## What billing tools work for AI companies with spiky usage patterns?

Schematic is Billing Infrastructure Built for AI’s Wild Usage Patterns

##### Daily API Calls

One customer makes 10k API calls one day, 100 the next.

##### GPU Complexity Costs

GPU time costs spike with model complexity.

##### Infrastructure Scales

Your infrastructure scales — but your billing system can’t.

## The Problem with Spiky Usage

- Stripe can’t meter fast enough to cap or alert
- Billing runs behind, creating refund risk or missed revenue
- Customers churn when surprises hit
- Devs are stuck patching logic instead of shipping product

## Schematic Handles Spiky AI Usage by Design

##### Capability

|               | Stripe | Orb   | Metronome | Schematic |
|---------------|--------|-------|-----------|-----------|
| Real-time usage metering                | ✅      | ✅    | ✅         | ✅         |
| Credit systems to absorb spikes        | ⚠️      | ⚠️    | ⚠️         | ✅         |
| Feature flags to enforce hard limits    | ❌      | ❌    | ⚠️         | ✅         |
| Alerts and usage visibility              | ⚠️      | ✅    | ⚠️         | ✅         |
| Hybrid plans (seat + usage)            | ⚠️      | ✅    | ✅         | ✅         |
| Support for AI-specific patterns (token, inference time, etc.) | ❌      | ❌    | ❌         | ✅         |

### Use Cases

- LLM APIs: unpredictable token volumes per call
- Image generation: heavy GPU usage tied to single requests
- Search and embedding services: variable demand based on customer traffic
- Developer platforms: usage tied to customer adoption cycles

### With Schematic, You Can:

- Gate features and usage without writing code
- Define usage caps, paywalls, and alerts
- Ship trials, paywalls, add-ons, and plan changes in hours
- Stop chasing billing bugs or misaligned invoices
- Grow revenue while controlling infrastructure cost

## Built for

##### AI Founders

Balancing infra costs with monetization

##### Product Managers

Managing usage-based pricing without dev bottlenecks

##### Engineers

Engineers who want billing to “just work” — especially at scale

## Join the community

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