number1Q: Clarifying AI billing, Max vs BYOK, and agency credit usage in DM Champ’s?
Hello,
Could you clarify how AI costs are billed in DM Champ’s for agencies with multiple subaccounts?
1. If BYOK is not enabled on a subaccount, does DM Champ’s use its built-in AI for chatbot replies, FAQ answers, and campaign messages?
2. When built-in AI is used, are credits deducted per action, and from which balance in an agency setup: the master account, the subaccount, or both?
3. How do Max and BYOK compare in pricing, performance, and agency use cases?
4. In an agency setup, when should we choose Max instead of BYOK, and what are the practical advantages of each option?
5. Why is DM Champ’s AI credit cost much higher than Meta’s official pricing, and what factors account for the difference?
A concise pricing explanation or example would help.
sohaib.dmchamp
Jun 9, 2026A: Hi, I'll go over your questions.
To answer your first question: if the agency has its own API key, the sub-account will be billed in credits, but those credits will not be drawn from the agency's credit balance. Instead, they come from the agency's API key directly. The credits are just there for representation for the end-user.
If the sub-account also has its own API key, then of course no credits will be used for AI actions. When the built-in AI is used, credits are deducted per AI action (such as a response, scraping websites, or optimizing a campaign). With the Max model, the cost is 0.25 credits.
Whether those credits are deducted from the sub-account or the agency depends on your setup:
1. If you have your own API key, or the sub-account has its own API key, no credits will be used.
2. If you have an API key but the sub-account does not, the sub-account's credits will be used, but your credits won't be.
3. If neither has an API key, both credits will be used.
Regarding how the Max model and "Bring Your Own API Key" (BYOK) compare in pricing: the performance is similar, though Max will likely keep getting better. Cost-wise, in most cases, Max will be cheaper because it is a fixed credit cost for every AI action. With BYOK, there is a lot of variance: some actions might be very cheap (if the data is already cached), while others can be very expensive (for example, if someone with a very long chat history messages you after a long time).
While the cost is comparable and Max is often slightly cheaper the bigger win is that it's much more predictable.
Regarding your final question about why DM Champ's AI credit cost is higher than Meta's official pricing: I'm not sure what you're referring to, as I'm not familiar with Meta having any AI credits. We also don't use Meta's AI models. They do have WhatsApp template pricing, which we pass on at zero markup through our partner business solution provider, Twilio. You would need to look specifically at the marketing templates, as those are the ones being used. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing
1/3
Thanks for your reply. I still don’t fully understand the last point, because there seems to be a clear difference between DM Champ’s pricing and Meta’s official WhatsApp pricing.
2/3
I was asking whether WhatsApp billing follows Meta’s official fees or DM Champ’s own credit model, including message type, recipient country, 24-hour replies, failed messages, and any extra monthly, setup, or platform fees.
3/3
So please clarify whether DM Champ credits are just Meta’s official charges or if there is an added internal cost. A simple example for 1,000 API messages, 1,000 regular WhatsApp messages, and replies within 24 hours would help.
The only difference is for the WhatsApp API: there's a $0.005 message fee from Twilio, which is 0.05 credits using our credit system. We just pass this on.
Other than that, the template pricing is exactly the same. We follow the price card provided by Meta, but we only support marketing templates. The rest is the same. There's no monthly fixed cost.
To give you a concrete example, WhatsApp templates to Dutch numbers cost 16 cents, so it will cost you 1.6 credits. This is just for the opening template. After that, if they start messaging back, you don't use templates. You just use AI credits, which with the Max model will be 0.25 credits per AI response.
The 0.05 credit per message delivery fee is included if you use our credits, but it's a separate 0.05 credit charge if you use your own API key for AI actions.
You can see this usage under your billing settings.