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Per call or per month. It depends on how you use it.
Most APIs sell monthly plans. Agents use many services a little, at odd times. Here is when paying per call wins, and when a plan is still the better deal.
Updated
Why plans fit agents badly.
A plan assumes a steady user of one service. An agent is the opposite: it may need a screenshot today, a logo next week and an image three times this month, from whichever provider is best at the moment.
Buying a plan for each of those means paying for capacity it never uses, plus an account, a key and a renewal date to look after for every one.
Where pay per call wins.
Low or uneven volume: you pay for the calls that happen, nothing for the quiet weeks.
Many providers: one wallet and one connection cover all of them, and switching to a cheaper or faster provider costs nothing.
Hard budgets: a per-purchase maximum and a daily cap are easy to enforce when every call carries its own price.
Trying things: an agent can test a service with one paid call instead of a sign-up.
Where a plan still wins.
High, steady volume on one service: plans usually get cheaper per unit as volume grows, and a busy pipeline may beat any per-call price.
Features that only come with an account, such as private data, custom limits or a support contract.
If that is you, a direct plan with the provider is the right call, and nothing stops you mixing both.
How to compare.
Take the calls you expect in a month and multiply by the price per call. Compare that with the plan price, and add what the plan costs you in setup and in calls you pay for but do not use.
The pricing page lists every price per call in the Sourcy catalogue, with an example calculator, so you can run the numbers before you connect anything.
Questions. Short answers.
Are failed calls charged?
Not in Sourcy. Payment settles only after the provider's call succeeds; if it fails or times out, the payment is not settled.
Is there a minimum spend?
No. The agent pays for the calls it makes, from the balance you added.