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Top-ups and billing

Understand prepaid USD wallet billing, usage charges, historical package examples, and top-up questions.

A top-up is a prepaid balance, rather than a month of unlimited service. UniRoute uses prepayment with usage-based billing, so you pay for the requests you make.

Current billing and older examples: the active platform settles charges using a USD wallet. The older Chinese guide mentions RMB 69.99 and RMB 49.99 packages, cents paid in RMB, and illustrative discounts. Those are legacy examples from that guide, whose publication date is not specified; they are not current wallet units, current offers, or current rates. This page does not convert those historical amounts. Check current model pricing and the top-up page for today's amounts and terms.

1. Why move away from subscriptions?

Early versions of the product used a monthly subscription model. User feedback highlighted two recurring problems:

“I used up the day's allowance in just a few hours.”

“My membership expired before I realized it.”

Coding workloads are uneven. On a busy day, you may process hundreds of thousands of tokens; during a quiet period, you may not open the editor for two weeks. A monthly subscription can be inconvenient for that pattern.

A balance you use when needed

The balance model is designed to address these issues:

  1. Less expiry pressure: unused prepaid funds remain available rather than resetting with a monthly subscription allowance.
  2. More flexible usage: for a busy project, requests draw on your available wallet funds, subject to applicable key limits, permissions, and service limits.
  3. Less waste: charges follow actual usage rather than requiring you to consume a monthly package on schedule.

2. Where does a top-up go?

A prepaid balance

A top-up adds funds to your account's USD wallet according to the amount and terms displayed at checkout.

  • Funds are credited to the wallet: check the console to confirm the credit has arrived.
  • Shared across models: the balance can pay for supported Claude, Gemini, Codex, and other model requests; you do not need separate balances for each model.
  • Unused funds remain available: the prepaid balance model is not a monthly subscription reset.

The legacy guide used an RMB 49.99 package as an example of a deposit. That amount describes the older example, not a current USD top-up offer.

3. How are charges deducted?

With usage-based billing, each request incurs its own charge.

Billing units: token-based models are charged according to actual token usage and the selected model and channel rates. Check the pricing page for input, output, cache, and any other applicable units. Media tasks use quotes and their own billing units; see media billing and recovery.

Channel discounts: the cost can differ by channel. The older guide illustrated this by comparing USD 0.10 at a provider with RMB 0.10 or a few fractions of an RMB cent through a discounted channel, and mentioned discounts as low as 10% of the original price. These are historical illustrations, not current rates or an exchange-rate conversion.

Actual charges are deducted from your USD wallet. The key's spending limit separately controls how much that key can use.

4. How does this compare with a provider subscription?

For Claude Code, compare your expected workload with the provider's current subscription terms and the current API rates. The older guide used a USD 20 per month subscription as an illustration; it does not establish today's subscription price or which option is cheaper for you.

Subscription considerations

A subscription may include allowances that expire or reset, and usage controls such as message windows or weekly limits. That can leave capacity unused during quiet periods or interrupt work during busy periods. Check the provider's current plan rules.

The older guide also warned against sharing a provider account to increase utilization: logins from different locations or IP addresses can trigger account controls, with possible suspension and refund consequences. Follow the provider's account and sharing terms rather than assuming a shared account is permitted.

Balance billing considerations

  • Use funds when needed: unused prepaid funds carry forward under the balance model.
  • Compare actual rates: the older guide's “about 19% of official API pricing” claim was a channel-dependent historical illustration. Use current rates and your workload to estimate cost.
  • Pay for usage: check request records and actual charges. An interrupted task may still have completed requests or charges, so verify those before retrying.

5. Frequently asked questions

Does my top-up expire?

The prepaid balance model is designed to keep unused funds available rather than resetting them monthly. Check the terms shown on the current top-up page for the offer you buy.

How do top-up packages differ?

The older guide described the same service access with different bonus amounts: larger top-ups could provide a better effective price. Current package amounts, bonuses, and conditions are shown at checkout.

What happens when the balance runs out?

Requests that require more funds cannot proceed. Top up again and confirm the funds have arrived before continuing. Also check the key's total and time-window limits, since those can block a request even when the wallet has funds.