Introduction
A Parlant Agents subscription and language-model usage are two different costs. The subscription keeps your dedicated agent infrastructure online. Model access pays the provider that answers prompts and decides which tools Hermes should use.
Examples
Managed credit fits someone who wants to start without opening a separate model-provider account. A $10 credit pack adds $10 to a restricted OpenRouter key. Stripe displays the separate Parlant Agents service fee before payment.
Bring your own key fits a team that already has an OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI, or other Hermes-supported provider account. The provider charges that account directly, and Parlant Agents does not add a model-credit service fee.
In-depth guide
Monthly subscription
The live infrastructure price appears before checkout. It covers dedicated compute and storage, the managed hostname and TLS connection, provisioning, and encrypted backups. It renews monthly until canceled.
Managed OpenRouter credit
During setup, select one of the available fixed credit packs. Credit never renews automatically. Parlant Agents creates a restricted child key, applies exactly the purchased credit, and reports usage and the remaining balance in your dashboard.
OpenRouter reports costs in US dollars. Token quantity varies by model and by the mix of input and output tokens. A stronger model can consume the same credit faster than a smaller model.
To add credit later:
- Open Dashboard and select your agent.
- Open the Credits panel.
- Select a credit pack.
- Review both the credit amount and service fee in Stripe before paying.
- Return to the dashboard and wait for the balance to update.
Your own provider key
Select Use your own key during setup. Once Hermes is ready, open its dashboard, add the provider secret under Keys, and select an available model under Models. Provider capabilities and prices come from that provider.
Treat API keys like passwords. Give a key only the permissions and spending limit the agent needs. Revoke and replace it in the provider account if it is exposed.
Choosing between them
Start with managed credit when convenience and a fixed initial budget matter most. Bring your own key when you need direct provider billing, organization-level controls, or a provider that is not available through managed OpenRouter access. You can later switch an existing instance from your own key to managed credit in the Parlant Agents dashboard.