Add-ons and credits
Buy recurring add-ons and one-time AI, DM, click, or link credit packs from the Billing Add-ons tab without changing your base plan.
Use Dashboard → Billing → Add-ons to raise capacity or unlock modules without changing your base plan. Buy recurring add-ons (often via a cart on your existing subscription) or one-time credit packs (AI, DM, clicks, links) through Stripe Checkout.
What you'll achieve
- Review what’s already active on the team
- Browse catalog groups (usage, inbox, workflow, growth, channels, integrations, scale)
- Understand credits vs plan quotas vs pay-as-you-go
- Buy WhatsApp / Telegram channel add-ons
- Confirm activation toasts and refreshed entitlements after return
Before you start
- Correct team selected
- Billing view / purchase permission
- Decide whether you need recurring monthly volume (cheapest for steady load) vs a one-time pack (spikes) vs pay-as-you-go (no commitment, highest unit price)
- Free workspaces without a card: eligible one-time packs still work because Checkout collects payment at purchase time; PAYG switches require a card on file
Credits vs plan vs PAYG
| Layer | What it is | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Plan quota | Included in Free / Individual / Team / Enterprise for that meter | Used first each period (or each day for AI) |
| One-time credit pack | Prepaid bank (DM, click, link slots, AI packs, content publishes where offered) | After plan quota; packs don’t change your plan tier |
| Reward credits (from Rewards) | Free DM, click, automation-run or routine-run credits earned from invites, challenges and promotions; may expire | After plan quota, before pay-as-you-go. For DMs: purchased credits → plan → reward credits; for clicks: plan → purchased credits → reward credits |
| Committed monthly add-on | Recurring line on the subscription (extra_dm_*, extra_links_*, …) | Cheapest per unit for steady overage |
| Pay-as-you-go | Metered overage on the next invoice | After quota + packs; must be eligible (card + settings). Highest unit price by design |
Rules of thumb from product behavior:
- Clicks: redirects are never blocked for lack of credits; unpaid overage bills later when PAYG applies.
- DMs: sends can block without remaining quota/credits/overdraft—buy DM packs before large campaigns.
- Links: packs raise the link ceiling permanently; deleting a link after the grace window does not return the slot.
- AI: daily plan allowance first; then purchased packs; then PAYG if enabled. Free can buy short AI packs (for example 10 credits for today / 50 credits this month); paid plans also use recurring
extra_ai_daily_*add-ons and PAYG. - Click credit packs in the catalog are sold on Individual/Team (not Free)—they offset billable overage. Free teams that need more link slots use link packs (eligible on Free).
Steps
1. Open Add-ons and review what’s active
- Go to Dashboard → Billing → Add-ons (also opens automatically after many pack purchases via
?tab=addons/?credits=added). - Under Active add-ons, review credit pack balances and recurring purchases with status active / trialing.
- Expand past purchases if you need history of canceled items.
- If a charge succeeded but nothing appeared, click Sync from Stripe (safe anytime).
2. Browse the catalog by module
Available add-ons are grouped in this order (product UI modules):
| Group | What you’ll find |
|---|---|
| Usage & pay-as-you-go | Metered products with PAYG rates, one-time packs, and committed monthly volume side by side (clicks, links, DMs, AI, publishes, QR, automation runs) |
| Inbox | Extra mailbox slots, Gmail/Outlook/SMTP unlocks, inbox AI assistant |
| Workflow | Calendar, pipeline, DM automation, template packs |
| Growth & brand | A/B testing, heatmaps, white-label, support, e-sign |
| Messaging channels | WhatsApp / Telegram access, numbers, templates, topics, send grants |
| Automation connectors | Webhooks, Zapier, Make, advanced connectors |
| App integrations | Per-app unlocks (Slack, Notion, HubSpot, …) |
| Seats & fixed limits | Members, bio pages, tags, and other count limits |
Content Studio publication meters also surface as a pay-as-you-go control on this tab so all spending caps live in Billing.
3. Messaging channels: WhatsApp and Telegram
Neither channel is included in Free, Individual, Team, or Enterprise base limits—buy the integration add-on.
