Plans Overview
Trace offers plans for individual engineers, teams, and enterprises. All plans include the full desktop application — the difference is in AI capabilities and usage limits.
Yearly billing is available for Pro and Ultra plans at a discount (~20% savings).
Visit buildwithtrace.com/pricing for current pricing.
AI Modes by Plan
Free users have full access to the desktop application and all manual design tools. On the Free plan, Ask mode is always unlimited; Agent and Plan modes are available while your free agent credits last.
Free Agent Credits
Every new Trace account starts with free agent credits — a one-time grant of about $5 of Agent/Plan usage, plus a small monthly top-up so you can keep trying agentic features over time.- What they unlock — Agent and Plan modes (AI-driven edits and multi-step planning) on the Free plan, metered the same way as paid usage (actual token consumption per request).
- They never expire — your starter grant carries over until you use it.
- Ask mode never consumes them — Ask is unlimited and free forever, credits or not.
- Agent and Plan consume them — each Agent/Plan request deducts its cost from your free credit balance after it completes.
- Monthly top-up — a small free top-up lands each month, so an exhausted balance recovers a little over time.
- When they run out — Agent and Plan modes are disabled and your account is ask-only until you upgrade to a paid plan (or the next monthly top-up arrives). Ask mode keeps working.
Free agent credits replaced the previous 14-day free trial. If you signed up while the trial was offered, your trial continues unchanged until it naturally expires — then you move to the free-credits model.
Monthly Usage Limits
Paid plans have a monthly AI usage allowance based on actual token consumption per request. The allowance resets on each billing cycle.How Usage Works
- Each AI request consumes tokens (input + output) priced at the underlying model rates
- After each request completes, the actual cost is deducted from your monthly allowance
- When your allowance is exhausted, Agent and Plan modes are disabled until the next billing cycle
- Ask mode remains available regardless of usage status
Approaching-Limit Warnings
Trace shows banner warnings as you approach your usage limit:- 80% used — Informational warning suggesting you pace remaining usage
- 95% used — Urgent warning that your allowance is nearly exhausted
Generous Usage Headroom
All active subscribers receive approximately double the base monthly usage allowance. This headroom means you’re unlikely to hit your limit during normal use — Trace errs on the side of generosity so you never feel restricted mid-design. When you upgrade plans (e.g., Pro → Ultra), your usage counter resets to zero and you receive the full allowance on the new plan immediately. Stripe handles the prorated billing automatically — you only pay the difference for the remaining billing period.AI Generation Caps (Component Catalogs & API)
AI component generation on the catalog sites and REST endpoints (symbol, footprint, and component generation) is metered separately per month: Free: 5 generations/month, Pro & On-Demand: 100/month, Ultra & Team: 1,000/month. Hitting the cap pauses generation until the next month — upgrade at buildwithtrace.com/pricing for a higher limit.On-Demand Credits
If you don’t want a recurring subscription, On-Demand credit packs let you pay as you go:
Credits are consumed per-request based on actual token usage, the same as subscription allowances. Your balance is checked before the request starts (balance must be > 0), but the actual cost is deducted after the request completes based on real token usage. This means your last request may slightly exceed your remaining balance — in-flight tasks always complete.
Credits do not expire.
Managing Your Subscription
Upgrade or Downgrade
Change your plan from the billing section of your Trace dashboard. Upgrades take effect immediately with prorated charges — you only pay the difference for the remaining billing period. Downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period.Billing Portal
Click Manage Subscription in your dashboard to access the Stripe billing portal where you can:- View and download invoices
- Update your payment method
- Change your billing address
- Cancel your subscription
Cancel
Canceling your subscription stops future charges. You retain access to paid features until the end of your current billing period. After that, your account reverts to the Free plan. Your designs and project files are never affected — they stay on your local machine in standard KiCad format.Account Deletion
You can delete your Trace account from your dashboard settings. Account deletion is a soft-delete:- Your profile is marked as deleted and login is blocked
- Active subscriptions are not automatically canceled — cancel via Stripe first
- Your local design files are not affected (they’re on your machine)
- Conversation history and cloud-synced versions are retained for 30 days before permanent deletion
Tax Collection
Stripe automatically calculates and collects applicable taxes based on your billing address. Tax amounts are shown during checkout and on your invoices.Internal / Beta Access
Beta program members receive full access during the beta period in exchange for feedback and bug reports.Teams
Team plans (Pro Team, Ultra Team) provide per-seat billing for organizations. A team owner creates the team and invites members by email.- Per-seat pricing — Each member gets their own AI usage budget. Adding/removing seats adjusts your next invoice automatically.
- Shared billing — One payment method for the entire team. The owner manages billing from the dashboard.
- Member management — Invite by email, remove members instantly, and track usage per seat.
- Same AI capabilities — Each team member gets the same AI modes and limits as the corresponding individual plan (Pro or Ultra).
Layout Credits
Layout Credits power advanced AI placement and routing (the advanced cloud engine) and are separate from your plan’s AI usage. Quick routing stays free for everyone — Layout Credits are only consumed when you run advanced layout.- Who can use it: Advanced layout requires a paid plan (subscription or On-Demand). Trial and free plans can use quick routing only.
- Free trial run: Each paid user gets one free advanced layout to try it, before any credits are needed.
- How credits are charged: Credits are consumed based on the compute time an advanced layout job runs (roughly one credit per minute). You’re only charged for a job that completes.
- Buying credits: Purchase a credit pack from Dashboard → Billing → Layout Credits. Packs are one-time purchases and never expire. They stack with your subscription and are independent of your monthly AI budget.
- Quick vs advanced: Just ask the assistant to route or place your board. It uses free quick routing by default and only uses advanced layout when you ask for AI placement/advanced layout (or pick it explicitly). See PCB Layout → Routing engines.
Layout Credits are non-refundable once consumed. Advanced layout sends your board design to the advanced cloud engine for processing; see our Privacy Policy for how that data is handled.