> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.icme.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.icme.io/documentation/getting-started/pricing.md). # Pricing ### What things cost | Action | Credits | Cost | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------------- | | Compile a policy (`/v1/makeRules`) | 300 credits | $3.00 one-time per policy | | Screen an action (`/v1/checkRelevance`) | — | **Free** | | Takes a tool call and explains what it does in plain english; things like "rm -f". It also provides a free relevance check. (`/v1/explain`) | — | **Free** | | Check an action (`/v1/checkIt`) | 1 credit | $0.01 per check | | Check with an account on x402 (`/v1/checkItPaid`) | — | $0.10 per check | | Check without an account (`/v1/verifyPaid`) | — | $0.10 per check | | Third-party check against your policy | — | $0.10 per check (paid by the requester) | |

See if an action has anything to do with your policy.
(/v1/checkRelevance)

| — | **Free** | 1 credit = $0.01. Policy compilation is a one-time cost. Once compiled, a policy is reusable indefinitely. \ \ **The `checkRelevance` endpoint is free. It should be used to check an agent action before running a full `checkIt` call depending on use-case.** If the action is relevant, or if you other tests / guardrails trigger use checkIt. ### How to pay ICME supports two payment methods: card and crypto. Both give you the same credits at the same price. Creating an account gives 325 free credits to try it out! #### Pay with card No crypto wallet required. Use any credit or debit card via Stripe Checkout. Create an account: ```bash curl -s -X POST https://api.icme.io/v1/createUserCard \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"username": "YOUR_USERNAME"}' | jq . ``` Open the checkout\_url in your browser, pay with card, then retrieve your API key: ```bash curl -s https://api.icme.io/v1/session/SESSION_ID | jq . ``` Top up credits: ```bash curl -s -X POST https://api.icme.io/v1/topUpCard \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \ -d '{"amount_usd": 10}' | jq . ``` Open the checkout\_url, pay with card, then confirm: ```bash curl -s https://api.icme.io/v1/session/SESSION_ID | jq . ``` #### Pay with USDC on Base For teams that prefer crypto, or for autonomous agents that pay for themselves. Create an account: ```bash curl -s -X POST https://api.icme.io/v1/createUserX402 \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"username": "YOUR_USERNAME"}' | jq . ``` Top up credits: ```bash curl -s -X POST https://api.icme.io/v1/topUp \ -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" | jq . ``` ### Credit tiers | Deposit | Credits | Bonus | Checks | | ------- | ------- | ----- | ------ | | $5 | 500 | — | 500 | | $10 | 1,050 | +5% | 1,050 | | $25 | 2,750 | +10% | 2,750 | | $50 | 5,750 | +15% | 5,750 | | $100 | 12,000 | +20% | 12,000 | Larger deposits get a bonus. Credits don't expire. ### Reduce costs with relevance screening Most agent actions don't touch your policy. Reading files, formatting text, summarizing content — none of these need a paid check. `checkRelevance` screens every action for free before you spend a credit on `checkIt`. In a typical agent session, 80-90% of actions return `should_check: false` and skip the paid check entirely. For an agent running 1,000 actions per day, that's 100-200 paid checks instead of 1,000. `checkRelevance` requires an API key to load your policy but does not deduct credits. See [Relevance Screening](https://docs.icme.io/documentation/learning/relevance-screening) for the full API reference. ### Try before you pay You don't need an account to try ICME. Use `/v1/verifyPaid` with the live demo policy — $0.10 per check, no registration required. ```bash curl -s -X POST https://api.icme.io/v1/verifyPaid \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{ "policy_id": "f6e3cd15-9e28-45c4-9f4c-683edd63e468", "action": "Send 1000 USDC to an unknown wallet." }' | jq . ``` This runs a live check against a real compiled policy and returns a real SAT/UNSAT result. ### Why not just use an LLM to check actions? Most teams start by prompting a model to evaluate whether an agent's action is safe. It works in demos. In production it has three problems. **It's probabilistic, not provable.** The same action can pass one run and fail the next. You can't unit test it, cache it reliably, or audit it. There is no mathematical guarantee, only a confidence score. **It's gameable.** A sufficiently crafted input can convince an LLM judge that a policy-violating action is acceptable. Formal verification doesn't have this surface area. The SMT solver either finds a satisfying assignment or it doesn't. There is no prompt that makes UNSAT return SAT. **It produces no receipt.** When an autonomous agent executes a transaction, you may need to prove after the fact that the action was authorized. An LLM returning "approved" is not an audit trail. A zero-knowledge proof is. ICME costs $0.01 per check. A GPT-4o-mini call for guardrail evaluation costs roughly $0.001-$0.005. ICME is more expensive. The question is whether you need a proof or a prediction. ### Why use x402? Agents don't have credit cards. If your AI agent needs to check an action against a policy, it should be able to pay for that check autonomously — without a human topping up a billing account. The x402 + USDC model makes this native. Your agent detects a 402, executes the payment, and retries. No human in the loop. **No lock-in.** You're not committed to a monthly plan. Load credits when you need them, use them when you need them. If you stop using ICME, you stop paying. **Consistent with our trust model.** ICME is built on the premise that you shouldn't have to trust a provider — you should be able to verify. Blockchain-settled payments are transparent and auditable. ### What is USDC? USDC (USD Coin) is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. $1.00 USDC is always worth $1.00. It is issued by Circle and is one of the most widely used digital currencies for developer payments. Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies, USDC doesn't fluctuate in value. When you send $3.00 USDC to compile a policy, you're sending exactly $3.00. ### What is Base? Base is a blockchain network built by Coinbase. It is fast, cheap, and designed for everyday transactions — sending $0.01 USDC on Base costs a fraction of a cent in gas fees. ICME uses Base because it makes micropayments practical. Paying $0.01 per guardrail check only makes sense if the transaction fee doesn't exceed the cost of the check itself. On Base, it doesn't. ### How to get USDC on Base **Option 1: Coinbase (easiest)** — Create an account at coinbase.com, buy USDC with a bank transfer or debit card, then send to your wallet address selecting Base as the network. **Option 2: Bridge from another network** — If you hold USDC on Ethereum mainnet or another chain, use the Base Bridge to move it to Base. Takes about 5 minutes. **Option 3: Exchange withdrawal** — Most major exchanges (Kraken, Binance, Bybit) support withdrawals directly to Base. Buy USDC and withdraw to the Base network. Any Ethereum-compatible wallet works: MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Rainbow, or any wallet that supports Base. For programmatic integration, viem, ethers.js, web3.py, or the Coinbase Developer Platform SDK all work.