Guide: What a cleanup costs, and the credit paywall
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/what-a-cleanup-costs-and-the-credit-paywall
Topic: Post cleanup and tasks
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Owner or Administrator
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/settings/account
Result when done: You know what a cleanup will spend before you start, and what to do when a post is too big.
Context: Your plan includes a number of comments a month. Live moderation spends one for each comment that arrives, and a cleanup spends one for each comment it checks. Both draw on the same monthly allowance.

Before you start:
1. Loading a post is free; checking it is what counts.
2. A comment counts once however many rules look at it, and replies you send never cost anything.
3. The meter is on the Account tab and covers every page together.

Steps:
Step 1 of 3: Know what your plan includes.
Where: Settings, then Account. The meter reads comments used out of your monthly allowance, and the plans below it say what each one includes.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/settings/account (Open Account)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/account.en.webp (The Account tab: your plan and the comment meter.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/account-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: How many comments you have used this period and how many the plan includes.

Step 2 of 3: Read the paywall when a post is too big.
Where: If checking a post needs more credits than you have left, a card says so before anything is spent. It shows credits left, credits needed, and the plan that would cover it.
You should see: Two numbers and a choice, rather than a failed check.

Step 3 of 3: Choose what to do.
Where: Upgrade to the plan named, wait for the period to roll over, or pick a post with fewer comments. Everything you have loaded is saved either way.
You should see: Nothing is lost: the post stays loaded and the check runs when you have the credits.

If something is off:
Problem: Your trial's credits are used up
Fix: The trial includes 250 comments. Pick a plan to keep cleaning; everything you loaded is saved.
Problem: Only the owner can change the plan
Fix: Billing is the owner role. Ask them to upgrade, or send them the page.
Problem: No plan covers this post in a single month
Fix: The post has more comments than the largest plan includes in a month. Clean it in parts across periods, or use the filters to act on the flagged ones only.
Problem: Where did my credits go
Fix: Live moderation spends them as comments arrive, quietly, all month. The Account tab shows the split.

Common questions:
Question: How many comments does each plan include a month?
Answer: Mini 300, Lite 500, Starter 1,000, Growth 3,000, Pro 10,000 and Elite 25,000, and Scale plans from 100,000 to 500,000. Post cleanup itself is included from Starter, and bulk hide and delete from Growth.
Question: Do the replies I send use credits?
Answer: No. Replies you send never cost anything. Only comments that arrive under live moderation and comments a check looks at count against your monthly allowance.
Question: Is the comment meter per page or for the whole account?
Answer: For the whole account. The meter on the Account tab covers every page together, and live moderation and cleanups draw on the same monthly allowance.
Question: Do I lose the loaded post if I hit the credit paywall?
Answer: No. The paywall card appears before anything is spent, and everything you have loaded is saved. The post stays loaded and the check runs when you have the credits.

Related guides:
- What the free trial includes: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/getting-started/what-the-free-trial-includes
- Check comments against your rules: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/check-comments-against-your-rules
- The posts library: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/the-posts-library

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/what-a-cleanup-costs-and-the-credit-paywall.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt