Usage tracking
Monitor your AI articles, briefs, sites, trends, alerts, and team seats against plan limits.
Usage tracking
The usage dashboard gives you a real-time view of how much of your plan you have consumed this billing cycle. Go to Settings → Usage to see your current numbers.
Tracked metrics
Each metric shows your current usage against your plan's limit:
| Metric | What it tracks |
|---|---|
| AI words (managed budget) | Your monthly AI word budget generated on EarlyForge's AI, shown as x / N words (for example 322 / 25,000 words) |
| Briefs | Briefs created this month |
| Sites | Active publishing sites in your organization |
| Trends unlocked / day | Trends you have unlocked today against your daily quota |
| Smart alerts | Active alerts configured |
| Team members | Members currently in your organization |
Briefs and your AI word budget reset each month on your billing-cycle date. The trends-unlocked counter resets daily. Sites, alerts, and team members are counted as current totals.
Once you connect your own AI key, AI generation is unlimited — the x / N words counter only tracks the AI word budget included on EarlyForge's AI. Your own AI usage and remaining credit appear under Settings → AI keys. See Connect your AI.
How quotas reset
- Monthly quotas (AI word budget, briefs) reset on your billing-cycle date — the same day each month that you subscribed.
- The daily trends-unlocked quota resets every day.
- Unused quota does not roll over. Anything you do not use is gone at the next reset; it does not stack onto the following period.
What happens at your limits
EarlyForge never crashes when you reach a limit — it tells you exactly what to do next.
- AI word budget reached. On a paid plan, the next generation shows a clear "connect your AI to continue" prompt; connect your own AI key once and generation becomes unlimited. On the Free plan, you upgrade to a paid plan to keep generating.
- Trends unlocked / day. Trends beyond your daily quota stay visible in your lists but are blurred with an upgrade prompt. The quota refreshes the next day.
- Briefs, sites, alerts, team members. When you reach the limit, EarlyForge prompts you to upgrade (or to free up a slot) before adding more.
If you run automated briefs, keep an eye on the trends and briefs counters. Upgrading raises every limit at once and takes effect immediately — see Manage subscription.
Usage history
Below the current cycle, the dashboard shows historical usage so you can spot patterns:
- Seasonal peaks — months with higher output around industry events or news cycles.
- Growth trends — steadily rising usage suggests it may be time to upgrade before you hit a limit.
Per-site breakdown
The dashboard breaks usage down per site, so you can see which site drives the most generation. This helps you decide where to focus and which sites to prioritize when you approach a limit.
Plan limits reference
For quick reference, here are the limits by plan:
| Metric | Free | Starter | Pro | Scale | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly AI word budget | 5,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 50,000 | Custom |
| Unlimited with your AI key | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Briefs / month | — | 3 | 20 | 100 | Custom |
| Publishing sites | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15 | Custom |
| Trends unlocked / day | 20 | 200 | 500 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Smart alerts | — | 10 | 20 | 50 | Custom |
| Team members | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 included (+€10/mo per extra seat) | Custom |
Reducing usage
If you regularly approach your limits, consider:
- Connect your own AI key — removes the word budget cap entirely on any paid plan.
- Consolidate briefs — combine small briefs into fewer, broader ones.
- Remove unused alerts — inactive alerts still count toward your limit.
- Archive sites you no longer publish to — each active site counts toward your limit.
What's next?
- Plans — Compare plan limits and find the right fit
- Connect your AI — Unlock unlimited generation with your own key
- Manage subscription — Upgrade to raise every limit immediately