What a credit actually is
A credit is Suno's unit of compute. Anything that makes the servers generate audio spends them; anything that just moves files around doesn't. That's the whole rule, and it explains every entry in the price list below.
A song costs 5 credits. Pressing Create costs 10.
Suno returns two versions of every generation, and it bills for both. So the figure that matters when you're budgeting isn't 5 - it's 10 credits every time you press the button, whether you keep one of the two, both, or neither.
This is why "2,500 credits ≈ 500 songs" is technically true and practically misleading. Five hundred songs is 250 presses, and almost nobody keeps one in two. Plan around presses, not songs.
Free, always
Nothing here touches your balance
- Downloading - MP3, WAV, video, stems, bulk ZIPs, any format your plan allows
- Uploading audio - storing a clip costs nothing, only generating from it does
- Writing prompts and lyrics, including the Magic Wand expanding one for you
- Creating a Persona from a song you already made
- Publishing, playlists, renaming, browsing Explore
Costs credits
Anything that renders new audio
- Generating a song from a prompt or an audio input
- Extending a track, and replacing a section
- Covers - a full re-performance is a full generation
- Stem separation, which is the most expensive single action on the list
- Remaster, and re-rolling anything you didn't like
What each action costs
Suno publishes exact figures for some actions and not others. Where the number is documented we've marked it Published; where it's the widely-reported working figure rather than an official one, Reported. We'd rather flag the difference than pretend to a precision that isn't there.
| Action | Credits | What you get | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| One song | 5 | The base unit. You rarely buy one on its own. | Reported |
| One generationPressing Create | 10 | Two songs, billed together. This is the number to budget with. | Reported |
| Cover | 10 | A full re-performance in a new style. Same cost as a fresh generation, because that's what it is. | Published |
| Extend / Replace Section | 10 | Rendering new audio onto an existing track. Priced like a generation. | Reported |
| Auto SplitStem separation, 12 stems | 50 | The full twelve-part split in one action. The single most expensive thing you can click. | Published |
| Split from MixVocals / instrumental | 1020 for both | 10 per extraction - splitting a track into its two halves costs 20 in total. | Published |
| Advanced SplitPremier only | 10per extraction | Choose your own stems from close to 100 instruments. Cost scales with how many you ask for - 20 per pair created. | Published |
| Remaster | 10 | Re-renders the track at higher fidelity, so it prices like a generation. | Reported |
| Any download | 0 | MP3, WAV, MP4, stems, bulk ZIP. Downloads are capped per day, but they're never charged. | Published |
| Audio upload | 0 | Storing a clip is free. Generating from it is a normal generation. | Published |
What one finished track really costs
Nobody presses Create once and releases the result. A realistic keeper takes three to five generations, and if it's going into a DAW it takes a stem split too. Here's that arithmetic drawn out.
Allowances, resets and rollover
Three plans, three different refill rhythms - and one rule that catches people out at the end of every billing cycle.
- 5 generations a day - 10 songs, if you count both versions
- About 1,500 a month if you show up every single day
- Today's credits die tonight. Nothing accumulates
- Personal, non-commercial use - permanently
- 250 generations a month, or ~27 fully finished tracks
- Resets on your billing date, not the 1st
- Unused credits do not roll over
- Commercial rights, v5.5, WAV, stem separation
- 1,000 generations a month, or ~110 finished tracks
- Adds Advanced Split and Studio 2.0
- Same no-rollover rule applies
- Studio project exports don't touch the download cap
How many credits do you actually need?
Four honest questions. The second one is where most people lie to themselves - if you're releasing the first thing Suno hands you, set it to 1, but almost nobody does.
(tracks × generations × 10) + (stems × 50) + (covers × 10). Cost per track divides the recommended plan's monthly price by your finished-track count, at list rates.
Six ways people burn credits without noticing
None of these are exotic. They're just the default behaviour of someone who hasn't thought about it, and together they account for most of a wasted month.
