> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trythinkbase.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pricing Tiers

> Usage-based pricing with automatic tier graduation.

# Pricing Tiers

The Thinkbase Data API uses usage-based pricing. Every API call costs **\$0.003**. There are no base fees. Your tier automatically upgrades as your lifetime spend crosses thresholds.

## Tier comparison

|                              | Free    | Tier 1  | Tier 2  | Tier 3  | Tier 4    |
| ---------------------------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | --------- |
| **Lifetime spend threshold** | \$0     | \$5     | \$50    | \$250   | \$1,000   |
| **Per-call rate**            | \$0.003 | \$0.003 | \$0.003 | \$0.003 | \$0.003   |
| **Base fee**                 | None    | None    | None    | None    | None      |
| **Daily limit**              | 100     | 1,000   | 10,000  | 100,000 | 1,000,000 |
| **Max page size**            | 100     | 250     | 500     | 1,000   | 1,000     |
| **Debates + percentages**    | Yes     | Yes     | Yes     | Yes     | Yes       |
| **Categories**               | Yes     | Yes     | Yes     | Yes     | Yes       |
| **Trending**                 | Yes     | Yes     | Yes     | Yes     | Yes       |
| **Arguments**                | --      | Yes     | Yes     | Yes     | Yes       |
| **Search**                   | --      | Yes     | Yes     | Yes     | Yes       |
| **Historical snapshots**     | --      | Yes     | Yes     | Yes     | Yes       |

## How auto-graduation works

You start on the free tier. Once you add a payment method, every API call is billed at \$0.003. As your cumulative spend crosses a threshold, your tier automatically upgrades on the next `invoice.paid` webhook from Stripe. You never need to pick a plan or change tiers manually.

**Example:** After \~1,667 paid calls (\$5 total spend), you graduate to Tier 1 and unlock arguments, search, and history endpoints with a 1,000 calls/day rate limit.

## What each tier unlocks

### Free

Live debate data. Browse debates, see current voting percentages, filter by category, and see what's trending. Good for prototyping and evaluation. Limited to 100 calls/day.

**Endpoints:** `/debates`, `/debates/:slug`, `/categories`, `/trending`

### Tier 1

The "why" behind opinions. Access structured arguments tied to positions, search across debates, and pull historical snapshots to see how opinion shifts over time.

**Additional endpoints:** `/debates/:slug/arguments`, `/debates/:slug/history`, `/search`

### Tier 2

Higher rate limits and page sizes for growing integrations. 10K calls/day, up to 500 results per page.

### Tier 3

Production-scale access. 100K calls/day with up to 1,000 results per page.

### Tier 4

Maximum throughput at 1M calls/day. Same page size as Tier 3.

## Billing

All API calls are billed at a flat **\$0.003 per call**. There are no base fees or monthly minimums.

Invoices are sent with 30-day payment terms. You are not charged upfront.

## Tier access errors

If you call an endpoint that requires a higher tier, you'll get a `403 Forbidden`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "error": "Tier upgrade required",
  "message": "This endpoint requires the \"tier_1\" tier or higher. Your current tier is \"free\".",
  "current_tier": "free",
  "required_tier": "tier_1",
  "upgrade_url": "https://docs.trythinkbase.com/pricing"
}
```

## Getting started

Sign up at [platform.trythinkbase.com](https://platform.trythinkbase.com) to create your API key and start building.