Credits
Credits are used to measure and bill workflow usage in a simple, predictable way.
Cost model
Every workflow run follows the same pricing rules:
- The trigger costs 1 credit - so every workflow run costs at least 1 credit.
- Most executed steps cost 1 credit each - each workflow step's page lists its cost.
- The first 3 credits after the trigger are included - they are free in every run.
This means that most small workflows cost just 1 credit, even if they include a few steps.
| Workflow run | Credits used |
|---|---|
| Trigger only | 1 |
| Trigger + 1 step | 1 |
| Trigger + 2 steps | 1 |
| Trigger + 3 steps | 1 |
| Trigger + 4 steps | 2 |
| Trigger + 5 steps | 3 |
| Trigger + 6 steps | 4 |
| And so on... |
Credits are only charged for steps that actually execute during a run.
Examples
-
Generate a document, send it by email and upload it to Google Drive:
- Trigger = 1 credit
- After the trigger = 1 (document generation) + 1 (send email) + 1 (upload to Google Drive) = 3
- Included free credits = 3
- Final cost = 1 (1 + 3 - 3 = 1)
-
Generate a document, send it by email and send it via HTTP:
- Trigger = 1 credit
- After the trigger = 1 (document generation) + 1 (send email) + 1 (HTTP request) = 3
- Included free credits = 3
- Final cost = 1 (1 + 3 - 3 = 1)
-
Generate 2 documents, send each to a different recipient by email and upload both to Google Drive:
- Trigger = 1 credit
- After the trigger = 2 (document generation) + 2 (send email) + 2 (upload to Google Drive) = 6
- Included free credits = 3
- Final cost = 4 (1 + 6 - 3 = 4)
Step costs
A few examples of what steps cost:
- Free: the Schedule trigger, Flow control and Set Variables.
- 1 credit: the Form and Webhook triggers, Document, Email, HTTP and Google Drive.
See the Workflow Steps page for the full list of steps.
Next Steps
- Read the workflow overview to understand how workflows work
- Learn how to generate and manage workflow documents
- Explore formulas to generate different documents based on conditions and calculations
