How the Lovable credit system works
This is the mechanics page. It is written for people who want to understand the system rather than buy something, so there is no pitch until the very end.
If your balance looks wrong rather than low, skip straight to the troubleshooting section further down.
The three pieces
Your allowance
The number of credits attached to your license for its period. It is fixed when you buy and visible in the panel.
Consumption
Work you request draws down the allowance. Bigger work draws down more, and retries draw down again.
The clock
Your license has a period, and daily counters such as device switches roll over on their own schedule.
Why identical requests cost different amounts
Two requests that read the same to you can be very different jobs underneath. Asking for a change in a short file is small work; the same sentence applied to a long file means reading and rewriting far more.
Conversation length matters too. A reply at the end of a very long thread carries all the earlier context with it, so late messages cost more than early ones.
A worked example
Steps 3 and 5 are where almost all real waste lives. Being specific the first time and correcting narrowly are the two habits that matter most.
| Session step | Request | Effect on balance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create a simple contact page | Moderate drop |
| 2 | Change the button colour | Small drop |
| 3 | "Make it look better" — vague | Moderate drop, unclear result |
| 4 | Re-ask with specifics | Moderate drop again — step 3 was wasted |
| 5 | Regenerate the whole page | Large drop |
When your balance looks wrong
- 1Reload the panel — a stale display is the most common explanation.
- 2Confirm which key is active, especially if you own more than one.
- 3Check the key's status and expiry on the My License page.
- 4Note the time and roughly what you had been doing, then contact support with those details.
Terms you will see
- Allowance — the credits attached to your license period.
- Device switch — moving the active session to a different machine.
- Daily reset — the point at which per-day counters roll over.
- Expiry — the end of your license period, after which the panel stops activating.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a published price per action?
No, because actions are not uniform in size. Watching your own balance for a session is the reliable way to learn your costs.
Do failed requests still cost credits?
Work that was performed is counted even if you did not like the result, which is why clear requests matter.
Does leaving the tab open spend credits?
No. Only requested work does.
Can support restore credits?
If something genuinely went wrong, tell us what happened and when, and we will look into it. Ordinary consumption cannot be reversed.
Related Lovable Zone resources
Want the numbers in front of you?
The extension panel shows your balance while you work, which is the easiest way to apply everything on this page.