How CiteDash credits work (and how to start free)

CiteDash AI is priced around credits, and the model is simpler than it first looks: cheap things are free and unlimited, and the handful of actions that cost real computation spend credits. This guide explains exactly what spends a credit and what does not, walks the three plans, and shows the two ways to start at no cost, so you can see the product before you decide anything.

What credits pay for, and what stays free

Some actions in CiteDash AI run heavy, verified computation: drafting a chapter section that arrives already fact-checked, checking a claim against its source's full text, sweeping four scholarly sources for a live search, compiling your whole thesis to a formatted document. Those spend credits, because they cost real compute behind the scenes. As a rough guide: about 1 credit fact-checks a claim against its source, about 1 credit runs a live four-source literature search, roughly 10 to 30 credits AI-draft a chapter section with verification, and about 5 credits compile the full thesis to DOCX, PDF, or LaTeX.

The everyday work of research stays free and unlimited on every plan. Browsing the indexed corpus, reading papers in your library, asking questions of a paper you already hold, organising your references: none of that touches your balance. You spend credits when the AI produces verified output or reaches out to the live literature, not when you read and think.

The three plans

There are three subscription tiers, and credits refresh at the start of each billing month. They differ only in how many credits you get; every plan includes the full trust machinery (verified drafting, fact-checks, retraction blocking, and compiling), unlimited library and corpus browsing, and unlimited projects.

• Starter, $10 per month, 1,000 credits a month: enough to carry one thesis through grounded drafting and verification.
• Pro, $20 per month, 2,500 credits a month: the plan built for steady weekly writing and defending, and it adds advanced sandbox analysis and priority support.
• Ultra, $99 per month, 15,000 credits a month: capacity for full systematic-review runs, plus early access to new tools.
• Yearly billing takes 20% off every tier ($96, $192, and $950 per year) and grants the whole year's credits upfront.

Start free two ways

You do not have to pay to see whether CiteDash AI fits your work. There are two no-cost front doors, and neither asks for a card.

First, demo mode lets you preview the product without signing up at all. It is the fastest way to see how grounded drafting and verified citations actually behave before you create an account. Second, when you do sign up, your new account receives a one-time grant of free credits with no card required (the current amount is shown on the pricing page), enough to draft a section, fact-check it, run a few live searches, and compile, so your first real taste of the workflow is on us.

One honest point: there is no free plan. The signup credits are a one-time trial grant, not a recurring monthly allowance. Once you have spent them, ongoing credit-metered work needs a subscription. The free-forever parts (browsing, reading, and working with your own library) never expire on any account.

What happens when you run out

Running low on credits never costs you anything you made. Your projects, library, drafts, and citations all stay exactly where they are, and you keep full read access to everything. Only the credit-metered actions (AI drafting, fact-checks, live searches, compiles) pause until your plan refreshes next month, or until you move to a higher tier for more monthly credits.

You will see a low-balance notice before you reach zero, so there is no surprise cut-off mid-sentence. Plans are month-to-month (or yearly if you choose), you can change or cancel anytime from your account, and your work remains yours to export whatever you decide.

Choosing a plan

Match the plan to the shape of your work, not to a feature list, since the features are the same across all three.

• Writing a single thesis at a steady pace: Starter usually covers a chapter cycle of drafting and verification within its monthly credits.
• Writing and revising most weeks, or preparing to defend and publish: Pro gives the headroom for frequent drafting, fact-checking, and re-verification.
• Running a formal systematic review or extracting across a large corpus: Ultra is sized for the heavy, repeated verification those workflows demand.
• Not sure yet: open demo mode, then claim your free signup credits and run one real section end to end before you subscribe.