ThoughtSpot consumption pricing is the alternative to per-user pricing in which a customer buys credits and each credit is consumed by measured use of the platform. The documentation states that ThoughtSpot “bills you based on credits” under this model, and that it is available for ThoughtSpot Cloud and for software deployed on the customer’s own cloud platform through Connections.[1] On the pricing page the model appears as the Usage view, where the Pro plan starts at USD 0.10 per credit and the Enterprise plan has custom pricing.[7]
A credit is “a unit of measure you use to pay for using ThoughtSpot to get insights from your data”.[2] Two measurement methods exist: query-based usage, where the unit is the query generated, and time-based usage, where the unit is the usage minute. Both consume available credits, each active user consumes credits, and “each cluster must have a discrete pricing model”, so a cluster cannot mix methods.[1] Credits also have a contractual footing: the Cloud Subscription Agreement allows use within order form limits on “rows, credits, groups, integration or embedding, external use, or other limits”.[8]
Editions
Consumption pricing is not an edition of its own but a way of paying for an edition. The pricing page shows it against Pro and Enterprise Analytics, and against Embedded plans, which it describes as flexible pricing models aligned with the customer’s use case.[7] The edition documentation notes that ThoughtSpot AI settings are “included in consumption plans, per user” and are an add-on for other plans.[9] Spotter use is billed in the same units. Under the standard Consumption model each Spotter query counts against credits and is tracked as a single billable query, whereas for Unlimited or Capacity plans credits are not relevant but ThoughtSpot still tracks billable queries to show what the customer would have consumed.[5] The pricing page separately states that ThoughtSpot “does not meter or charge for LLM tokens”.[7]
Metrics
Credit. The activities that consume credits include performing a search, viewing or editing Liveboards or Answers, creating and editing Models, making administrative changes, interacting with Spotter, and Analyst Studio usage and dataset loads and refreshes.[1]
Billable query. A query is the event triggered when a user needs information from an external data warehouse, system cache or descriptive or statistical metadata. “In most cases, one credit is consumed for every query that is generated.”[2] Scheduled Liveboards, monitors and SpotIQ also trigger queries.[2]
Usage minute. Time-based usage is measured in usage minutes, calculated per user.[4]
Counting / floors
Query-based counting
The user actions reference lists how many queries common actions generate.[5]
| Action | Queries counted |
|---|---|
| Opening an Answer in chart view | Typically one; a pivot table needs several depending on its structure |
| Opening an Answer in table view | One for the data, plus a summary query per column up to 1000 columns unless summaries are turned off |
| Opening a Liveboard | Several, one per visualization in the initial viewport, with more as the user scrolls |
| Asking Spotter a question in natural language | One per question or change; click drill-downs are not extra Spotter queries |
| Asking Spotter to build a Liveboard | One billable query per ThoughtSpot query on the Liveboard |
| Scheduled Analyst Studio dataset refresh | Five |
| Manual Analyst Studio dataset refresh or ad-hoc SQL query | One |
| Searching Answers, sharing an object, creating a warehouse connection | None |
Table summaries deserve attention in estimates: opening an Answer in table view sends summary queries to the warehouse, and each screen refresh repeats them. An administrator can turn summaries off for a single Answer or for the whole site in the Admin console.[5] Catalog proof: Table summaries add queries each time a table view refreshes. Saving SpotIQ results as a Liveboard incurs the standard Liveboard rate when it is opened.[5]
Time-based counting
Any user activity “kicks off a 10-minute usage block”, additional activity in that window does not drive additional consumption, and the first click after the block begins another block.[4] Each user is counted separately, so ten users active in the same ten minutes count as 100 usage minutes.[4] User activity is any user-initiated action from the moment it is initiated until the results are visible, and it includes clicking menu items, searches, filters, administrative setup, uploads, downloads, sharing and browser refreshes.[4] Usage minutes can be consumed “during implementation and training prior to go-live, as well as after”, so project work before production counts.[4]
Not counted are non-user-initiated actions such as scheduled Liveboard emails, automatically triggered SpotIQ analyses and indexing, scrolling that does not update content, and leaving ThoughtSpot open in another tab. The only click described as not counting is Sign out.[4]
Base and flexible credits
For query-based plans, customers buy base credit packages. “Each base-credit package is valid for one year and sets a subscription term of one year”, and several packages in one order form extend the term, so three packages give a three-year term.[2][3] Flexible Credits are optional additions that can be used after the Base Credits for the year they were purchased are consumed.[3]
| Credit type | Within the subscription term | At renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Base Credits | Expire in successive 12-month intervals from signature of the order form; do not roll over | Not carried |
| Flexible Credits, one-year term | No rollover (not applicable) | Up to 30% of the prior contract’s unused Flexible Credits, if the renewal amount is at least the preceding term |
| Flexible Credits, multi-year term | 100% roll over each year within the term | Up to 15% of the prior contract’s unused Flexible Credits, if the renewal amount is at least the preceding term |
Rolled-over Flexible Credits expire 12 months after the start date of the new subscription term.[3] Because the Cloud Subscription Agreement makes every Subscription Term a “non-divisible, continuous commitment” regardless of the invoice schedule,[8] unused Base Credits are a use-it-or-lose-it cost, while the share of Flexible Credits that can be carried is limited by the percentages above.
Excess use
If a customer exceeds its permitted use rights, ThoughtSpot notifies it and the customer has 30 days to reduce use or buy subscription rights matching actual use.[8] The documentation does not state in the retrieved pages how credits consumed beyond the purchased balance are priced; that would be in the order form.
Virtualization & partitioning
Consumption pricing does not use a processor or host metric. Consumption is attributed per user, and for clusters with Orgs, the Credit Usage Liveboard shows cluster-wide use to a cluster administrator and can be filtered by Org.[4] Orgs are an Enterprise capability and are described in ThoughtSpot editions and usage limits.
Cloud / BYOL
Credits apply to the ThoughtSpot Cloud service and to ThoughtSpot software deployed on the customer’s own cloud platform using Connections.[1] Consumption data is stored by ThoughtSpot: a dedicated Amazon S3 bucket holds user activity CSV files temporarily, the data is then loaded into a searchable store in Snowflake that ThoughtSpot deploys and maintains, and the customer’s cluster is given a unique connection to view consumption reports.[6] The documentation does not describe transferring credits between clusters or to another vendor’s platform.
Programs
- Base credit package. A one-year package that defines the term; unused credits expire.[3]
- Flexible Credits and rollover. Optional credits with the rollover percentages above.[3]
- Credit Usage Liveboard. A default administrator-only Liveboard built on the Credit Usage Model, showing for example billable credits consumed all time and month to date, credits purchased with expiry date, uncapped credits consumed and the top 10 users this month. Two default Answers give object-level and API-level detail.[4]
- Unlimited LLM tokens. ThoughtSpot states it does not meter or charge for LLM tokens; a customer’s own LLM provider may charge separately.[7]
Out of scope
This article does not cover per-user pricing, edition ceilings, the AgentSpot DO credit, or negotiated discounts. It does not give the number of credits in a base package or the price of flexible credits, which the retrieved pages do not publish. The Credit Usage Liveboard descriptions come from the time-based usage page and are not a statement of billing mechanics.