Credits and Pricing

Reading time: ~5 minutes

Surmado uses credit-based pricing. No subscriptions. No minimums. No sales calls.

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How Credits Work

One credit = $25

You buy credits. You spend credits on reports.

Each report costs 1-2 credits depending on which product and tier.

Credits never expire.

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Individual Report Pricing

Surmado Scan

Cost: 1 credit ($25)

What you get:

• Full technical SEO audit
• Performance analysis (Core Web Vitals, speed metrics)
• Accessibility testing (WCAG 2.1 compliance)
• Schema markup validation
• Browser compatibility testing
• Security and trust signals
• PDF report + structured JSON

Run time: About 15 minutes

When to use: Before launching a site, quarterly audits, after major changes

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Surmado Signal

Cost: 1 credit ($25)

What you get:

• AI visibility testing across 7 platforms
• ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Meta AI, Grok, DeepSeek
• 50+ persona-based queries
• Presence Rate (0-100%)
• Authority Score (0-100%)
• Ghost Influence analysis
• Platform-by-platform breakdown
• PDF report + structured JSON

Run time: About 15-30 minutes

When to use: Monthly AI visibility monitoring, competitive analysis, before/after GEO changes

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Surmado Solutions

Cost: 2 credits ($50)

What you get:

• Six-AI adversarial debate on your strategy
• Prioritized recommendations with ROI analysis
• Multi-quarter roadmap
• Real Options Valuation for high-uncertainty decisions
• Strategic guidance connecting SEO, AEO, and GEO
• PDF report + structured JSON

Run time: About 30-45 minutes

When to use: Quarterly strategy reviews, major business decisions, competitive pivots

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Bundle Pricing

Complete Visibility Suite

Cost: $100 for 6 credits

What this means:

• Face value: 6 credits × $25 = $150
• Bundle price: $100
• You save: $50 (effectively 2 free reports)

Flexible pool:

6 credits can be used for any mix:

• 6 Scan reports
• 6 Signal reports
• 3 Solutions reports
• 4 Scans + 1 Solutions
• Any other combination

Example agency use:

Buy one $100 bundle. Use for:

• 2 client onboardings (Scan + Signal each = 4 credits)
• 1 quarterly strategy review (Solutions = 2 credits)

No time limit: Credits never expire.

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How to Buy Credits

Option 1: Buy as You Go

1. Go to surmado.com/scan, /signal, or /solutions
2. Enter your URL
3. Pay $25 or $50
4. Get your report in about 15-30 minutes

You’re buying 1-2 credits and immediately spending them on that report.

Option 2: Buy the Bundle

1. Go to surmado.com
2. Choose “Complete Visibility Suite” for $100
3. Get 6 credits added to your account
4. Use them whenever you want

When to buy the bundle:

• You know you’ll run multiple reports
• You’re an agency managing several clients
• You want flexibility to mix products
• You want the best price per report

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Auto-Refill (Optional)

Auto-refill automatically tops up your credits when you run low.

How It Works

1. You set a threshold (e.g., “when I have fewer than 2 credits”)
2. You set a refill amount (e.g., “add 6 credits for $100”)
3. When your balance drops below the threshold, we charge your card and add credits

Why use auto-refill:

• Never run out of credits mid-workflow
• Get repeat value without manual purchasing
• Still not a subscription (you can pause/cancel anytime)

How to enable:

After your first purchase, you’ll get an email with a link to enable auto-refill.

Or email hi@surmado.com and we’ll set it up.

How to disable:

Email hi@surmado.com anytime. We turn it off immediately.

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Automatic Refunds

If a report fails on our side, we automatically refund your credits.

No ticket. No waiting. No questions.

Common failure scenarios:

• Site is unreachable (down or blocking our crawlers)
• Invalid URL
• Server error on our end

What happens:

1. Report fails
2. Credits automatically returned to your account
3. You get an email explaining what happened
4. You can retry when the issue is fixed

We don’t refund for:

• Bad results (e.g., low accessibility score)
• Results you disagree with
• “I didn’t need this report after all”

But we’re reasonable. If you have a legitimate issue, email hi@surmado.com within 7 days.

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Volume Pricing for Agencies

If you’re running 50+ reports per month, email hi@surmado.com.

