C (event signage for a single event) needs 20 codes.

Total: 470 codes. 300 with logos, 170 plain. You're on a free account (50 free generations/month).

Spend the free 50 on the logo codes, since those are the ones that cost double later. Client A's first 50 logo codes are free; the remaining 250 cost 2 credits each, 500 credits. The 170 plain codes for Clients B and C cost 1 credit each, 170 credits. Total credits consumed: 670 from your purchased balance. Doing the plain codes first would cost 720, because the free pool would be spent on the cheaper codes.

At the 750-credit pack (R115), this entire month costs R115, around R0.24 per code. The 1,500-credit pack at R195 works out to R0.13 per code and leaves 870 credits for next month.

Choosing between credit packs and an API plan

The right choice depends on whether you're using the web interface or the API, and on your volume.

• Web interface, occasional use: start on the free registered tier. Buy a credit pack when you hit the monthly limit. No subscription needed.
• Web interface, consistent heavy use: the 5,000-credit pack at R450 (R0.09 a credit) is the most cost-effective. If you're consistently buying multiple packs a month, consider whether the API and a Starter subscription (3,000 credits for R149) would be more cost-effective depending on your workflow.
• API, low-to-moderate volume (up to ~3,000 codes/month): Starter at R149/month. The carry-over means a quieter month doesn't waste the allocation.
• API, growing or mid-volume (up to ~9,000 codes/month): Pro at R299/month. The rate limits (15 req/sec vs 5 req/sec on Starter) also matter if you run batches in parallel.
• API, very high volume or custom requirements: contact us directly, enterprise pricing is available with custom included credits and dedicated rate limits.

Frequently asked questions

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