User-Pays Model
The User-Pays Model means your users cover their own cloud and AI usage, instead of you, the developer. Each user pays for the resources they consume in your app through their own Puter account. Whether you have 1 or 1 million users, your infrastructure cost stays at $0.
How it works
- Users sign in to your app with their Puter account, and that account covers the AI, storage, and other resources they use. Their usage never touches your bill.
- Every user starts with a free monthly allowance, enough to test out the platform and use apps built with Puter.js. They can track their usage in the usage dashboard.
- If a user runs out of their allowance, Puter prompts them to upgrade for more, or they can do it themselves in their billing settings.
When you, as a developer, use your own app, you are also subject to the User-Pays Model: you cover your own usage like any other user.
User-Pays Model vs. Traditional Model
| Traditional | Puter.js | |
|---|---|---|
| Servers & databases | You set up and pay | None needed |
| API keys | You manage and secure them | No API keys at all |
| Billing | You pay for all users' usage | Each user pays their own |
| Scaling | Costs grow with users | Zero cost at any scale |
| Abuse protection | Rate limits, CAPTCHAs, quotas | Not needed; abusers pay for themselves |
Advantages
- Zero infrastructure costs: no server, AI, or API bills, at any scale.
- Perfect for vibe coding: build and ship apps with AI without fear of a surprise bill. If your app goes viral overnight, each user still covers their own usage.
- No API keys: no keys to buy, secure, or ask your users to bring.
- Built-in auth & security: users sign in with Puter; your app runs within the permissions they grant.
- No anti-abuse code: bad actors pay for their own usage, so there's no incentive to abuse your app.
- Simpler codebase: cloud and AI are handled by Puter.js, so many apps can be frontend-only.
- Better UX: single sign-on and unified billing through the user's existing Puter account.