MCP Credit Management

Overview

Credits are how Demandbase measures your MCP data usage.

Simple rule:

1 credit = 1 record returned

You are charged for the data you receive—not for how it’s assembled or how many sources are used.

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What Counts as a Record?

A record (also called an entity) is a single returned result, such as:

• A company
• A contact
• An account
• A Full Account Brief

💡 A Full Account Brief (even with CRM + firmographic data combined) still costs just 1 credit.

All nested data is included at no extra cost, including:

• News articles
• Competitor lists
• Employment history
• Company hierarchies

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When Credits Are Charged

You are charged only when data is successfully returned.

You are charged when:

• A query returns results → 1 credit per record
• You load another page of results → 1 credit per record on that page
• A request returns multiple entity types → each record across each type is charged

Example:
20 accounts + 20 contacts = 40 credits

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You are NOT charged when:

• A query returns zero results
• A request fails before data is delivered
• Your balance is zero and the request is rejected
• Duplicate queries within a 60-minute window that return the same results will not consume additional credits.

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Pagination

• Results default to 5 records per page (5 credits)
  • Note: Sometimes the LLM may override the default, best practice is to always specify the page size in each request
• You can request up to 100 records per page
• You only pay for the pages you actually load

⚠️ Best Practice: Always set a limit to control costs, especially in automated workflows.

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Common Usage Scenarios

Single Record

• Any lookup returning one record → 1 credit

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Capped List

• You set a limit (e.g., top 10)
• Cost = 1 credit per record, up to the limit

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Uncapped List

• No limit set
• Results return in pages (default 5 per page)
  • Note: Sometimes the LLM may override the default, best practice is to always specify the page size in each request
• Cost = number of records returned per page (default 5 per page)
• Total cost depends on how many pages you load

⚠️ Always set a limit to avoid unexpected usage.

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Multiple Entity Types

• Each record across each entity type is billed

Example:
20 accounts + 20 contacts = 40 credits

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Batch Lookup (with Missing Records)

• You only pay for records that exist

Example:
Submit 10 IDs → receive 8 records → 8 credits

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Your Credit Balance

• All users in your organization share one credit pool
• Heavy usage by one user impacts the entire team

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What Happens When Credits Run Out?

• Requests are rejected before they run
• No data is returned
• No credits are charged

Top up your balance to resume usage.

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Best Practices

Do

• Set a record limit on every list query
• Use single-record lookups for research
• Set page limits in automated workflows
• Check your balance anytime (free)

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Don’t

• Run uncapped queries on large datasets
• Let automations loop through pages without limits
• Assume more data sources = more credits
• Confuse zero results with a failed request

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Quick Reference

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Key Takeaway

You only pay for what is returned—1 credit per record, regardless of complexity.