We’ll set up custom volume pricing.

What we need to know:

• How many reports per month (by type)
• Which products (Scan, Signal, Solutions)
• Use case (agency reselling, internal use, etc.)

We’ll respond within 24 hours with a quote.

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API Pricing

Same credit system applies.

API calls consume credits just like web purchases.

Standard rate:

• Scan: 1 credit per request
• Signal: 1 credit per request
• Solutions: 2 credits per request

How it works:

1. Get API key (email hi@surmado.com)
2. Buy credits ($100 bundle recommended for API users)
3. Make API calls
4. Credits deducted per successful report
5. Failed reports automatically refunded

Track usage:

Your account dashboard shows:

• Current credit balance
• Credits used this month
• Recent transactions

Webhook delivery included:

All API reports support webhook delivery at no extra cost.

When the report finishes, we POST results to your webhook URL.

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Payment Methods

We accept:

• Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover)
• Debit cards
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay

We don’t accept:

• PayPal
• Crypto
• Purchase orders
• Invoicing (yet - email if you need this)

Processing:

Payments processed via Stripe. We never see or store your card details.

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Billing and Receipts

Automatic receipts:

You get an email receipt immediately after every purchase.

Lost your receipt?

Email hi@surmado.com with:

• Email address on your account
• Purchase date (approximate is fine)

We’ll resend it.

Need an invoice?

Email hi@surmado.com. Include:

• Purchase details
• Company name and address for invoice
• PO number if applicable

We’ll send a proper invoice within 24 hours.

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Credits Never Expire

Your credit balance never expires.

Buy credits today. Use them in six months. No problem.

Why we do this:

Some businesses have seasonal needs. A landscaper might run reports in spring but not winter.

Credits let you buy when budget is available and use when you need them.

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No Subscriptions

We are explicitly not a subscription service.

What we don’t do:

• Monthly recurring charges
• Annual contracts
• Automatic renewals (unless you enable auto-refill)
• Cancellation fees

What we do:

• One-time purchases
• Optional auto-refill (you control it)
• Credits that never expire
• Pay only for what you use

Why:

Small businesses hate subscriptions. You hate subscriptions.

We give you the benefits of repeat use (auto-refill) without the lock-in of a subscription.

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Refund Policy

Automatic refunds: If the report fails on our side, credits are automatically returned.

Manual refunds: Email hi@surmado.com within 7 days if:

• The report is completely unusable
• You were charged incorrectly
• The report didn’t run at all

What we don’t refund:

• “I didn’t like my score”
• “I don’t agree with the findings”
• “I decided I don’t need this”
• Requests after 7 days

But we’re reasonable. Legitimate issues get handled fast.

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Common Questions

Can I share credits across team members?

Not yet. Currently, credits are tied to the email address that purchased them.

If you need team access, email hi@surmado.com. We’re building this.

What happens if I buy credits but never use them?

They sit in your account forever. No expiration.

If you want a refund for unused credits, email within 30 days of purchase.

Can I transfer credits to someone else?

Not currently. But if you have a legitimate reason (agency transitioning client to in-house, etc.), email hi@surmado.com.

Do you offer student or nonprofit discounts?

Not yet. But email hi@surmado.com with your use case. We’ll consider it.

Can I buy credits as a gift?

Email hi@surmado.com. We’ll manually set this up.

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Comparison: Credits vs. Subscriptions

Feature	Surmado Credits	Typical SaaS Subscription
Monthly charge	Only if you enable auto-refill	Always
Minimum commitment	Zero	Usually 1 year
Cancel anytime	Nothing to cancel (or turn off auto-refill instantly)	Yes, but lose access
Pay for what you use	Exactly	Pay whether you use it or not
Credits expire	Never	N/A
Volume discounts	Bundle pricing	Usually requires annual contract
Refunds	Automatic for failures, case-by-case for others	Prorated at best

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Next Steps

Ready to buy?

• Run a Scan - $25 (1 credit)
• Run a Signal - $25 (1 credit)
• Run Solutions - $50 (2 credits)
• Get the Complete Suite - $100 (6 credits)

Still have questions?

• Contact us
• Read the FAQ
• See which product to use

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Related:

• What is Surmado?
• API Documentation
• Understanding Your Scan Report
• Understanding Your Signal Report