Running through credits faster than you planned? These are the usual reasons and how to fix each one. To see how many credits you have left, click your profile picture and look at the Credits row.
What uses the most credits
Large sources connected to a chat
Everything connected to a chat is read on every message. A long video transcript, a big PDF or many articles add up fast, even when you only need a small part.
Long conversations
The whole conversation is sent with each new message. A chat with dozens of messages costs more per message than a fresh one.
High thinking levels
In the model menu under the chat box, Thinking sets how long the AI reasons. Medium and High can use 2-3x more credits. Extra High uses the most. Use Instant or Low for everyday writing.
Large models
Bigger models cost more per message. Use GPT-5.4 Mini for simple tasks and save the large models for hard work. See the AI Models Guide.
Images, carousels and web search
These use credits too. Web search is added on top of the reply.
How to reduce usage
Extract only what you need
Connect the raw video or document to a separate chat.
Ask that chat to pull out only the information you need.
Put the result in a text box (press "T").
Connect the text box to your main chat instead of the original file.
This costs fewer credits and usually gives better answers.
Use separate chats for separate topics
Don't connect everything to one chat. Start a new chat when a conversation gets long.
Send follow-ups close together
Poppy reuses the unchanged part of your chat for a short time, about 5 minutes, and charges less for it. Messages sent soon after each other are cheaper than the first one.
Turn thinking down
Click the model name under the chat box, open Thinking and pick Instant or Low. See Understanding Thinking Modes.
When you need more credits
If you still hit your limit, click Upgrades at the top of the board, or Buy More Credits in the Credits window. Plans give 4,000 to 16,000 credits a month. See Pricing Options.
Credits reset on the 1st of every month at 5AM PST and don't roll over.
Still seeing unexpected usage?
Contact support in the chat. We look at individual cases.