# Credits and Balance

Your Vagon balance funds your sessions and any related plan charges. You can top it up at any time and review exactly how each session draws against it.

## Add Credit to Your Balance

You can add credit while creating your computer or any time after setup.

**After your computer is set up:**

1. Open your Vagon Dashboard.
2. Select **Payment** in the left sidebar.
3. Click **Add Balance**.
4. Choose a preset amount or enter a custom value.
5. Click **Pay** to complete the transaction.

**During initial computer setup:**

1. Choose a deposit amount on the payment step, or skip it to pay only for trial usage.
2. Enter your payment details on the next screen.
3. Click **Pay & Create** to finish setup and open the Dashboard.

{% hint style="info" %}
Stripe applies a processing fee on each deposit. Larger top-ups reduce how often that fixed fee applies. See [vagon.io/pricing](https://vagon.io/pricing) for current processing fee details.
{% endhint %}

## How Hourly Usage Is Metered

Usage is billed by the minute, even though performance options are listed at hourly rates for easier comparison. You only pay for the time the computer is actually active. Hourly rates vary by performance tier and region — see [vagon.io/pricing](https://vagon.io/pricing) and [vagon.io/region-prices](https://vagon.io/region-prices) for current rates.

Switching to a lighter performance option for tasks that do not need a high-end machine is a quick way to make your balance last longer.

## Low Balance

If your balance runs low, you may not be able to start new sessions or continue long ones. Top up before starting work that should not be interrupted.

## View Session Details

You can check usage both during a session and in your full history.

**During an active session.** Open the Dock Menu by clicking the settings icon on the right side of your Vagon Computer. The menu shows how long the current session has been running.

![Dock menu showing session duration](/files/qNOpTBdEht07KQ4DPbix)

**All past sessions.** Open the **Sessions** tab from the left sidebar of your Dashboard. Each entry lists the session date, duration in minutes, and the charge applied. Sessions during the trial period appear with no charge.

![Sessions tab in the Dashboard](/files/uuxg2KxvxHIygPASEREf)

![Session duration column](/files/L7WoO8SrnSFHeosecgrL)

![Session minutes detail](/files/9wkOy2PpVQDvO8AZoS5R)

## Next Steps

{% content-ref url="/pages/xLH94nGFCBVD3uGThLIk" %}
[Subscription and Payments](/computer/plans-and-billing/subscription-and-payments.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/BFi4Fi2Y15LM3l9Mzdga" %}
[Computer Plans](/computer/plans-and-billing/computer-plans.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/Ri2LrHg9nJ1MpPBcCdPK" %}
[Subscription & Pricing](/computer/troubleshooting/subscription-and-pricing.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


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