specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Accredible
providerId: accredible
created: '2026-07-05'
modified: '2026-07-05'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Digital Credentials
- Certificates
- Badges
- Credentialing
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Accredible spend. Accredible is a subscription SaaS billed on a
  per-unique-recipient basis over an annual commitment, not on API calls or
  per-credential usage - an issuer pays once per unique recipient per year and
  can issue unlimited certificates and badges to that recipient. The dominant
  cost driver is therefore the count of distinct recipients credentialed in a
  billing year, which maps to plan tier (Launch, Connect, Growth, Enterprise).
  The API is included in the subscription with no separate metered API charge.
notes: >-
  Per-tier and per-recipient rates above the Launch entry price are quote-based
  and not published; reconcile against an actual order form or invoice. Optimize
  by de-duplicating recipients (one person credentialed once per year rather than
  many overlapping records) and right-sizing the plan tier to expected annual
  recipient volume.
sources:
- https://www.accredible.com/pricing
- https://help.accredible.com/how-much-does-accredible-cost
- https://docs.api.accredible.com/
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Accredible
serviceCategory: Digital Credentialing
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription
  billingFrequency: Annual
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Purchase
  - Usage
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Accredible
  ServiceCategory: Digital Credentialing
  ProviderName: Accredible
  PublisherName: Accredible
  InvoiceIssuerName: Accredible
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Purchase
  PricingCategory: Subscription
meters:
- name: unique_recipients
  description: Distinct recipients credentialed in the billing year - the primary cost driver.
  unit: recipients
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - department
  - group
- name: credentials_issued
  description: Certificates and badges issued. Unlimited per unique recipient; not directly billed.
  unit: credentials
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - group
  - design
- name: plan_subscription
  description: Annual plan fee for the selected tier (Launch, Connect, Growth, Enterprise).
  unit: subscription
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - plan
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track unique recipients per department and group against the plan's annual allowance.
- name: Allocation
  description: Use Departments and Groups to map credentialing spend to programs, teams, or cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: De-duplicate recipients so each person is counted once per year; right-size the plan tier to expected recipient volume; reuse Designs across Groups.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign an owner per department; review recipient counts before annual renewal to confirm the tier still fits.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com