By far the biggest drain. Four presses at a thin prompt is 40 credits spent asking the same unclear question four times. Five more minutes on the style prompt is cheaper than five more generations - and it works, which regenerating doesn't.
The five-part formula is on our prompt guide. It's the single highest-leverage thing on this page.
A 50-credit action performed on a track you then regenerate is 50 credits gone. Stems last - do them once, at the end. If you only need vocals and instrumental, Split from Mix costs 20 instead of 50.
You paid for two songs and most people play the first, dislike it, and press Create again. Listen to both. The second version is frequently the better one, and it's already bought.
If one verse failed and the rest is fine, Replace Section costs the same as a generation but keeps everything you already liked - so you're not re-rolling the parts that worked and hoping they survive.
Credits don't roll over. If your billing date is Friday and you're sitting on 1,800 unused credits, that's 180 generations you've already paid for. Use them or lose them - a good week to bulk-explore ideas.
Nothing obliges you to subscribe continuously. Draft on the free tier, take one paid month when you're ready to finish and export, download everything in WAV, then drop back. The files and their licence stay yours.
What happens when you hit zero
On free, wait until tomorrow
The 50 refresh on a daily cycle. Nothing breaks, nothing is lost - the Create button simply stops working until the reset. Your library and everything in it stays exactly where it was.
On a paid plan, buy top-ups or wait
Pro and Premier can purchase additional credits mid-cycle, and those don't expire while you stay subscribed. Otherwise the allowance returns on your billing date.
Downloading still works
Zero credits doesn't lock your library. You can still download everything you've made, in every format your plan allows - downloads have never cost credits and don't start now.
Suno credits FAQ
How many credits does one song cost?
About 5 credits per song - but Suno returns two versions per generation and charges for both, so pressing Create costs 10. Budget in tens, not fives.
How many free credits do I get?
50 a day on the free plan, refreshed daily and permanently. That's five generations - ten songs. They don't accumulate: today's unused credits are gone tomorrow.
Do unused credits roll over?
No. Subscription credits reset on your billing date and whatever's left is lost. The one exception is purchased top-up credits, which don't expire while your subscription stays active.
Can I buy extra credits?
Yes, on Pro and Premier. Top-ups sit on top of your monthly allowance and survive the billing cycle, which makes them useful if your work comes in bursts rather than evenly.
Does downloading cost credits?
No - never has. MP3, WAV, video, stems and bulk ZIPs are all free. There are daily download caps (10 on free, 500 on Pro, 1,000 on Premier), but they're separate from your credit balance.
How much does stem separation cost?
Auto Split is 50 credits for the full 12 stems. Split from Mix is 10 per extraction - 20 for both halves. Advanced Split, on Premier, is 10 per extraction and scales with how many stems you pick.
When do my credits reset?
Free resets daily. Paid plans reset on your billing date - the day of the month you subscribed, not the 1st. Worth knowing, because that's the deadline for spending what's left.
Does a cover cost the same as a new song?
Yes - 10 credits. A cover re-performs the entire track, so the server does the same amount of work as a fresh generation. Extends and Replace Section are priced the same way.
Can I get a refund for a bad generation?
No. Credits are spent when the server does the work, and a result you dislike still consumed the compute. This is precisely why prompt quality is a budgeting question, not just a creative one.
Is 2,500 credits really 500 songs?
Arithmetically, yes. Practically, no - that assumes you keep every song from every generation. At a realistic 4 generations plus a stem split per keeper, Pro is closer to 27 finished tracks a month.
Do I keep my songs if I run out of credits?
Yes. Your library, Personas and Voices are unaffected, and you can still download everything. Only the Create button stops until your credits return.
Is there any way to get unlimited credits?
No. Credits are allocated and decremented on Suno's servers, so nothing installed on your device can change the balance - which is why every "unlimited credits" download is selling something other than what it claims. The full explanation.
The cheapest credit is the one you don't spend twice
Most people don't need a bigger plan - they need a better prompt and the discipline to listen to both versions. Fix those two and a month's allowance goes roughly twice as far.