What Compose costs.
Two credits a message — including image mode, because you're paying for the prompt. Rewrite is free, and rendering an image on your own model costs nothing at all.
Compose is priced per message, not per word. Two credits gets you a generation — a LinkedIn post, an X thread, an email, an image prompt. The parts that improve what you already have are free.
The price list
| Action | Credits |
|---|---|
| A Compose message — any text output | 2 |
| A Compose message in image mode | 2 |
| Prompt Studio → Generate prompt | 2 — only when the AI pass succeeds |
| Rendering an image on your own connected model | 0 |
| Rewrite in your brand voice | 0 |
| Make graphic (building the brief) | 0 |
| Saving a draft | 0 |
| Saving, using, duplicating or sharing a preset | 0 |
| Uploading an attachment | 0 |
| Conversations — new, rename, pin, search, delete | 0 |
Two credits a message
Every send is a generation, and every generation is 2 credits. An 800-word blog post costs exactly what a two-line Instagram caption costs — we don't charge by length in Compose.
- The charge happens after the work. Before an expensive call, ScoutRival checks you can afford it and stops you if you can't — so you never burn a generation you couldn't pay for.
- A failed generation isn't charged. If the reply comes back as an error, it isn't metered, and your prompt is put back in the box.
- A reply you don't like still costs 2. It ran. That's why Rewrite exists, and why it's free.
A Compose text message is 2 credits whether or not you've connected your own AI provider. What connecting a key changes is where the generation runs — on your provider's account, at their prices, with their models. The one thing that is genuinely 0 credits on your own key is the image render. Don't budget on the assumption that bringing your own key zeroes out Compose.
Image mode costs the same — and you don't get a picture
This is the line people misread, so plainly: image mode is 2 credits, and it returns a prompt, not an image.
You're paying for the prompt, because the prompt is the work. It carries your real hex codes in a 60/30/10 split, your actual typefaces, the composition, the space left for your logo, and a negative prompt listing what to avoid. That's the difference between an on-brand graphic and a generic one.
Rendering it into an actual picture is a separate, free step — see below. The full reasoning, and how to render in-app, is here: Image mode, how it really works →
Prompt Studio — 2 credits, and only on success
Generate prompt in Prompt Studio costs 2 credits when the AI art-director pass succeeds and returns a well-formed, six-section prompt.
When it doesn't, ScoutRival builds the same six sections itself, deterministically, from your brief — and that fallback is free. You still get a complete, brand-locked prompt. You just aren't billed for a pass that didn't run.
Everything else in the Studio — opening it, editing the brief, flipping through the layout carousel, editing the six sections, copying the result — is free. Prompt Studio →
Rendering on your own key is free
Connect an image-capable provider under AI Models and route the Image row to it. Every image prompt in Compose then gets a Generate with my model button.
- The render costs 0 ScoutRival credits. It's logged in your usage history at zero so you can see it happened.
- You pay your provider directly, at their price. For most models that's a few cents.
- Without a connected image model there is no render at all. Text and Blog fall back to ScoutRival's included AI; Image doesn't. You'll get the prompt and a “connect an image model” link instead.
What's free, and why
The rule is simple: a new generation costs credits; improving one you already paid for doesn't.
- Rewrite in your voice — free, however many times you use it. It's the fastest way to fix an off-voice draft, and charging for it would push people towards re-sending, which costs more and works less well.
- Make graphic — building the graphic brief from a post is free. Only the Studio's Generate prompt is charged.
- Save, copy, presets, attachments, conversations — all free. None of them call an AI.
When you run out
Compose refuses to start a generation you can't pay for. You'll get the insufficient-credits prompt instead, with your balance and the date your allowance resets — and your prompt stays in the box, ready to send once you've topped up.
Everything free stays working on an empty balance: you can still read threads, rewrite, save, copy and manage presets. How credits work →