How tokens are consumed

Tokens are the unit of usage. Your organization has one shared balance; every workspace in the organization draws from it. Every action that spends tokens shows a quote first, and you confirm it. Nothing spends tokens silently.

The confirmation card is the source of truth

Exact token amounts per stage are not listed here because they can change between releases. The confirmation card always shows the current cost for exactly the settings you have chosen, before anything runs.

What consumes tokens

Action	Consumes tokens	Notes
Generating an asset (text, image, or CAD)	Yes	Quoted per stage. Shape generation and textures are the main line items. CAD input skips shape generation, so it is cheaper. Text input adds a small reference-image line item.
Each additional variant	Yes	A variant is always quoted and charged, even when the source asset would be free to regenerate.
Regenerate / Reprocess in place after the asset has been exported	Yes	Until you export an asset, in-place regeneration and reprocessing are free. Once the asset has a completed export, any in-place rerun is quoted and charged for the stages it runs.
Retry after a failed or cancelled build	Yes	A retry is a new run. The unfinished part of the failed run is refunded first (see below), then the retry is quoted and charged.
Articulated behavior, Parts segmentation, higher Collision levels, Sim validation	Yes	Each adds its own line item. Low and SDF collision are priced at zero.

What is free

• Everything in the viewer: inspecting, changing views, hiding parts.
• Apply Edits, Reprocess, and Regenerate on an asset that has not been exported yet. Once an asset has a completed export, reruns are quoted.
• Exporting and downloading the package. Exports are free; tokens are charged on generation only.
• Cancelling a build. Stages that did not complete are refunded (see below).
• Talking to the Agent, asking questions, changing settings before you confirm.
• Publishing to and importing from the Organization Library (imports count toward your plan’s active-asset limit, not tokens).
• Reading, listing, and status-polling through the API.

How quotes work

The confirmation card shows the token cost for exactly the settings shown, broken into stages. Change a setting and the number updates. A quote is valid for about 10 minutes; after that it is marked stale and you refresh it before confirming, so the number you approve is always current. If pricing changes between the quote and confirmation, the product rejects the old quote and shows a new one.

The full quoted amount is charged when the build is submitted. If the build fails or is cancelled, the part of the charge for stages that did not complete is refunded, and the receipt in the token menu shows exactly what was refunded. A build that completes successfully is charged the full quote.

Reading the estimate

If a build looks expensive, the usual levers are: fewer variants, automatic shape generation instead of advanced shape generation, Single object instead of Articulated, and Low or SDF collision.

Where tokens live

Tokens belong to the organization and are shared across all of its workspaces. The token pill in the workspace header shows the organization balance and opens a popover with your plan, the next monthly grant date (if any), and recent token-metered runs.

The balance has two buckets: plan tokens (your plan’s monthly grant) and purchased tokens (bought as needed). Plan tokens are used first. On the free plan, the monthly grant applies to the first free organization you own and refills roughly every 30 days.

Running out

When the balance can’t cover a quote, the Generate button is disabled with the reason (“Out of tokens. Top up or upgrade to start new asset generations.”). Builds already charged and running finish. Anyone with edit rights in the workspace can add tokens; plan changes are handled by organization admins. The button enables as soon as the balance covers the quote.

From the API

Generation requests are checked against the balance before uploads start and return an insufficient_tokens error (HTTP 403) with the required amount, your balance, and the shortfall if you can’t afford the run. Status polling, listing, reads, and export downloads are free. Using the API.

Related: Variants, Editing, Roles and permissions.