> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.caasie.co/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.caasie.co/billing/credit-vs-budget.md).

# Credit vs Budget

CAASie runs on a prepaid credit system. You add/purchase credits to your account first, and campaigns draw from that balance as they deliver. Each ad play or impression deducts a small amount from your available credit automatically.

There are a few terms often used while referring to values on CAASie.

* **Credit** – Your total available balance across the entire account.
* **Budget** – The maximum amount a specific campaign can spend.
* **Spend Rate** - How quickly your campaign can spend your allocated budget.
* **Spend Limit** - A cap for how much can be spent in total in your ongoing campaign.

#### Credit:

Credit is the prepaid balance you add to your CAASie account. It’s what funds your campaigns - every play, impression, or bid uses a small portion of your available credit. Think of it like topping up a prepaid phone plan.

#### Budget:

Your budget is how much you want to spend in total on a campaign. It’s the ceiling for that campaign - even if you have more credit overall, the campaign will stop once the budget is reached.

#### Spend Rate:

The spend rate controls how fast your campaign spends its budget. You might spread your spend evenly over time, or ramp it up quickly.

When set to automatic, CAASie will follow an average hourly spend rate based on total budget and length of campaign. This helps pace your campaign so it doesn’t burn through funds too fast (or too slow).

You can customise this yourself if you are confident. 

* **Hourly spend rate** = how much you’re allowing CAASie to spend per hour
* **Daily spend rate** = how much per day

#### Spend Limit:

A spend limit sets the maximum amount your campaign can spend overall. It works just like a total budget - the difference is that it’s designed for ongoing campaigns without a fixed end date. Once your campaign reaches this limit, it pauses until you raise or reset it.

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