specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Linkup
providerId: linkup-so
created: '2026-06-20'
modified: '2026-06-20'
reconciled: true
tags:
- AI
- LLM
- Web Search
- Grounding
- RAG
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Linkup spend. Linkup bills on a credits-based, per-request model:
  each Search, Fetch, and Research call consumes credits priced per call. Search
  runs about $0.005-$0.006 per call (varying by Fast / Standard / Deep depth),
  Fetch about $0.001-$0.005 per call, and async Research about $0.25-$2.50 per
  task. New accounts get free credits; Enterprise uses custom pricing.
notes: >-
  Per-request prices are ranges from the Linkup pricing page and vary by
  depth/mode; verify against https://www.linkup.so/pricing during reconciliation.
sources:
- https://www.linkup.so/pricing
- https://docs.linkup.so
- 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: Linkup
serviceCategory: AI and Machine Learning
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Usage-Based
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
  - Purchase
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Linkup API
  ServiceCategory: AI and Machine Learning
  ProviderName: Linkup
  PublisherName: Linkup
  InvoiceIssuerName: Linkup
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Usage-Based
meters:
- name: search_requests
  description: Search calls, billed per request and varying by depth (Fast / Standard / Deep).
  unit: requests
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - depth
  - outputType
- name: fetch_requests
  description: Fetch calls converting a URL to markdown, billed per request.
  unit: requests
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
- name: research_tasks
  description: Asynchronous Research tasks, billed per task and varying by mode / reasoning depth.
  unit: requests
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - mode
  - reasoningDepth
- name: credits_consumed
  description: Credits drawn down from the account balance across all endpoints.
  unit: credits
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - endpoint
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track the credits balance via GET /credits/balance and break down spend by endpoint and search depth.
- name: Allocation
  description: Tag API keys per workload/team; map credit burn to internal cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: Use Fast/Standard search depth instead of Deep where sufficient; cache Fetch results; reserve costly async Research for questions a single search cannot answer; consume free and startup credits before paid usage.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign owners per project/key; review credit spend monthly against budget and watch for 402 Payment Required signals.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com