Stop Checking the OpenAI Usage Dashboard

The 'You exceeded your current quota' error (error code insufficient_quota) means your OpenAI account has no usable credit balance or has hit its spending limit. You need to add credits or raise your limit at platform.openai.com under Settings → Billing. CostGoat alerts you before your balance runs out so you can top up before this error interrupts your API calls.

Sign in at platform.openai.com, open Settings → Organization → Billing to see your prepaid credit balance, and check Settings → Usage for a breakdown of API spend by day and model. That means logging in every time you want a number. CostGoat shows your OpenAI credit balance and usage live from your desktop, no browser needed.

Yes. Prepaid credits you purchase for the OpenAI API generally expire one year after purchase, while promotional or free trial credits expire much sooner (often 3 months). CostGoat tracks your balance so you can use credits before they expire and never lose paid-for credit.

OpenAI lets you set a monthly hard limit on API spend. Once usage reaches it, requests fail with a 'billing hard limit reached' message until the next cycle or until you raise the limit in Settings → Limits. CostGoat's usage alerts warn you as you approach your hard limit so a running workload doesn't stop unexpectedly.

New OpenAI API accounts have at times received a small amount of free credit (commonly cited as $5) that expires after a few months, though availability changes over time. For current OpenAI API rates and what your credits actually buy, see our OpenAI API pricing calculator. CostGoat tracks any free or paid credits you hold so you know exactly when to top up.