Overview

What is the credit system on Dune and how credits work on Dune

Dune’s operations largely rely on a credit system. This guide will explain the concept of credits, their consumption, and management.

What are credits?

Credits are the key to accessing a wide range of functions on the Dune platform. Whether you’re delving into writing queries or simply exploring dashboards, knowing how credits operate is crucial.

Why are credits important?

Running queries, refreshing results, and exporting data consume credits. Browsing existing dashboards and query results is available with view-only Free access.

Your Credit Allocation

Paid plans include monthly credits. New accounts receive 2,500 total trial credits for up to 14 days with Plus plan features. The trial ends when the time or credits run out, whichever comes first; the account then becomes view-only until you upgrade. Free access does not include monthly credits.

🎟️ Monthly Credit Allowance

• Set Number of Credits: Each month, your subscription plan provides a set allotment of credits.
• Extra credits on paid plans: Usage beyond the included allowance is billed up to your configured extra credit limit. Free accounts and trials cannot buy extra credits.

🔄 Rollover Policy

• Monthly Refresh: Credits reset at the start of each billing cycle; they do not roll over to the next month.
• Maximize Use: Plan your activities to maximize the utility of your credits.

👥 Team Accounts

• Collective Pool: All team members draw from a shared pot of credits. Sync up to make the most of your resources.

Understanding Credit Use on Dune

Credits power your work on Dune, and here’s how they’re typically used:

Queries

Running and creating queries consumes credits, with the amount varying based on complexity.

Engine Power

Larger tasks consume more computational resources, which increases credit usage based on actual compute used.

Refreshes

Refreshing dashboards or widgets consumes credits; exact numbers are displayed contextually.

Exports

Exporting data costs credits, with higher amounts for larger exports. Estimates are provided beforehand.

Auto-Runs

Scheduling queries to run regularly consumes credits each time, with details available in the setup options.

Estimating Credit Usage

Understanding how your activities on Dune consume credits can help you manage your resources more effectively:

• Credit Estimates: Always check for tooltips or on-screen indicators that provide real-time estimates of credit costs before you perform actions.
• Active Monitoring: Keep a regular tab on your credit usage through your settings dashboard to avoid surprises.

Managing Your Credits

Tracking Your Usage

Hover over the odometer icon in your navigation bar for a quick glance at your credits. Make sure you’re looking at the right account context.

Detailed Credit Information

Go to Settings → Subscriptions for a deeper dive into your credit usage and options.

Handling Excess Usage

On a paid plan, you can enable additional usage after consuming your monthly credits. If your trial has ended or its credits are exhausted, upgrade to a paid plan first:

1. Add a payment method to your account to use additional credits at a fee above your included limit.
2. Set a cap in the limit extra credits field to keep your spending in check.

📊 Export Credit Usage Data

Teams and users can export detailed credit usage metrics to analyze consumption patterns and optimize their Dune usage.

How to Export Usage Data

1. Navigate to your team’s usage dashboard
2. Click the “Export usage” button
3. Your team’s last 30 days of usage data will be downloaded as a CSV file

Understanding the Exported Data

The exported CSV file contains comprehensive usage information with the following columns:

Column	Description
timestamp	The exact date and time when the credit was consumed
user_id	Unique identifier for the user who consumed the credits
user_name	Display name of the user
service	The Dune service that consumed credits (e.g., query execution, API calls)
record_type	Type of usage record
credit_cost	Number of credits consumed for this action
plan	Your team’s current subscription plan
skipped_quota_enforcement	Indicates if quota limits were bypassed (true/false)
query_id	Unique identifier for queries (when applicable)
metadata	Additional contextual information about the usage

Use Cases for Exported Data

The exported usage data enables teams to:

• Track individual user consumption: Identify which team members are using the most credits
• Analyze service usage patterns: Understand which Dune services consume the most credits
• Budget planning: Use historical data to forecast future credit needs
• Optimize queries: Identify expensive queries using the query_id field
• Compliance and reporting: Generate usage reports for internal auditing
• Cost allocation: Distribute costs across different teams or projects based on actual usage

Data Analysis Tips

• Import the CSV into spreadsheet software or data analysis tools
• Create pivot tables to summarize usage by user, service, or time period
• Use the timestamp field to analyze usage patterns over time
• Filter by query_id to identify and optimize resource-intensive queries
• Monitor the credit_cost column to track spending trends

Important Notes

• The export includes the last 30 days of data
• All timestamps are in UTC
• Credit costs reflect your team’s pricing plan at the time of usage
• The metadata field may contain additional JSON-formatted information depending on the service