Plans and allowances
Where you start (student, engineer, university), the starter credit, the four plans (Student, Professional, University, Enterprise), AI credits and top-ups, and what happens at the limit.
On this page
Where you startThe starter creditThe plansLimits that follow the plan (since 31 October 2026)How the Nelix Agent allowance worksWhat uses the allowanceAt the limitWhose allowance it isWhere you start#
What you choose at sign-up decides where you land, what you can try, and what the upgrade is. Every start runs the same real tools; what differs is how far Nelix Agent goes with you.
| You signed up as | You land on | Starter credit | Nelix Agent | When the starter credit is gone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student | Learn and your first guided chip (and your class, if you entered a class code; you can add a code later from Home or Learn) | a one-time pool (the Plan page shows how much and until when) | Learn mode: explains, writes tests, diagnoses. Autopilot and the Engineer-mode specialists are shown but disabled: they are part of Professional | the Student plan as before: a daily allowance for learning; a $5 top-up or a class licence for more; Professional for Autopilot |
| Engineer / professional | New project / Import, with Engineer mode on | the same one-time pool | full Engineer mode: specialists, fixes tested on a copy, Autopilot, until the credit is used | builds, simulation and every check keep working on Student limits; Nelix Agent asks you to upgrade to Professional |
| University / Professor | the university interface (Classes): create a class, its class code and your first assignment | the same one-time pool | full | "Upgrade your classroom": a licence sized to your students (see Classes and assignments) |
The starter credit#
- It is a one-time pool, granted once per approved account. It is spent before your daily Student allowance, so your first projects use it first.
- The Plan page shows it: how much is left and the date it expires. Unused starter credit expires 90 days after your account was approved; after that date the pool counts as empty.
- When the starter credit and today's Student allowance are both used up, every Nelix Agent entry point (Design Chat, Autopilot, the build specialists, fixing a failed test) pauses with one message and the upgrade one click away. Builds, Simulate and every V&V check keep working, and nothing is deleted.
- There is one pool per verified account and e-mail address.
The plans#
Every plan runs the same real tools and reads the same measured results. What changes is how far Nelix Agent goes with you.
| Plan | Price | What Nelix Agent does |
|---|---|---|
| Student | Free | Learn mode: a patient tutor that teaches while you design, with hints one step at a time, plus 2 Engineer-mode tries a day and Autopilot for 5 new projects a month. 200 credits a day, 3,000 a month |
| Professional | $39/month or $390/year | Engineer mode: every specialist and Autopilot with no monthly limit; fixes are tested on a copy before you merge them; GDS download. 3,000 credits every 5 hours, 20,000 a month |
| Professional, own AI key | $15/month | The same as Professional, on your own AI provider key, at its own prices |
| University | $99 per student per year, at least 20 seats ($1,980) per course | A bigger allowance for every enrolled student (4,000 credits a month, Autopilot for 15 new projects), plus class codes, assignments, the auto-grader and the class dashboard; teachers have the Professional allowance |
| Enterprise | From $1,500/month | Nelix Agent on your own keys, on a private server, with single sign-on and support; 100,000 credits a month pooled |
More AI on any plan: a top-up of 3,000 credits costs $5 and the credits stay until you use them. One credit is $0.001 of what the answer really cost to produce. The top-up is offered from 80% of your allowance on the AI meter and on the Plans page.
Every plan builds on all four processes: SKY130, GF180MCU, IHP SG13G2 and ASAP7 (learning only). Autopilot's monthly count starts again on the 1st (UTC).
Choose or change a plan on the Plans page inside the lab (account menu → Plan). University and Enterprise are arranged with Nelix.
Limits that follow the plan (since 31 October 2026)#
Two capacity limits used to be the same for every account: one chip build running and one queued, and 60 verification checks per 24 hours. Now they follow the plan, and an organisation's own quota override wins over the plan's default, as for every other quota:
| Plan | Chip builds at once (running + queued) | Verification checks per 24 hours |
|---|---|---|
| Student | 2 (as before) | 60 (as before) |
| Professional, Professional (own key) | 2 | 150 |
| University (each teacher and student) | 8 | 150 |
| Enterprise | 16 | 400 |
The server's own build capacity still decides how many builds run at the same moment; the plan decides how many you may have waiting. When a limit is reached the message says so and names the number. Test accounts are exempt as always.
How the Nelix Agent allowance works#
Each plan includes an allowance of Nelix Agent, measured in credits: what the answers actually cost to produce. On the Student plan it renews every day; on the paid plans it renews every five hours. Every plan also has a monthly ceiling.
The AI meter in the top bar shows how much you have used and when it renews. At 80% you get a short note with the top-up one click away; any plan can add a top-up pack on the Plans page if a month runs short.
What uses the allowance#
Only Nelix Agent answers: Design Chat messages, Ask Nelix Agent on a failed stage, explanations, generated tests, repairs and the Process Lab tutor. A longer answer, or one that needs the tools several times, uses more.
These do not use it:
- Simulate, Synthesize and Build the chip, the code editor and your results;
- the reading already printed on a stage card;
- checking a proposed repair;
- requests on your own AI key (Settings → AI models): your key's own spending limit applies instead.
At the limit#
- Starter credit and allowance used up: Nelix Agent pauses with one message ("upgrade to keep using Nelix Agent") until the daily allowance renews, or at once when you upgrade. Everything measured keeps working: builds, simulation, checks, your results and files.
- Nelix Agent used up (no starter credit left): Nelix Agent pauses until the allowance renews (the meter says when). Everything else keeps working.
- A student on the Student plan opens Autopilot or a build specialist: the button is visible but disabled, with "Autopilot is part of Professional: upgrade to use it". Students in a class keep whatever their class licence grants.
- Projects, tool time or storage at the limit: the Plan page shows what your plan includes and what is used.
Whose allowance it is#
An individual account's allowance belongs to that account. For a university course, each enrolled student has their own.
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