Pricing

Pay for what you use. Know the cost before every call.

Discovery, scoring, and browsing are always free. When your agent runs a capability through Rhumb, you pay per call — and you can check the exact price before committing. No subscriptions, no seat fees, no minimums.

Default path

Price the default production path first

Default path: discover a Service, choose a Capability, estimate the call, then execute through Layer 2 with a governed API key or wallet-prefunded API key. Use x402 only when zero-signup per-call matters. Use Layer 1 only when you must pin the provider. Use Layer 3 only when a published recipe already exists.

What you are paying for

The main paid surface today is Layer 2 capability routing: discover a Service, choose a Capability, estimate the call, then execute.

Default repeat-traffic rails

For repeat traffic, default to governed API key or wallet-prefund. Both end up executing with X-Rhumb-Key.

When to use x402

Use x402 per-call when zero-signup, request-level payment authorization is the point — not as the default repeat-throughput path.

Canonical onboarding map: /docs#resolve-mental-model

Three payment rails, one execution endpoint

Rhumb supports three ways to fund execution traffic: account billing with API keys, wallet-prefunded balance, or x402 per-call settlement. All roads still end at POST /v1/capabilities/{capability_id}/execute.

Rail Auth Best fit
Governed API key X-Rhumb-Key Apps and teams with dashboard-based billing controls.
Wallet-prefunded balance X-Rhumb-Key Wallet-first agents that want reusable balance for repeat calls.
x402 per-call X-Payment Zero-signup and strict request-level payment authorization.

Pick the right rail

Choose based on how money moves, not on jargon.

Buyers do not need a protocol lecture first. Ask three questions: do you want the default production path, do you need wallet identity, and do you need each request to carry its own payment authorization?

Governed API key

Default
Use when
You are shipping a production app, internal tool, or repeat agent workflow.
You send
X-Rhumb-Key
Money flow
Rhumb-managed account billing and controls.
Best for
Teams that want the simplest default path.
Tradeoff
Requires account signup before the first paid call.

Wallet-prefund

Wallet-first
Use when
You want wallet identity, but you also want repeat throughput and one stable execution key.
You send
X-Rhumb-Key
Money flow
Top up reusable balance from a wallet, then spend from that balance.
Best for
Agents that are wallet-native but call Rhumb repeatedly.
Tradeoff
Has a setup step before the first repeatable execution path.

x402 per-call

Zero signup
Use when
You want request-level payment authorization and no account signup before the first paid call.
You send
X-Payment
Money flow
USDC on Base, authorized per request.
Best for
Ephemeral agents, demos, and strict per-request payment flows.
Tradeoff
Not the easiest repeat-traffic rail today; tx-hash proof shape matters.

BYOK

Provider control
Use when
You already have provider contracts, credentials, or compliance boundaries you must keep.
You send
Provider credential via Rhumb
Money flow
You pay the provider directly; Rhumb routes without markup on the credential itself.
Best for
Enterprise teams and direct vendor-control cases.
Tradeoff
You keep the credential-management burden.

Common buyer paths

Three realistic ways buyers arrive here.

If you are unsure which rail fits, find the path that sounds like you and start there.

I just want the normal production setup

Start with governed API key unless you have a strong reason not to.

  1. Create an account and get X-Rhumb-Key.
  2. Estimate the capability cost before execution.
  3. Execute through Layer 2 with Rhumb-managed routing and billing.
Start with API key →

My agent is wallet-native and will call repeatedly

Use wallet-prefund when wallet identity matters but repeat traffic matters more than zero-signup purity.

  1. Prove wallet control once and create the wallet session.
  2. Top up reusable balance from the wallet flow.
  3. Execute repeat calls with X-Rhumb-Key instead of paying every request individually.
See wallet-prefund →

I need a one-off or true pay-per-request flow

Use x402 when payment authorization on each request is the product requirement.

  1. Request the capability and read the payment requirement.
  2. Authorize the payment with X-Payment on the x402 rail.
  3. If your buyer emits wrapped proofs instead of the supported tx-hash flow, switch to wallet-prefund.
See x402 guide →

Discovery

Always free

$0

Browse services, read scores, search the directory, check comparisons, and call any read-only endpoint. No signup required. No limits.

Includes
Search, scores, comparisons, MCP discovery
Auth
None required
Explore services

Standard

API key

Rhumb handles credentials, routing, failover, and billing. You get pre-call cost estimates, smart provider selection, and fail-closed execution safety. Pay per call, no commitments.

Auth
X-Rhumb-Key
Pricing
Per-call, with estimates before every call
Best for
Apps, agents, and production workloads
Get API key

Enterprise

Contact

For teams that need procurement support, security review coordination, or a direct conversation about rollout and controls.

Best for
Security-conscious teams and larger deployments
Commercial model
Discuss with Rhumb
Contact

Usage

What counts as a call?

1 call = 1 API call to a third-party service routed through Rhumb. Scoring, searching, and browsing are always free. You're only charged when Rhumb makes an API call on your behalf.

Example Counts as Notes
Send an email via Resend 1 call Rhumb makes one third-party API call on your behalf.
Search for a service on Rhumb 0 calls Discovery is never charged.
Get an AN Score for a service 0 calls Scoring is always free.
Execute a 3-step capability chain 3 calls Each provider API call counts separately.
Failed call (provider error) 0 calls Provider errors are not charged.

Pricing FAQ

What counts as a call?

A call is one API call to a third-party service routed through Rhumb. Searching, scoring, and browsing are always free, and failed provider calls are not charged. See the examples above .

Which rail should most buyers start with?

Start with the governed API key unless you specifically need wallet identity or per-request payment authorization. It is the default production path because it gives you one stable execution header, pre-call estimates, and simpler repeat-traffic operations. See the examples above .

What is the difference between API key, wallet-prefund, and x402?

API key and wallet-prefund both execute with X-Rhumb-Key. API key is account-first billing; wallet-prefund is wallet-first funding that tops up reusable balance and currently uses the standard x402 authorization settlement path during top-up verification. x402 direct per-call execute is payment-as-auth using X-Payment, but today the repeatable public execute path expects legacy tx-hash proof rather than wrapped authorization payloads. See the examples above .

Do I need crypto to use Rhumb?

No. Most buyers should not start with crypto. If you are using the governed API-key path or BYOK, you do not need wallet setup. Wallet-prefund and x402 are wallet-first rails for teams that explicitly want those payment properties. See the examples above .

For agents and automation

The canonical machine-readable source remains public. Resolve the pricing contract, then call the estimate endpoint for exact per-call numbers before you run anything.

Contract

curl https://api.rhumb.dev/v1/pricing

Estimate

curl "https://api.rhumb.dev/v1/capabilities/{capability_id}/execute/estimate"

For wallet-first flows (x402 per-call and wallet-prefunded balance), see our Agent Payments guide.