What a lookup credit is (and is not)
One credit per completed find. Empty email still spends. Timeouts do not. Monthly credits reset; packs last a year.
People ask “how many emails do I get for ₹99?” That is the wrong unit. You buy completed lookups. An email appears only when we found one.
One completed lookup costs one credit. Viewing usage or billing does not spend credits.
The spend rule
• HTTP 200 on a finished find: 1 credit, even if email and phone are empty.
• Timeouts and errors: no credit.
• Playground, REST, and MCP use the same rule when the find completes.
• GETs for pricing, usage, or keys do not spend.
Fictional desk: Kavya Rao runs three lookups. Two return a public email. One returns empty fields. She spent three credits. The empty one is still a real answer — we did not find a contact — not a free retry.
What a credit is not
• Not a guaranteed inbox.
• Not a guessed address.
• Not a seat for the whole team to browse a database.
• Not a monthly email allotment you can stockpile from the plan bucket.
If you wanted a guessed mailbox, you are in the wrong product. Read we do not invent emails.
Monthly bucket vs pack
Starter, Growth, and Scale put credits in a subscription bucket. Unused monthly credits are gone at period end. That is why a credit is cheap on a plan and still not a rollover gift.
After you have an active monthly plan, Dashboard → Billing sells extra packs. Those credits last one year. Spend order is soonest-expiring first — a pack that ends next month spends before a monthly bucket that ends later.
How many lookups the list prices buy
| Plan | Price | Completed lookups |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | ₹99 | 20 |
| Growth | ₹399 | 80 |
| Scale | ₹999 | 200 |
• Starter ₹99 → 20 completed lookups / month.
• Growth ₹399 → 80.
• Scale ₹999 → 200.
• Rate limits rise with the plan (20 / 60 / 120 requests per minute).
Confirm live numbers on /pricing. Builders should treat GET https://api.invenitor.com/api/pricing as source of truth.
Questions people actually ask
If the email field is empty, do I get the credit back?
No. A completed find with empty contacts still spends one credit. Timeouts do not spend.
Does MCP spend a different amount?
No. A completed MCP find spends one credit, same as REST. Usage lists MCP finds separately so you can see when and which request id.
Can I retry an empty result for free?
A new completed find spends another credit. Do not hammer the same name hoping for a different invention — we will not invent one.
Do I pay for creating an API key?
No. Keys and the dashboard do not spend credits. Only a completed find does.
What if I cancel mid-month?
Leftover monthly credits last until the period end. Pack credits last a year. Prepaid fees are not refunded — that belongs in Terms, not in every usage screen.
Is there a free tier of credits?
No. There is no free plan. Signup can happen with zero credits until you pay.
Related on this cluster
Hiring contact lookup API for India — when to call find
INR vs USD people-search APIs — what the rupee price buys
MCP for hiring agents — same credit rule in agents
We do not invent emails — why empty still costs a credit
Questions
If the email field is empty, do I get the credit back?
No. A completed find with empty contacts still spends one credit. Timeouts do not spend.
Does MCP spend a different amount?
No. A completed MCP find spends one credit, the same as REST.
Can I retry an empty result for free?
A new completed find spends another credit. We will not invent an address on retry.
Do I pay for creating an API key?
No. Keys and the dashboard do not spend credits. Only a completed find does.
What if I cancel mid-month?
Leftover monthly credits last until the period end. Pack credits last a year. Prepaid fees are not refunded.
Is there a free tier of credits?
No. There is no free plan. Signup can happen with zero credits until you pay.
Related notes
A hiring contact lookup API for India desks
You already have a name. You need an email or phone when one exists — billed in INR, not another USD people-search seat.
INR vs USD: people-search tools for India hiring
Most people-search products sell USD seats. Invenitor sells INR monthly plans and credits for a lookup API — not a CRM.
MCP for hiring agents: lookup without a fake CRM
Monthly Invenitor plans include REST and remote MCP. Agents call find with a name and optional profile URL. Same credit rule.