https://gateway.ngrok.ai pays a small processing fee from your credits. If you don’t use your own provider key, credits also pay for the model. See How credits are consumed.
Accounts and plans
You don’t need an ngrok subscription to use the AI Gateway. Sign in to app.ngrok.ai with your ngrok account, buy credits, and create an access key. AI Gateway credits are separate from your ngrok plan. Your ngrok plan doesn’t pay for AI Gateway usage, and credits don’t pay for other ngrok features.
To reach a model you run yourself through an internal endpoint, set up the endpoint in dashboard.ngrok.com. Some ngrok features need a paid plan; see pricing.
Purchasing credits
- Open the Billing page and select Add credits. If you haven’t saved a card yet, you’ll add one first.
- Pick an amount, or enter your own. The minimum is $5, and your balance can be at most $500.
- Select Buy to confirm.
Automatic top-up
Automatic top-up adds credits from your saved card when your balance runs low. To set it up:- Open the Billing page and make sure you have a saved card.
- Select Enable auto top-up, then turn on Enable auto top-up in the dialog.
- Set When your balance reaches (at least $5) and Top up to (up to $500).
- Optional: select Set a spending limit and enter a Maximum spend every billing period.
- Select Save changes.
How credits are consumed
Balance tracking
You can view your balance on the Billing page, or via the API:What happens when credits run out
When your credit balance reaches zero, the gateway rejects new requests with HTTP 402 andERR_NGROK_27206 until you purchase more credits. That’s true even if you use your own provider keys, since every request pays a small processing fee from your credits.
To avoid this, turn on automatic top-up so your balance refills before it runs out.
The balance updates shortly after usage, so requests already in flight can take it slightly below zero. The balance API reports a negative value when that happens.
Processing fee
Every successful request through the gateway incurs a processing fee at USD $0.05 per million tokens. The fee is based on the tokens in your request and response. It applies to all traffic—requests paid with credits, your own provider keys, and custom providers—and does not vary by model or provider. Withngrok/auto, the tokens ngrok.ai reads to pick a model also count toward the fee.
When you pay with credits, credits also cover the provider’s model cost. When you bring your own key, model costs stay on your provider account and credits cover only the processing fee.
Next steps
- Access Keys: Authenticate requests to the gateway
- Quickstart: Purchase credits and make your first request
- Bring Your Own Keys: Use your own provider API keys