The tighter programmatic (API/MCP) spend sub-cap on the free tier
If you call HIIE from the public API or the MCP server on the Free plan, a smaller spending limit applies to those automated calls than to your interactive web usage. This keeps headless callers from quietly burning through your budget.
A $0.20/month sub-cap
Free accounts have a programmatic managed-inference cap of $0.20 USD per month for API/MCP calls. This is a tighter sub-ceiling that sits on top of the main $2/month free pool — programmatic spend still draws from that $2 pool too, but it can't consume more than $0.20 of it. The reasoning is that automated agents can issue many requests fast, so the headless surface gets a smaller allowance than the $2 web budget.
How it's enforced
The cap is enforced server-side. Every /api/v1 and /api/mcp request runs through HIIE's API auth chokepoint, which resolves your tenant and entitlement and applies the free-tier monthly API spend cap on build-scope operations, alongside a per-tenant rate limit.
Who is exempt
- BYO callers — if you bring your own key, programmatic calls run on your key at $0 metered, so this cap never applies.
- Paid / unlimited tiers — these are governed by their normal monthly credits; there's no extra API-specific cap layered on.
Practical takeaway
On Free, the API and MCP server are great for trying agent-readiness surfaces, but for sustained automated use you'll want either your own OpenRouter key (unmetered) or a paid plan.