The Settlement Layer for AI Agent Payments
Monetize any AI tool with 2 lines of code. Per-call billing, 14 agent payment protocols brokered or tracked, built-in discovery.
Website ·
Docs ·
Showcase ·
1,017 Servers ·
Discovery Guide ·
Handbook
---
## Quick Start
```bash
npm install @settlegrid/mcp
```
```typescript
import { settlegrid } from '@settlegrid/mcp'
const sg = settlegrid.init({
toolSlug: 'my-tool',
pricing: { defaultCostCents: 5 },
})
const billedHandler = sg.wrap(myHandler)
```
Every call validates the consumer's API key, checks their credit balance, executes your function, and meters usage — all with a single Redis balance check on the hot path.
Or scaffold a complete project instantly:
```bash
npx create-settlegrid-tool
```
## Why SettleGrid?
| | SettleGrid | Stripe Billing | Nevermined | Paid.ai |
|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| **Protocol support** | 14 tracked (9 brokered + 2 detection + 3 emerging) | REST only | x402 / DeFi | MCP only |
| **Real-time metering** | Redis hot path | Batch only | On-chain | Per-call |
| **Built-in discovery** | 8+ registries | None | None | None |
| **Multi-hop settlement** | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| **Agent identity (KYA)** | Yes | No | No | No |
| **Budget enforcement** | Yes | No | No | No |
| **Outcome-based billing** | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| **Free tier (0% fees)** | Yes | No | No | No |
| **$1 minimum payout** | Yes | No | No | No |
| **Open-source SDK** | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| **Fraud detection** | Yes | Yes | No | No |
## Discovery — Your Tools, Found Everywhere
SettleGrid doesn't just bill — it distributes. Every active tool is automatically discoverable across:
| Channel | How it works |
|---------|-------------|
| **[Showcase](https://settlegrid.ai/tools)** | Consumers browse, search, and purchase credits |
| **[Discovery API](https://settlegrid.ai/docs#discovery)** | `GET /api/v1/discover` — programmatic search for directories & apps |
| **[MCP Discovery Server](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@settlegrid/discovery)** | AI agents find tools natively via MCP protocol |
| **[HTTP MCP Endpoint](https://settlegrid.ai/api/mcp)** | Remote streamable HTTP transport for any MCP client |
| **[Official MCP Registry](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io)** | The canonical MCP server registry |
| **[Smithery](https://smithery.ai)** | 6,000+ MCP server directory |
| **[Glama](https://glama.ai)** | 14,000+ MCP server directory |
| **[RSS Feed](https://settlegrid.ai/api/feed)** | New tools syndicated automatically |
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"settlegrid-discovery": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@settlegrid/discovery"]
}
}
}
```
## 6 Pricing Models
| Model | Best for | Example |
|-------|----------|---------|
| **Per-Invocation** | Search, lookups, CRUD | 5¢/call |
| **Per-Token** | LLM wrappers, text processing | $0.001/1K tokens |
| **Per-Byte** | File conversion, data export | 1¢/MB |
| **Per-Second** | Video processing, ML inference | 2¢/second |
| **Tiered** | Multi-method tools | read 1¢, write 5¢ |
| **Outcome-Based** | Lead gen, data extraction | 25¢ on success |
## Payment Protocol Coverage
The `@settlegrid/mcp` SDK adds native billing to any Model Context Protocol (MCP) tool server and provides a REST middleware for any HTTP service. On top of that, the hosted Smart Proxy at `settlegrid.ai/api/proxy/{slug}` brokers payments across agent payment protocols and tracks emerging specs as they mature.
**9 brokered by the Smart Proxy** (production or pending GA):
MCP · x402 (Coinbase) · Stripe MPP · AP2 (Google) · ACP (OpenAI) · UCP (Google/Shopify) · Visa TAP · Mastercard Verifiable Intent · Circle Nanopayments
**2 detection-adapter-only**:
L402 (Bitcoin Lightning) · KYAPay (Skyfire)
**3 tracked as emerging**:
ACTP (Alipay's Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol) · EMVCo agent payments · DRAIN (Bittensor Subnet 58)
## Features
**Billing & Metering**
- A single Redis balance check on the hot path, on every call
- Budget enforcement — HTTP 402 when exceeded
- Auto-refill credits via Stripe
- Multi-hop settlement across agent chains — each hop settled as it completes
**Security & Compliance**
- Agent identity (KYA) with trust scoring
- Fraud detection (12 real-time signals)
- IP allowlisting (CIDR support)
- HMAC-SHA256 webhook signatures
- Audit logging with CSV export (SOC 2 ready)
- Sandbox/test mode
**Developer Experience**
- `sg.wrap()` — one function, any handler
- 6 pricing models configurable from dashboard
- 97 open-source templates with billing pre-wired
- CLI scaffolder: `npx create-settlegrid-tool`
- Discovery tab with badge generator, checklist, API URLs
- Consumer reviews with developer responses
- Quality gates + Verified badge for activated tools
- Proactive monitoring (onboarding drip, quality alerts, monthly summary)
## Pricing
| Tier | Price | Ops/month | Take Rate |
|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| **Free** | $0 forever | 25,000 | 0% |
| **Starter** | $9/mo | 100,000 | 5% |
| **Growth** | $29/mo | 500,000 | 5% |
| **Scale** | $79/mo | 2,000,000 | 5% |
$1 minimum payout — the lowest in the industry. Stripe Connect Express for instant payouts.
## REST API Middleware
For non-MCP services (Express, Next.js, Hono, etc.):
```typescript
import { settlegridMiddleware } from '@settlegrid/mcp'
const withBilling = settlegridMiddleware({
toolSlug: 'my-api',
costCents: 5,
})
export async function GET(request: Request) {
return withBilling(request, async () => {
return Response.json({ data: 'hello' })
})
}
```
## Project Structure
```
settlegrid/
├── apps/web/ # Next.js 15 platform (settlegrid.ai)
├── packages/mcp/ # @settlegrid/mcp SDK
├── packages/discovery-server/ # @settlegrid/discovery MCP server
├── packages/create-tool/ # npx create-settlegrid-tool CLI
├── open-source-servers/ # 1,017 indexed MCP servers
└── .mcp.json # MCP plugin config (Cursor, Claude)
```
## Links
| | |
|---|---|
| **Website** | [settlegrid.ai](https://settlegrid.ai) |
| **Documentation** | [settlegrid.ai/docs](https://settlegrid.ai/docs) |
| **Discovery Guide** | [settlegrid.ai/learn/discovery](https://settlegrid.ai/learn/discovery) |
| **Handbook** | [settlegrid.ai/learn/handbook](https://settlegrid.ai/learn/handbook) |
| **API Reference** | [settlegrid.ai/api/openapi.json](https://settlegrid.ai/api/openapi.json) |
| **Discovery API** | [settlegrid.ai/api/v1/discover](https://settlegrid.ai/api/v1/discover) |
| **RSS Feed** | [settlegrid.ai/api/feed](https://settlegrid.ai/api/feed) |
| **npm (SDK)** | [@settlegrid/mcp](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@settlegrid/mcp) |
| **npm (Discovery)** | [@settlegrid/discovery](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@settlegrid/discovery) |
| **MCP Registry** | [io.github.lexwhiting/settlegrid-discovery](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io) |
| **Support** | support@settlegrid.ai |
## License
MIT © 2026 [SettleGrid](https://settlegrid.ai)