name: SE Ranking API FinOps
description: FinOps Framework 1.0 FOCUS-aligned cost management reference for SE Ranking API usage, covering cost allocation, billing models, optimization strategies, and forecasting for SEO data API consumption.
version: "1.0"
url: https://seranking.com/api-pricing.html

billingModels:

  - name: Credit-Based (Data API)
    description: The Data API uses a credit billing model where each successful API call (HTTP 2xx) consumes credits based on the endpoint and number of records returned. Failed requests (4xx/5xx) do not consume credits.
    model: credits
    unit: credit
    components:
      - name: Per-Request Charge
        description: Fixed credit cost charged for each API request, regardless of records returned.
        billing: per-request
      - name: Per-Record Charge
        description: Variable credit cost based on the number of records returned in the response.
        billing: per-record
    examples:
      - endpoint: /backlinks/summary
        cost: 100 credits per record
      - endpoint: /backlinks/export
        cost: 1 credit per backlink returned
      - endpoint: /backlinks/export/status
        cost: 0 credits (status polling is free)
      - endpoint: /account/subscription
        cost: 0 credits (balance check is free)

  - name: Subscription Limits (Project API)
    description: The Project API consumes limits tied to the user's platform subscription plan rather than separate API credits. Usage is governed by project, keyword, and audit capacity limits.
    model: subscription
    unit: plan-limit

creditPricing:
  - tier: Wallet (Pay-As-You-Go)
    creditsPerDollar: 5000
    pricePerMillion: 200.00
    currency: USD
    notes: Credits never expire. Minimum purchase $50 (250K credits).

  - tier: Standalone Annual (1M credits)
    creditsPerDollar: ~5587
    pricePerMillion: 179.00
    currency: USD
    notes: Billed annually. Credits expire at end of billing cycle.

  - tier: Enterprise (120M+ credits)
    pricePerMillion: 30.00
    currency: USD
    notes: Lowest rate available. Custom pricing negotiated with SE Ranking.

costOptimization:
  - strategy: Use Free Status Check Endpoints
    description: The /account/subscription endpoint costs 0 credits, enabling free balance checks before executing large or expensive workflows.
    savings: Avoids unnecessary credit expenditure from failed workflows due to insufficient balance.

  - strategy: Leverage Async Export Endpoints
    description: Async endpoints like /backlinks/export can return many records per task at lower per-record cost (1 credit/record) compared to summary endpoints.
    savings: Significant credit savings for bulk backlink data retrieval.

  - strategy: Annual Plan vs Wallet
    description: Annual Standalone plan provides credits at $179/M vs $200/M for Wallet, up to 10.5% savings. Enterprise rates go as low as $30/M.
    savings: Up to 57% discount vs Wallet pricing at scale.

  - strategy: Request Count Forecasting
    description: Pre-calculate total credit cost by multiplying planned API calls by per-request and per-record costs from the endpoint documentation before executing bulk workflows.
    savings: Prevents unexpected credit exhaustion and enables accurate budget planning.

  - strategy: Avoid Charged Error Retries
    description: Credits are only charged on successful (2xx) responses. Build retry logic to handle 4xx/5xx errors without excessive credit consumption.
    savings: Avoids wasting credits on retryable errors.

  - strategy: Cache API Responses
    description: Cache responses for data that does not change frequently (e.g., domain analysis, backlink summaries) to reduce redundant API calls.
    savings: Reduces total credit consumption for stable datasets.

forecasting:
  description: Estimate monthly API costs by identifying the endpoints to be called, multiplying request volume by per-request credits, adding per-record credits based on expected result sizes, and comparing against available credit balance.
  steps:
    - step: 1
      action: Identify endpoints and expected call frequency.
    - step: 2
      action: Look up per-request and per-record credit costs from the SE Ranking endpoint documentation.
    - step: 3
      action: Calculate total credits = (requests × per-request cost) + (records × per-record cost).
    - step: 4
      action: Compare total estimated credits against current balance via /account/subscription.
    - step: 5
      action: Purchase credits or upgrade plan if projected usage exceeds available balance.

visibility:
  - name: API Dashboard
    description: SE Ranking's API Dashboard provides real-time credit balance visibility and usage tracking.
    url: https://seranking.com/api.html
  - name: Account Subscription Endpoint
    description: The /account/subscription endpoint returns current credit balance and plan limits at zero credit cost.
    endpoint: /account/subscription
    cost: 0 credits