# Provenance stamped 2026-10-07 (roadmap#943): written by an API Evangelist sweep (undated — the file carries no date and git cannot supply one), not
# harvested from the provider. `method: generated` so the economics campaign may replace it with a
# dated, verbatim transcription; every figure below is unverified until it does.
# Coverage demoted 2026-10-07 (roadmap#942, PLAN.md Stage A): this file was written by an API Evangelist
# sweep and names no billing unit, meters or pricing category read from the provider — it restates the
# FinOps framework. It is `x-coverage: unmeasured`, and the FOCUS alignment it claimed has been removed.
x-coverage: unmeasured
method: generated
finops:
  provider: Flightradar24 AB
  pricingUrl: https://fr24api.flightradar24.com/subscriptions-and-credits
  pricingModel: credit-based subscription
  billingCycle: monthly
  currency: USD
  notes: >-
    Flightradar24 uses a credit-based pricing model. Each API call consumes a credit from the monthly allowance.
    Credits unused in a billing cycle carry over within the subscription. If the monthly credit limit is exhausted,
    additional credits must be purchased or the account must wait for the next billing cycle renewal. An active
    promotional deal (through December 31, 2026) doubles monthly credits for all billing cycles starting on or
    before that date.

  plans:
    - name: Explorer
      monthlyCost: 9.00
      creditAllowance: 30000
      promotionalCreditAllowance: 60000
      costPerCredit: 0.0003
      notes: >-
        Effective cost of $0.0003 per credit at standard allowance. Best for personal projects, hobby use,
        and initial integration development. No historical data access.

    - name: Essential
      monthlyCost: 99.00
      creditAllowance: 450000
      promotionalCreditAllowance: 666000
      costPerCredit: 0.00022
      notes: >-
        Effective cost of ~$0.00022 per credit at standard allowance, approximately 27% cheaper per credit
        than Explorer. Adds historical flight data and flight summaries. Suited for small to mid-size production apps.

    - name: Advanced
      monthlyCost: 900.00
      creditAllowance: 4050000
      promotionalCreditAllowance: 8100000
      costPerCredit: 0.000222
      notes: >-
        Effective cost of ~$0.000222 per credit at standard allowance. Best value for high-volume commercial
        applications and enterprise deployments. Full access to all endpoints including deep historical data
        back to May 11, 2016.

  costOptimizationTips:
    - Use the Light endpoints (Live Flights Light, Historical Flights Light) instead of Full endpoints when full
      flight metadata is not required — Light endpoints consume fewer credits per call.
    - Use the Sandbox environment for development and testing to avoid consuming production credits.
    - Implement client-side caching for reference data (airports, airlines) as this data changes infrequently.
    - Apply geographic bounding box and identifier filters to narrow results and avoid pulling unnecessary data.
    - Monitor credit consumption via the Usage Metrics dashboard in the FR24 API account portal.
    - Take advantage of the promotional credit doubling deal (valid through December 31, 2026) by subscribing or
      renewing before that date to maximise monthly credit allowance at no additional cost.
    - Consider upgrading to Essential or Advanced if consistently approaching the Explorer monthly credit limit,
      as the cost-per-credit drops significantly at higher tiers.