> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.typelessapi.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Models & Pricing

> Choose the right Typeless ASR model for your accuracy and cost requirements

Every transcription request must specify a `model`. Typeless offers three tiers that trade off quality and speed against cost — pick the one that fits your workload.

## Models

| Model               | Price               | Best for                                                                               |
| ------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `typeless-1.0-lite` | \$0.25 / audio hour | Cost-sensitive, high-volume workloads; recommended for non-real-time (batch) use cases |
| `typeless-1.0-pro`  | \$0.50 / audio hour | Balanced quality, speed, and cost                                                      |
| `typeless-1.0-max`  | \$2.50 / audio hour | **Recommended default** — quality-critical or latency-sensitive production workloads   |

## Billing rules

* Billed per second of audio, with a **15-second minimum per request**
* You are **not** charged for validation failures (4xx), server-side errors, or timeouts
* You **are** charged if you cancel or disconnect after transcription has started — billed on the audio you sent

## Example

A 42.5-second file on `typeless-1.0-pro`:

```
cost = max(42.5, 15) s × ($0.50 / 3600 s) = 42.5 × $0.0001389 ≈ $0.0059
```

The minimum kicks in only for very short clips (under 15 seconds), so this file is billed at its actual duration.

## Balance

Typeless uses a **prepaid balance** model. Top up your account in the [Typeless Console](https://platform.typelessapi.com).

When your balance reaches \$0, requests return `402 INSUFFICIENT_BALANCE`. See [Errors](/reference/errors) for handling guidance.