> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.beta.dealroom.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Credits
> How to read what each API call consumed from the X-Credits-Used response header, and what it does — and does not — mean during open beta.
Every response to an API-key request under `/data`, `/analytics` and `/reference` carries an
**`X-Credits-Used`** header: the number of credits that request consumed. Credits are the unit the
API meters usage in, independent of any currency or plan — the same call costs the same number of
credits whoever makes it, and re-pricing changes the schedule, not the header format.
**Open beta: reported, not charged.** During the observation window the header
tells you what a call consumed so you can see and tune your integration's
usage. Nothing is deducted from an allowance and no request is rejected for
consumption. Allowances and enforcement follow after the window closes; the
header is how you get ready for them.
## Reading the header
```http theme={null}
GET /data/transactions?limit=25
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
X-Credits-Used: 25
GET /data/companies/{id}
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
X-Credits-Used: 2
GET /analytics/aggregate/funding-rounds?…
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
X-Credits-Used: 5
GET /reference/filters/tag_id/values?q=fintech
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
X-Credits-Used: 0
GET /data/companies?limit=25&offset=999999
HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
X-Credits-Used: 0
```
The value is always a non-negative integer.
| Value | Meaning |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `N > 0` | This request consumed `N` credits |
| `0` | A free endpoint (search, filter values, lookups) **or** an error response — a failed call costs nothing |
| header absent | The endpoint is not metered, or the request was not authenticated with an API key |
`0` and *absent* are deliberately different: `0` means the API metered the call and found it free;
absent means it was never metered.
## What a call costs
Cost follows from what the call returns, not from which endpoint you hit:
| Call | Credits |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| Funding rounds, valuations, news, notes, jobs — list, detail or sub-resource (`/data/transactions`, `/data/valuations`, `/data/news`, `/data/notes`, `/data/jobs`, `/data/companies/{id}/funding-rounds`, …) | 1 per record |
| Map points (`/data/*/geo`) | 1 per point |
| Every other `/data` collection — `entities`, `companies`, `investors`, `people`, `founders`, `universities`, `gov-ngo`, `funds` — as list, detail or sub-resource (`/data/companies`, `/data/investors/{id}/portfolio`, `/data/companies/{id}/team`, …) | 2 per record |
| Aggregates, timeseries, funding analytics (`/analytics/*`) | 5 per query, whatever it scans |
| Search, filter values, reference lookups (`/data/search`, `/reference/*`) | 0 |
A `GET /data/companies?limit=25` therefore reports `50` today: every company row is a full profile.
A lighter summary shape priced at 1 per record is planned; when it ships, the header simply reports
the lower number.
The prices are **placeholders** for the observation window and will be revised
before anything is charged. Build against the header, not against the
numbers on this page.
## Which responses carry it
* **Carried**: every response — success or error — to a request authenticated with an API key
under `/data/*`, `/analytics/*` and `/reference/*`, including `403`, `404`, `429` and any `400`
raised once authentication has completed.
* **Not carried**: `/platform/*` self-service (account, API keys, usage, teams, lists), `/system/*`,
`/health`, the API reference itself, the namespace indices (`/data`, `/analytics`, `/reference`),
and any response rejected before authentication completes — a `401` for a missing or invalid
token, or the `400` for an API-key request without its `X-Client-Id` header.
The header is listed in `Access-Control-Expose-Headers`, so browser-side code can read it:
```typescript theme={null}
const res = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/data/transactions?limit=25`, { headers });
const raw = res.headers.get("X-Credits-Used");
// null: not metered (or not an API-key request) — keep it distinct from a free call's 0
const credits = raw === null ? null : Number(raw);
```
## Remaining balance
There is no `X-Credits-Remaining` header yet. The API only reports a figure it can compute exactly
on every replica; a remaining balance needs the shared consumption counter that ships with
enforcement. It will be added then, alongside the `CREDITS_EXHAUSTED` (`402`) error code, which is
already reserved in the [error catalog](/concepts/errors) but is not returned by anything today.
## Further reading
How fast you can call the API — a separate control from how much you consume.
The error envelope and every stable error code, including the reserved 402.