Plan requirement
AI Gateway requires the Pay-as-you-go plan. Free and Hobbyist plans cannot use the AI Gateway.Purchasing credits
Purchase credits directly from the ngrok dashboard. The minimum purchase is USD $5.00. Credits expire one year after purchase. There is no REST API for purchasing credits—this is a dashboard-only operation.How credits are consumed
When you use AI Gateway API Keys, credits cover both ngrok’s processing fee and the upstream provider cost (OpenAI, Anthropic). ngrok pays the provider on your behalf. When you bring your own keys, credits are not required—you pay providers directly through your own billing relationship.Balance tracking
View your current credit balance in the ngrok dashboard.Low balance alerts
When your balance drops below a threshold, ngrok sends an email notification warning you to purchase additional credits before they run out.What happens when credits run out
When your credit balance reaches zero:- AI Gateway API Key requests stop working—ngrok can no longer pay providers on your behalf
- Clients receive HTTP 403 with error
ERR_NGROK_4026: “Your account has run out of credit”
BYOK requests are not affected by credit depletion—you pay providers directly through your own billing relationship.
Restoring access
Purchase additional credits to restore access. Once your balance is restored, AI Gateway API Keys resume working immediately.AI Gateway credits vs. platform credits
AI Gateway credits are separate from general ngrok platform credits (used for endpoints, bandwidth, and more on Free/Hobbyist plans). They are: They are purchased separately, tracked separately, and used exclusively for AI Gateway requests.Next steps
- AI Gateway API Keys: Create keys to authenticate requests
- Quickstart: Get your AI Gateway running in minutes
- Bring Your Own Keys: Use your own provider API keys
- FAQ: Common questions about credits and billing