> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://braintrust.dev/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Monitor usage

> Track usage and set up cost alerts

Track your Braintrust usage and costs throughout the billing period. The Billing page shows your current plan and projected on-demand usage at a glance, and Pro/Enterprise customers can access detailed reports in the Orb usage portal.

## View usage

1. Go to **<Icon icon="settings-2" /> Settings** > [**<Icon icon="credit-card" /> Billing**](https://www.braintrust.dev/app/~/configuration/org/billing).
2. Under **On-demand usage**, review the projected upcoming invoice broken down by Logs and Scores, along with the date the cycle resets.
3. Scroll down to review usage charts for the current month or a custom date range (up to 100 days).
   * Daily and cumulative logs usage (GB)
   * Daily and cumulative scores usage
   * Daily and cumulative Topics input and output tokens (when [Topics](/observe/topics) is enabled)
4. For detailed usage analytics, click **Detailed usage breakdown** under **On-demand usage**. This opens the Orb portal, where you can:
   * View detailed breakdowns of trace spans, processed data, scores, and Topics tokens
   * Download usage reports for internal tracking or accounting
   * Monitor costs and billing cycles
   * Compare usage across multiple billing periods

## Understanding usage metrics

Your Braintrust usage is measured across three dimensions. Each contributes to your monthly costs if your usage grows beyond your plan's included limits.

See [Plans and limits](/plans-and-limits#usage-limits) for included limits and on-demand usage rates by plan, and [Topics usage](/plans-and-limits#topics-usage) for the Topics monthly credit and overage rates.

### Processed data

Processed data refers to the total bytes of data ingested by Braintrust when you create logs or experiments. This includes:

* Inputs and outputs
* Prompts and completions
* Metadata and tags
* Traces and spans
* Datasets
* Attachments (images, audio, files)
* Any other related information

**How it's measured**: The cumulative size of all data (measured on disk) counts toward your monthly total, calculated from the first day to the last day of each calendar month.

### Scores

Scores are used to measure the results of offline or online evaluations run in Braintrust. Each time you record a score, it counts toward your monthly usage.

Examples of scored operations:

* Offline evaluation scores from experiments
* Online evaluation scores from production logs
* Human review scores
* Custom scorer outputs

**How it's counted**: Each score recorded (whether automatic or manual) increments your monthly score count by one.

### Topics tokens

[Topics](/observe/topics) is metered in input and output tokens consumed by the daily Topics pipeline (facet summarization, embedding, and cluster naming). Each plan includes a [monthly Topics credit](/plans-and-limits#topics-usage) that covers a portion of token usage at no extra cost. Once the credit is used up, uniform [overage rates](/plans-and-limits#topics-usage) apply across all plans.

**How it's measured**: Input and output tokens are summed daily across all Topics pipeline calls and counted toward your monthly Topics credit. The credit does not roll over to the next month.

<Note>
  On the Starter plan, if you exhaust your monthly Topics credit and haven't [enabled on-demand usage](/admin/billing/change-plan#enable-on-demand-usage), Topics is paused for the rest of the billing cycle. Add a card to continue running Topics at the [overage rates](/plans-and-limits#topics-usage), or wait for the next monthly cycle.
</Note>

## Set up spend alerts

<Note>
  Spend alerts are available for plans with [on-demand usage](/admin/billing/change-plan#enable-on-demand-usage) (Starter and Pro).
</Note>

Receive a notification when your total invoice amount reaches a threshold in the current billing cycle. You can set up to three spending thresholds and choose to notify via **Billing email**, a **Slack channel**, or both.

1. Go to **<Icon icon="settings-2" /> Settings** > [**<Icon icon="credit-card" /> Billing**](https://www.braintrust.dev/app/~/configuration/org/billing).
2. Click **<Icon icon="bell" /> Spend alerts**.
3. Set your spending thresholds.
4. Under **Notify via**, select **Billing email**, **Slack channel**, or both.
   * To notify a Slack channel, [enable the Slack integration](/admin/organizations#enable-slack-integration) first, then select a workspace and channel.
5. Click **Save**.

Spend alerts are informational-only and do not interrupt or limit your usage. You can update or disable alerts at any time.

Spend alerts are distinct from Topics credit notifications. Braintrust emails you automatically when you've consumed 60% and 100% of your [monthly Topics credit](/plans-and-limits#topics-usage). These notifications are sent automatically and aren't configurable, whereas spend alerts track your total invoice amount against thresholds you set.

## Next steps

* [Set up alerts](/admin/automations/alerts) — Learn more about creating and managing alerts
* [Configure data retention](/admin/automations/configure-data-retention) — Configure retention policies to control costs
* [Plans and limits](/plans-and-limits) — Review your plan limits and features
* [Billing FAQ](/admin/billing/faq) — Common questions about billing and usage
* [Write SQL filters](/admin/automations/alerts#common-alert-patterns) — Advanced SQL patterns for alert conditions