How credits work
What a credit buys, how reservations work, and when credits are consumed.
Every operation in Aidealy that touches external data sources — running a search, enriching a contact, verifying an email — costs credits. Credits are reserved before the job runs and refunded if anything isn't consumed. This article explains what each operation costs, how the reservation flow works, and what to do if a charge looks wrong.
What costs credits
Most actions in Aidealy are free — browsing the Leads Hub, editing your ICPs, organising Lead Lists, inviting teammates. Credits are only spent on operations that actually hit a data provider.
The table below covers the main operations and their typical cost. Exact pricing can vary by source — the in-app cost estimator always shows the current rate before you confirm.
| Operation | Credits | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Run a lead search | 1 per company surfaced | Reserved up front, refunded for any unfilled slots. |
| Enrich a contact | 2 per contact | Covers role, email and verified-status lookup. |
| Verify an email | 1 per address | Standalone verification of a single email. |
| Re-run a Lead List | Same as a fresh search | Old results aren't re-charged — only new rows. |
| Export to CSV | Free | No credit cost for exporting data you already own. |
Estimates before you commit
Every action that costs credits shows a cost estimate before it runs. You never lose credits without seeing the cost first and clicking through.
Reservation and refund
When you start a credit-spending job, Aidealy reserves the maximum possible cost from your balance straight away. This keeps two people in the same organisation from accidentally over-spending the same credits at the same time.
If the job returns fewer results than reserved — say you asked for 100 contacts and the source only found 73 — the unused 27 credits are released back to your balance within a minute or two. You don't need to file a refund request; it happens automatically.
If a job fails entirely (network error, source outage, validation error), the full reservation is released. You only ever pay for results that were actually delivered.
Check your balance in the top bar
Your current credit balance is always visible in the top bar of every page in Aidealy. If it looks lower than you expect, open the Subscription page to see the most recent charges and refunds line by line.