Usage
Prism keeps the rules deliberately simple: your plan includes a monthly allowance of MCP actions, and only the generative work draws from a prepaid AI balance, priced in dollars. This page explains exactly what counts, how each plan's allowance behaves, and what happens if the biller cannot be reached.
What counts as an MCP action
An MCP action is one tool call your AI client makes through the MCP panel, a single request that reads or changes your composition. Asking Prism to retime a layer, add keyframes, read the active comp, or apply an effect each counts as one MCP action. Every tool across animation, layers, timeline, effects, and the rest falls under this single bucket.
Because you bring your own AI and pay your model provider directly, Prism has no model bill to pass on. That is why Pro includes unlimited MCP actions. There is no monthly figure to watch and nothing to ration.
What is metered
Two things are measured. MCP actions are governed by your plan: unlimited on Pro, 200 a month on Free. The generative AI is paid for in dollars from your prepaid AI balance.
| Metered | What it covers | How it is counted |
|---|---|---|
| MCP actions | One tool call: a single request from your AI client that reads or changes your composition | 200/month on Free, unlimited on Pro |
| AI balance | Your prepaid dollar balance for the six generative tools: transcribe, BPM, SFX, music, image and video | Charged in USD per result; add any amount from $5 |
Everything else (every native tool call, every read of your live comp) is an MCP action, counted against your monthly allowance.
Your AI balance
The generative AI tools are paid for in dollars, not points. There is no invented unit and no conversion to work out: your balance is an amount of money, and each generation subtracts what it costs. A $5 purchase is $5 of generation.
The balance is a Pro feature. Free is 200 MCP actions and the full toolset; the generative services begin at Pro, and a Free account cannot load a balance. Beyond that the balance is not a plan perk and does not renew with one. It is strictly load-to-use: you add to it in your dashboard, paying what you want from $5. What you load is what you have, and purchased balance never expires.
Your everyday MCP actions never touch the balance; only these six tools do:
| Tool | Charged |
|---|---|
| Transcription, audio → timestamped subtitles | per minute of audio |
| Music generation, an instrumental track from a prompt | per minute |
| Sound-effect generation, an effect from a prompt | per generation |
| Image generation, a picture from a prompt | per image |
| Beat / BPM detection → timeline markers | per analysis |
Pricing is pay as you go: you pay per result, only when you use it, and never less than $0.01 for a result. Nothing is estimated, and you are only charged for what you generate.
The current rate for every tool is in your dashboard. That page is the only place Prism states a price, because the figures there are produced by the same code that bills you, so what you read and what you are charged cannot disagree. An image has no fixed rate at all: it depends on the model your AI client chose, and the exact amount for each generation appears in your activity.
When your balance reaches $0, a paid generative tool stops and tells you the exact figures and where to buy more. Everyday MCP actions are unaffected: they are governed by your plan cap, not by your balance.
How Free works
Free gives you 200 MCP actions per month on the same tools as Pro: it is a real plan, not a feature-limited trial, so you can evaluate the full read → reason → write loop on real projects. The counter resets at the start of each billing month. Prism AI is the one thing Free does not include: subtitles, beat markers, images, sound and music begin at Pro.
At Free's cap, the next request is blocked with an upgrade notice. Pro has no cap to reach; there, only a generative tool pauses, and only at a balance of $0, until you add to it.
Fail-open billing
If a usage check is ever slow or unreachable, Prism lets the call through. A paid request is never blocked by billing.
Free's 200 is enforced strictly, as is an AI balance reaching $0. What is never strict is a billing system we cannot reach: if the biller does not answer, your call goes through rather than failing. You will not lose an edit because a counter could not be read.
Related
- Plans and pricing: the Free-vs-Pro comparison and headline prices
- Bring your own AI: why MCP actions never run out
- How Prism works: how a single request flows through Prism
Pricing
Free is 200 MCP actions a month with the full toolset. Pro is $6 a month for unlimited actions and adds Prism AI. No card to start, no API key, cancel any time.
Prism AI
Six generative capabilities Prism provides directly: transcribe, BPM, SFX, music, image and video. Charged per use from a prepaid balance that never renews.