Ollama Introduces Transparent Per-Token Pricing for Pro, Max, and Team Plans

TL;DR

Ollama launched transparent per‑token pricing for its Pro, Max, and Team subscriptions, each including a monthly pool of usage credits, to make costs predictable and eliminate hidden fees.

Overview of the New Pricing Model

The new plans charge a flat monthly fee and provide a predefined amount of usage credits that are consumed per token at rates displayed on Ollama’s pricing and model pages. When the credit pool is exhausted, usage continues at the same per‑token rate without service fees or artificial limits.

Plan Details and Included Credits

Pro – $20 per month, includes $60 of token usage credits.
Max – $100 per month, includes $300 of token usage credits.
Team – $500 per month, includes $1,000 of shared token usage credits for an unlimited number of users.
Free – Provides a small amount of monthly usage for starter models; additional usage is available on a pay‑as‑you‑go basis with the same per‑token rates.

All plans refresh their credit pools automatically each month on the subscription’s start date (or the sign‑up date for the free tier). Unused credits do not roll over.

Core Benefits Across All Plans

Predictable Costs – Per‑token rates replace GPU‑time billing, aligning with industry‑standard pricing.
No Hidden Fees – There are no service fees, 5‑hour caps, or weekly limits.
High‑Performance Access – Users receive dedicated compute in the US, Europe, and, for a limited set of Qwen models, Singapore.
Data Privacy – Ollama does not retain prompts, nor does it train on user data.
Usage Visibility – Individual request costs are displayed in the user’s account dashboard.

Team Plan Specifics

The Team plan introduces a single shared credit pool for an organization, with unlimited user invitations and a unified usage view. Introductory pricing is set at $500 per month for $1,000 of shared credits. Larger teams can request custom arrangements via Ollama’s contact form.

Migration Path for Existing Subscribers

Current Pro, Max, and Team customers retain their existing plans and can upgrade to the new pricing structure at any time through account settings. Switching to a new plan resets the monthly credit amount immediately while preserving the original subscription start date for reset cycles.

Rationale Behind the Change

Ollama cited customer feedback indicating that GPU‑time billing was hard to forecast, especially as open models grew in size (e.g., Kimi K3 at 2.8 trillion parameters). Transitioning to token‑based pricing aligns with industry norms and provides clearer cost expectations.

Getting Started

New plans are live and can be selected on the Ollama pricing page. Existing users can upgrade via the billing section of their account settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to my current plan? Existing subscribers stay on their current plan until they choose to upgrade.
How does usage reset? Credits refresh monthly on the same calendar day as the plan’s start date; the free tier resets from the sign‑up date.
Do unused credits roll over? No; credits are refreshed, not rolled over.
Are there any usage limits after credits are exhausted? Users may continue at the published per‑token rate with no additional caps.

Implications for the Ecosystem

By adopting transparent token pricing, Ollama lowers the barrier for developers and enterprises to budget for AI workloads, potentially increasing adoption of open‑model deployments. The move also signals a broader industry shift toward usage‑based billing that aligns more closely with actual model inference costs.