> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.otpbay.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Billing

> How OTPBay prices messages, when your balance is charged, and when charges are refunded.

Each project has a prepaid balance in US dollars. Messages are paid from it as you send — there are no subscriptions, minimums or monthly fees. Your first project starts with **\$1.00 of free credit**.

## Prices

| Product       | Price                                                                            |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Telegram code | \$0.02 per code                                                                  |
| SMS           | Per segment, by destination network. See **Billing → Pricing** in the dashboard. |
| Verify        | \$0.02 fee per verification, plus the Telegram or SMS sends it makes             |

A verification delivered on Telegram costs $0.04 in total: the $0.02 fee and the \$0.02 Telegram code.

## When your balance is charged

| Product       | Charged                                                                    |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Telegram code | When you send it.                                                          |
| SMS           | When OTPBay hands it to the carrier, at the price quoted when you sent it. |
| Verify fee    | When you start the verification.                                           |

Before accepting a request, OTPBay checks that your balance covers the price. If it doesn't, the request fails with `402 INSUFFICIENT_BALANCE` and nothing is sent. For Verify, the balance must cover the fee and the first send.

## Automatic refunds

You pay only for messages that arrive. OTPBay refunds automatically:

| What                            | Refunded when                                                                                           |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Telegram code                   | Telegram rejects it, or doesn't deliver it before it expires.                                           |
| Telegram code in a verification | The verification falls back to SMS, or the code wasn't delivered by the time the verification finishes. |
| SMS                             | Delivery fails after all retries. An SMS the carrier accepted isn't refunded.                           |
| Verify fee                      | No channel delivered the code.                                                                          |

The `cost` field on every object shows what it costs now, after refunds. A fully refunded Telegram code shows `"cost": "0.00"`.

## Track spending

* **Billing** shows your balance, this month's spend, spend by channel and how long your balance will last.
* **Ledger** lists every charge, refund and credit, with the balance after each one.
* The API returns your current balance from [Get project](/api-reference/project/get).

## Add funds

To add funds to a project, contact [hello@otpbay.com](mailto:hello@otpbay.com) with your project name.

<Tip>
  Check the balance from [Get project](/api-reference/project/get) in a scheduled job and alert your team before it runs out, so sends don't start failing with `402`.
</Tip>