WhatsApp Business (recurring; eligible on every plan):
- Includes 1 connected number, 2 Pointerly-managed templates, 3 topics, and 1,000 template sends/month
- Beyond included sends: platform fee per send on the next invoice (Meta still bills the customer’s own WABA for conversations)
- Stackable follow-ons: Extra WhatsApp number, WhatsApp template pack (+5 custom templates), WhatsApp topics (+10)
Telegram Bot (recurring; eligible on every plan):
- Includes 1 connected channel and 1,000 posts/month
- Extra posts bill per post on the next invoice
- Stackable: Extra Telegram channel; optional one-time Branded Telegram bot
Admin-only complimentary send grants may appear in Active add-ons if staff granted them—they are not in the customer catalog.
4. Buy credit packs (one-time)
Common packs (labels vary by catalog row):
- AI credits — consume as you generate; available after grant (period depends on pack: daily vs monthly window for Free packs)
- DM credits — kick in automatically when monthly DM quota runs out; never expire
- Click credits — applied to clicks past monthly quota before PAYG (never expire); Individual/Team catalog
- Link credits / extra links — permanent extra link slots (occupied while links exist)
Example DM pack ladder (one-time): 5,000 / 25,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 / 500,000 / 1,000,000 credits.
- Choose a pack size on the matching usage row.
- Complete Stripe Checkout.
- On return, wait for the success toast (for example AI credits added, DM credits added, Click credits added).
- Confirm the balance under Active add-ons and on Overview usage cards.
5. Buy recurring add-ons (cart / checkout)
- Select monthly or yearly where offered, then add to cart (or purchase immediately for single-item flows).
- Stackable items such as extra mailbox or extra WhatsApp number open a dedicated quantity dialog.
- Use the cart bar to review lines. Recurring items attach to the team’s subscription; one-time packs are a separate payment lane. With an existing subscription you may see two charges (subscription update + pack Checkout)—the UI states this on purpose.
- After success (
?addon=addedor?addon_cart=done), wait for Add-on activated / N add-ons are active. - If Checkout only collected a payment method (
addon_cart=setup), Pointerly finishes the purchase when you return.
Already-owned add-ons cannot be bought again in the cart—use Update quantity for stackables. Items included in your plan show as unavailable.
Tips
- Ladder rule of thumb for meters: committed monthly add-on < prepaid pack < pay-as-you-go.
- Prefer a plan upgrade when you need many features at once rather than stacking many module add-ons.
- Brand sponsors can buy add-ons for a creator they already sponsor—see Sponsored workspaces.
Common questions
Do add-ons change my plan?
No. Your tier stays Free/Individual/Team/Enterprise; add-ons grant features or raise limits on top.
Credits vs plan quota?
Plan quota is included with the tier. Credits are prepaid extras used after the quota. They are not a separate “plan.”
What about reward credits and reward add-ons?
Credits earned in Rewards are free, may expire, and are used after your plan and before pay-as-you-go. Add-ons unlocked by a reward show Reward · ends <date> under Active add-ons: they are not charged and do not renew. See Rewards on your Billing page.
Why can’t I buy click credits on Free?
Click packs offset billable click overage and are catalog-limited to Individual/Team. Free teams buy link packs for more slots, or upgrade.
How do WhatsApp / Telegram bill?
Buy the integration add-on for access + included monthly sends/posts. Overage past the addon quota lands on the next invoice. Meta may bill WhatsApp conversations separately on the WABA.
Can Free buy add-ons?
Yes for add-ons marked eligible on Free (including WhatsApp, Telegram, many packs). Catalog eligibility is per SKU—if a row says not available for your plan, upgrade or pick another SKU.
Cart says two charges?
Expected when you already have a subscription and the cart mixes recurring + one-time lines: recurring proration on the subscription, packs via Checkout.
Paid but not showing?
Wait for verify toast → Sync from Stripe → check Active add-ons and Invoices.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| No add-ons available for your plan | Catalog empty / filtered for tier | Upgrade plan, or contact Sales for Enterprise entitlements |
| Paid but not granted | Webhook lag | Wait for verify toast; click Sync from Stripe; check Invoices for the payment row |
| Cart checkout asks for card setup | No default payment method | Complete the setup session; return URL finishes activation |
| Need only one mailbox more | Stackable addon | Use Manage / update quantity on Extra mailbox instead of buying unrelated packs |
| Free team can’t use PAYG | PAYG requires eligible billing + card | Buy a prepaid pack (Checkout collects a card) or upgrade; turn PAYG on only with a card |
| Already have WhatsApp error | Duplicate purchase | Use Update quantity for extras; don’t re-buy the base integration |