The Five Models
| App | Primary Metric | Unique Innovation | Dodo Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Tokens (fiat-denominated) | Prepaid fiat credits with never-expiring balance | Credit-Based Billing (Fiat Credits) |
| Cursor | Premium Requests | Model-weighted credit depletion (different costs per model) | Credit-Based Billing (Custom Unit) |
| ElevenLabs | Characters | Character quotas with rollover + tiered overage pricing | Credit-Based Billing (Rollover + Overage) |
| Midjourney | GPU Time | ”Relax Mode” unlimited fallback after quota | Subscription + Usage Meters |
| Replicate | Execution Seconds | Per-second hardware-specific pure metering | Pure Usage-Based Billing |
Understanding Credit Patterns
| Pattern | Example | Dodo Feature | Unit Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepaid fiat-denominated credits | OpenAI API ($5 credit top-up, no withdrawal) | Credit-Based Billing (Fiat Credits) | Dollar-denominated virtual units |
| Virtual usage credits | Cursor Premium Requests, ElevenLabs Characters | Credit-Based Billing (Custom Unit) | Arbitrary units (requests, characters) |
| Pure consumption metering | Replicate per-second billing | Usage-Based Billing (Meters) | Direct measurement (seconds, bytes) |
| Subscription + metered overage | Midjourney Fast Hours with Relax fallback | Subscription + Usage Meters | Time-based with free threshold |
Fiat Credits in Dodo’s Credit-Based Billing represent platform-denominated dollar values with no monetary value outside your ecosystem. Customers can’t withdraw them as cash.
Which Model Should You Use?
- Building a pay-as-you-go API platform: OpenAI model (Fiat Credits)
- Building an AI tool with per-action pricing: Cursor model (Custom Unit Credits)
- Building a media generation service: ElevenLabs model (Rollover Credits)
- Building a subscription service with usage limits: Midjourney model (Subscription + Usage Meters)
- Building an infrastructure/compute platform: Replicate model (Pure Metering)
OpenAI
Replicate the token-based prepaid credit model.
Cursor
Build model-weighted usage limits.
ElevenLabs
Implement character quotas with rollover and overages.
Midjourney
Combine subscriptions with usage-based fallback.
Replicate
Set up pure per-second consumption metering.
Dodo Features
Credit-Based Billing
Manage prepaid credits and virtual units.
Usage-Based Billing
Meter consumption in real-time.
Subscriptions
Handle recurring billing and plan management.
Hybrid Billing
Combine multiple billing models for maximum flexibility.