I am out of credits
Your credit balance is at zero, so AI features are paused until you add credits or your monthly allocation refreshes. You have three ways to get unblocked. A top up is the fastest. Anything you have already created stays available.
Get unblocked now: buy a top up
The fastest way back is a top up: $20 buys 20 credits. Purchased credits roll over indefinitely and do not expire, so a top up is never wasted. Buy from the Buy credits button in the sidebar credit popover (click the credit balance at the bottom of the sidebar), on the out of credits screen, or on the billing settings page. See Buy more credits.
Wait for your monthly credits to refresh
If you can hold off, your plan's monthly credits refresh at the start of your next billing period: 20 on Pro, 50 on Growth, 100 on Agency. Hero Marketer shows the renewal date in the snapshot card at the top of billing settings and in the sidebar credit popover.
Upgrade for more credits every month
If you run out most months, an upgrade is usually cheaper than repeated top ups:
- Pro → Growth: 20 → 50 monthly credits.
- Growth → Agency: 50 → 100 monthly credits.
The sidebar credit popover and the billing snapshot card both have an Upgrade plan shortcut to the inline plan picker on the billing page. See Compare plans and Change your plan.
What is blocked when you are out of credits
Credits fund AI work, so anything that calls the AI is paused:
- The campaign wizard's create button is disabled. You can browse and edit drafts, but cannot launch a new campaign.
- Hero AI blocks new messages. It checks your credit balance before sending. Existing chats stay readable, but you cannot send new messages until you add credits.
- AI steps inside campaign creation pause. Ad copy generation, sitelinks, and keyword research check credits and stop before they start. They do not cut off partway.
- You cannot re run a product's analysis.
What still works when you are out of credits
Anything that does not call the AI keeps working. Hero Marketer never locks you out of what you have already built:
- View the dashboard and existing campaign performance.
- Manage accounts and products: add, edit, and switch.
- Read past Hero AI conversations.
- See campaigns you built earlier.
Why you ran out
Each AI call spends credits, and a few patterns drain them fastest. Check the credit transaction history in billing settings. Each charge has a description that shows what consumed it. See View credit activity. Common causes:
- Heavy Hero AI use. Hero AI spends a variable amount per question. A deep investigation across several campaigns and weeks of data costs more than a simple lookup, so long sessions are the usual culprit.
- Many regenerations. Each regeneration charges based on how much it generated. When you regenerate ad copy several times on one campaign, the cost adds up with the original setup cost.
- Several campaigns this month. Each campaign typically uses around 1 credit. Pro's 20 monthly credits cover roughly 20 campaigns, or a mix of campaigns and Hero AI, sized for light use, not heavy.
I just upgraded but I am still out of credits
An upgrade grants the new plan's credits prorated for the rest of the current billing period, not a full fresh allocation. If you had already used most of the lower plan's credits before upgrading, the prorated top up may not cover what you spent. If the period's grant still looks wrong after that, contact support to have the math audited.
I had a balance yesterday and now it is gone
A larger AI session than expected is the usual reason. A deep Hero AI investigation can consume more credits in one run than a normal question. Open the credit transaction history in billing settings. Every charge is itemized with a description. If the itemized charges do not add up to your balance change, contact support.
Can I get a refund for credits?
Top up credits are non refundable, and monthly credits are bundled into the subscription, so they are not refundable on their own. If you cancel within 14 days and have used less than 10% of your plan's credits, the subscription fee itself is refundable. See Refund policy.