Writer is the commercial name of Writer, Inc., a San Francisco company that sells an enterprise generative AI platform branded WRITER. The platform combines an agent interface (WRITER Agent), reusable multi-step workflows called Playbooks, connectors to business systems, a developer and administration control plane (AI Studio), a graph-based retrieval service (Knowledge Graph) and the company’s own family of large language models, Palmyra.[1][3] For software asset management purposes the unusual feature is that Writer combines two licence constructs in one contract: a seat subscription for people, and a prepaid usage balance (credits) that is drawn down by AI consumption.[1][4]
This article summarises the commercial structure and points to the deeper articles. All terms are Writer’s own published documents, retrieved on 2026-10-13. Several operative figures, in particular Enterprise seat prices and the size of the initial credit package, are not published and are set in an individual Order Form.
Contract structure
Which agreement governs a customer depends on the plan. The Terms of Use apply to individuals and to organisations using a free version, a trial or a paid version of the platform, excluding Enterprise versions; they also state that the Platform Services Agreement, or a separately executed agreement, governs the Enterprise version.[2] The Platform Services Agreement is between Writer, Inc. and the party named as customer in an Order Form, and takes effect when the parties enter into an Order Form that incorporates it.[3] The Service Level and Support Agreement, the Data Processing Agreement and the Acceptable Use Policy are incorporated by reference into the Enterprise terms.[3][6][7]
Credits are covered separately by the Credit Terms, which state that the platform operates on a usage-based pricing model measured and billed at the rates published on the developer pricing page.[4] Because those rates are published on a web page that Writer may change, a customer’s effective unit cost can move without a new contract version. The pricing page itself states that rates for the WRITER-managed third-party models are subject to change.[5]
The open-weights side of the Palmyra family is licensed under a separate Writer Open Model License, which permits use, modification and distribution only for non-Commercial purposes unless Writer grants a licence for Commercial use.[8]
Plans and seats
The plans page lists two plans.[1]
- Starter is the self-serve plan. It is described as including up to five users, WRITER Agent, up to five Playbooks, one team personality profile and basic connectors, with a 14-day free trial that needs no credit card. The pricing FAQ says Starter offers monthly or annual per-seat plans with fixed credit limits; the page does not display a seat price.
- Enterprise is sold through sales. It lists as many users and teams as needed, unrestricted Playbooks and routines, full Knowledge Graph capabilities and connectors, full AI Studio access and priority enterprise support; the help centre lists SSO/SAML 2.0 and SCIM among the platform inclusions.[11] The FAQ says Enterprise includes regular seats and unlimited free users, plus optional solution packs and services.
On Enterprise the paid seat is called a Pro seat, and the free seat is a Lite seat. Pro seats are the standard paid seat type and give full access to create, customise and automate workflows. Lite seats are available only on Enterprise plans and let new or invited users try the platform with a limited monthly allowance.[1][10] The help centre states that Lite seats are included with the subscription at no additional cost, and the platform features article lists unlimited Lite users among the inclusions.[10][11] The article Writer plans, seats and credits covers the differences in detail.
The contractual unit under the Platform Services Agreement is the Authorized User: anyone the customer authorises to access the platform under its account. The agreement defines the Subscription as access on a per Authorized User basis and prohibits allowing an account to be shared or used by more than one individual.[3]
Credits and usage-based charges
Credits are the unified consumption model on Enterprise plans. The help centre describes them as a dollar balance on the organisation account that powers WRITER Agent, pre-built agents, Playbooks, API integrations and AI Studio.[9] The pricing page states that for WRITER Agent usage one credit equals one US dollar.[5] Under the Credit Terms, credits are non-refundable, non-transferable, may be used only with the platform and have no cash value; credits on an annual plan expire at the end of the annual subscription period.[4] The help centre adds that credits that come with the platform purchase and Pro seats expire and reset at the end of every contract term, and that additional credits follow the same expiry.[9]
What a credit buys is set by the developer pricing page:[5]
| Item | Published rate |
|---|---|
| Palmyra X6 (API, Agent Builder, no-code, and the WRITER Agent default) | 2.00 USD input and 8.00 USD output per 1M tokens |
| Palmyra X5 (API) | 0.60 USD input and 6.00 USD output per 1M tokens |
| Palmyra X5 inside WRITER Agent | 5.00 USD input and 12.00 USD output per 1M tokens |
| Palmyra X4 (API) | 2.50 USD input and 10.00 USD output per 1M tokens |
| Knowledge Graph hosting | 0.085 USD per GB of storage per day |
| Knowledge Graph file parsing (OCR) | 0.055 USD per page |
| Tools API PDF parser | 0.055 USD per page |
The page announces that Palmyra X4 and X5 are deprecated on 2026-12-14 and names Palmyra X6 as the migration path.[5][12] The article Palmyra models and Writer API pricing lists the third-party model catalogue, the bring-your-own-model option and the deprecation policy.
Programs and discounts
Writer publishes few formal programs. The ones that appear in its own documents are:
- a 14-day Starter trial without a payment card;[1]
- a 20% discount on Starter and Enterprise for non-profits and educational institutions, requested by email from Writer using a non-profit or .edu address;[1]
- billing groups, which map each user to one internal budget so that licence use can be tracked per cost centre;[9]
- the purchase of additional credits through the account executive during a contract term;[9]
- purchases through an authorised Reseller, in which case the reseller’s terms replace the fee and term sections of the Platform Services Agreement.[3]
Renewal, cancellation and compliance points
The Platform Services Agreement auto-renews each Subscription for a period equal to the original term at Writer’s then-current rates unless either party terminates or cancels at least 30 days before the Renewal Date; payments are non-refundable and fees are due within 30 days of the invoice date.[3] The Terms of Use likewise provide for automatic renewal of paid plans until cancelled, give subscribers advance notice of fee increases and state that payments are non-refundable except as stated.[2]
In the version reviewed, the Platform Services Agreement has no clause that gives Writer a right to audit the customer’s usage, unlike many on-premises vendor contracts. It does restrict specific behaviour: no resale or rental of access, no account sharing, and no use of the platform for benchmarking or to develop a competing product. Liability for a breach of those restrictions sits outside the contractual liability cap, which is otherwise limited to the fees paid or payable in the preceding twelve months.[3] Separately, the Data Processing Agreement gives the customer a right to request an audit of Writer’s records, once a year and at the customer’s expense.[7]
For an effective licence position, the items that need tracking are therefore the number of Pro seats and Authorized Users, the Lite seat population, the credit balance and its expiry date, the Renewal Date and notice date, the models enabled for agents, and any use of company email addresses on self-registered accounts that could be linked to the corporate account.[2][9]
Out of scope
This article does not cover Writer’s privacy notice, cookie notice, security certifications or the WRITER for Slack and browser integrations, which are described in the help centre rather than in licensing documents. It does not address the contractual terms of third-party model providers whose models Writer resells, which Writer’s own catalogue prices as a usage rate.