Does using the Sandcastles MCP cost credits?
Credits and the Sandcastles MCP
Most of it is free. Asking Claude, ChatGPT or Grok questions through Sandcastles doesn't use credits. Credits are only used when Sandcastles analyzes a new video for you, at 1 credit per video. The MCP uses the same credit balance as the Sandcastles web app.
Which plan you need
The Sandcastles MCP needs an active Pro, Visionary or Titan plan. It isn't available on the Starter plan. Without one of these plans, you'll see "Your Sandcastles plan doesn't include MCP access."
| Plan | Credits per month | New channels per month |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | 100 | 100 |
| Visionary | 250 | 150 |
| Titan | 1500 | 250 |
What uses credits
- Analyzing a video: 1 credit per video. This happens when you type
/analyzein Claude, or ask "Analyze this video" with a TikTok, Instagram or YouTube Shorts link. If the video is already in your current workspace, it's free. - Automation rules: Creating, changing or turning off a rule from chat is free. Once a rule is running, each video it analyzes uses 1 credit, up to the rule's daily limit. If you don't set a daily limit, it's 3. Rules only analyze videos posted after you create or change them.
- Videos Claude offers to analyze: After a channel recap or a search, Claude may offer to analyze videos that haven't been analyzed yet. Each new video it analyzes uses 1 credit.
What's free
Everything else, including:
- Searching videos in your watchlist or across Sandcastles (
/videos-watchlist,/videos-global) - Top hooks, formats and topics (
/hooks-watchlist,/hooks-global,/formats-watchlist,/formats-global,/topics,/video-suggest) - Channel recaps and channel suggestions (
/channels-recap,/channels-search,/channels-suggest) - Getting a video's details
- Your personal analytics (
/analytics) - Creating, renaming and deleting projects, and adding or removing videos
- Listing your automation rules (
/rules) - Reading reports you've already run
- Listing and switching workspaces
- Checking your credit balance
- Adding channels to your watchlist (see below)
Adding channels
Adding channels from chat, for example with /channels-add, doesn't use credits. Instead:
- Each channel takes a spot in your current workspace's watchlist. If your watchlist is full, the channel is skipped. Watchlist sizes for each plan are in What are the differences between the Starter, Pro, Visionary, and Titan plans?.
- Channels that are new to Sandcastles count toward your monthly new-channel allowance (see the table above). The allowance is shared across all your workspaces and resets on the 1st of each month.
- Channels that are already in Sandcastles don't count toward the allowance.
Checking your credits from chat
Ask "How many credits do I have left?" Claude, ChatGPT or Grok uses the Sandcastles current_org_usage tool and tells you:
- How many credits you have left, including any credit boosts
- When your credits next reset
- Your subscription status
This is the balance for your whole account. It doesn't break usage down by workspace or action. For a breakdown, go to Settings > Subscription and scroll to Credit Usage History.
If you run out of credits
- Analyzing new videos stops. You'll see "You don't have enough credits to perform this action."
- Automation rules stop analyzing videos until you have credits again, and Sandcastles emails you to let you know.
- Everything in the free list keeps working.
To keep going, buy a credit boost in Settings > Subscription > Buy additional credits, or upgrade your plan. See How do I buy more credits?. Your monthly credits also reset on the Credit reset date shown in Settings > Subscription.
Important notes
- Credits are shared across all workspaces in your account. Analyzing a video that's in another workspace, but not the one you're in, uses 1 credit.
- If Sandcastles can't analyze a video, for example because it isn't publicly available, the credit is added back to your balance.
Related Articles
- How to set up the Sandcastles MCP in Claude
- How to set up the Sandcastles MCP in ChatGPT
- How to set up the Sandcastles MCP in Grok
- How to set up the Sandcastles MCP in any AI assistant
- How to use the /analyze tool (Sandcastles MCP in Claude)
- How does the credit system work?
- What are the differences between the Starter, Pro, Visionary, and Titan plans?
If you have any questions, please reach out to support@sandcastles.ai.
