specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Podcastle
providerId: podcastle
created: '2026-06-21'
modified: '2026-06-21'
reconciled: false
tags:
- AI
- Audio
- Text to Speech
- Voice Cloning
- Podcasting
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Podcastle spend across two billing surfaces. The consumer
  creation platform (Async) bills monthly subscriptions with AI-credit
  allowances consumed by generative actions and transcription-hour caps. The
  Async Voice API bills usage-based per hour of synthesized audio, with Async
  Flash and Async Pro tiers and voice cloning included. Per-hour and per-credit
  rates are subject to change; verify against the pricing pages during
  reconciliation.
notes: >-
  Rates and credit allowances are subject to change; verify against
  async.com/pricing and the Async developer pages during reconciliation.
sources:
- https://async.com/pricing
- https://async.com/async-voice-api
- https://docs.async.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: Podcastle
serviceCategory: AI and Machine Learning
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Usage-Based
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
  - Purchase
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Async Voice API
  ServiceCategory: AI and Machine Learning
  ProviderName: Podcastle
  PublisherName: Podcastle
  InvoiceIssuerName: Podcastle
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Usage-Based
meters:
- name: tts_audio_hours
  description: Hours of audio synthesized through the Async Voice API, billed per hour by model tier (Flash from $0.50/hr, Pro from $1.00/hr).
  unit: hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - model
- name: voice_clones
  description: Custom voices created via /voices/clone; included with Voice API tiers.
  unit: clones
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
- name: ai_credits
  description: Generative AI credits consumed by platform actions (TTS, dubbing, avatars, music, etc.), allocated monthly per subscription tier.
  unit: credits
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - feature
- name: transcription_hours
  description: Hours of audio transcribed on the consumer platform, capped per subscription tier.
  unit: hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
- name: storage_gb
  description: Storage consumed by recordings and projects per subscription tier.
  unit: gigabytes
  aggregation: max
  dimensions:
  - account
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track Voice API per-hour synthesis spend and platform AI-credit burn; review credit usage before monthly reset.
- name: Allocation
  description: Tag API keys per workload or team and map consumer-platform seats and credits to internal cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: Use Async Flash for cost-sensitive synthesis and reserve Async Pro for premium English quality; stay within monthly credit allowances to avoid overage purchases.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign owners per project or key; review per-hour synthesis spend and credit consumption monthly against budget.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com