> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mergewatch.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Billing & Pricing
> MergeWatch SaaS pricing — a 5-review free tier, pay-as-you-go credits, auto-reload, and a transparent per-review cost formula.
MergeWatch SaaS uses a **prepaid credits** model. After a free tier, you load a balance with a card (via Stripe), and each review deducts its actual cost from that balance. No subscriptions, no per-seat fees, no volume contracts.
## Free tier
Every installation gets **5 free PR reviews** total (lifetime, not per month). No credit card is required to start. The free counter is tracked per GitHub App installation — once you've used all 5, you'll need to add a payment method to continue.
The free tier is intended to let you evaluate MergeWatch on real PRs. If you reach the limit and want to keep going, add a card via **Dashboard → Billing**.
## Per-review pricing
Each review is priced transparently from the actual LLM cost. There are no tiers or commitments.
```
total = llmCost + $0.005 infra fee + (llmCost × 40% margin)
```
**Example.** A review that costs \$0.02 in LLM tokens:
```
$0.02 + $0.005 + ($0.02 × 0.40) = $0.033
```
A typical small-to-medium PR review lands between **$0.01 and $0.10**, depending on diff size, number of agents enabled, and whether codebase-awareness triggers file fetches.
The minimum balance required to start a paid review is **\$0.05**. If your balance drops below that, MergeWatch pauses reviews until you top up or auto-reload fires.
## Topping up
Add credits from **Dashboard → Billing**:
1. Click **Add payment method** → complete Stripe Checkout to save a card.
2. Pick a top-up amount: **$10**, **$25**, **$50**, or **$100**.
3. Credits post instantly. The balance appears in the dashboard header.
### Auto-reload
Enable auto-reload to avoid interruptions. When your balance drops below the configured threshold (default **\$1**), MergeWatch charges your saved card for the configured top-up amount.
Configure it in **Dashboard → Billing → Auto-reload**:
* Toggle auto-reload on/off
* Set the threshold (e.g., \$5)
* Set the top-up amount (e.g., \$25)
Auto-reload uses a DynamoDB mutex to guarantee it fires at most once per drop below the threshold — you won't see double charges on rapid back-to-back reviews.
## What counts as a billable review
A **billable review** is any review that completes and posts a comment. Specifically:
* Each `pull_request` event (opened, synchronize, ready\_for\_review) that runs to completion counts as one review.
* PRs **skipped** by a skip rule in your `.mergewatch.yml` (draft PRs, ignored labels, oversized diffs, matched ignore patterns) do **not** count.
* Each push to a PR re-runs the review on the updated diff and counts as a separate review.
* `@mergewatch` mentions in PR comments that trigger a re-review also count.
## What happens when your balance runs out
If a review is dispatched and your balance is below the minimum:
1. MergeWatch posts a **GitHub Check Run** with `action_required: credits required` on the PR.
2. A **GitHub Issue** is filed in the repository: *"MergeWatch: reviews paused — credits required"*.
3. No review comment is posted. Existing comments on prior PRs remain untouched.
4. Once you add credits, the next PR event is reviewed normally and the blocking issue is auto-closed.
## No per-seat fees
MergeWatch never charges per user, per seat, or per repository. A single billing account covers everyone in your GitHub organization. Add as many developers and repos as you want — billing is based solely on review cost.
## Self-hosted is always free
If you self-host MergeWatch, there is no MergeWatch fee. You pay only your LLM provider (Anthropic API, Amazon Bedrock, Ollama, or any provider supported via LiteLLM). See [Self-Hosting Overview](/self-hosting/overview).
## Next steps
Install the GitHub App and start reviewing PRs in minutes.
Understand where your data is processed and stored.