Pricing

Configure flexible pricing strategies for your x402-enabled database.

Overview

The x402 Gateway supports multiple pricing strategies to match your business model. Choose the approach that best aligns with your database usage patterns and value proposition.

Current Implementation: Row-Based Pricing

The default pricing model charges based on the number of rows returned by queries.

Configuration

POST /api/providers/:id/pricing
{
  "basePricePer1000Rows": 1.0,  // Base price in USDC per 1000 rows
  "markupMultiplier": 2.0        // Markup multiplier
}

Cost Calculation

Final Cost = (rowCount / 1000) × basePricePer1000Rows × markupMultiplier

Examples

Configuration:

Base price: $1.00 per 1000 rows
Markup: 2.0x

Query Costs:

Rows Returned

Calculation

Final Cost

(10/1000) × $1.00 × 2.0

$0.02

500

(500/1000) × $1.00 × 2.0

$1.00

5,000

(5000/1000) × $1.00 × 2.0

$10.00

100,000

(100000/1000) × $1.00 × 2.0

$200.00

When to Use

Analytics databases with predictable row counts
Read-heavy workloads where data volume matters
Simple pricing that's easy to explain to users
Content APIs serving articles, products, or records

Alternative Pricing Models

While not yet implemented in the gateway, you can configure these strategies by adjusting your pricing parameters:

1. Complexity-Based Pricing

Charge based on PostgreSQL query cost from EXPLAIN plan.

Formula:

Cost = (explainCost / 1000) × basePrice × markup

Example Configuration:

{
  "basePricePerCost": 0.015,
  "markupMultiplier": 1.5
}

Use Cases:

Complex analytical queries with joins
Databases with varying query complexity
Incentivize query optimization

Pricing Examples:

Query Type

EXPLAIN Cost

Price

Simple SELECT

$0.0002

JOIN 2 tables

5,000

$0.11

Complex aggregation

50,000

$1.13

2. Data Transfer Pricing

Charge based on the size of data returned (in bytes/MB).

Formula:

Cost = (dataSizeMB) × pricePerMB × markup

Example Configuration:

{
  "pricePerMB": 0.10,
  "markupMultiplier": 2.0
}

Use Cases:

Image or file storage databases
APIs returning large JSON payloads
Video metadata or blob storage

Pricing Examples:

Data Size

Calculation

Price

1 KB

(0.001 MB) × $0.10 × 2.0

$0.0002

10 MB

10 × $0.10 × 2.0

$2.00

100 MB

100 × $0.10 × 2.0

$20.00

3. Query Type Pricing

Different prices for different SQL operations.

Example Configuration:

{
  "selectPrice": 0.01,
  "insertPrice": 0.05,
  "updatePrice": 0.05,
  "deletePrice": 0.10,
  "markupMultiplier": 1.5
}

Use Cases:

Databases with mixed read/write workloads
Discourage expensive write operations
Incentivize read-only queries

Pricing Examples:

Query Type

Base Price

With 1.5x Markup

SELECT

$0.01

$0.015

INSERT

$0.05

$0.075

UPDATE

$0.05

$0.075

DELETE

$0.10

$0.15

4. Time-Based Pricing

Charge based on query execution time.

Formula:

Cost = (executionTimeMs / 1000) × pricePerSecond × markup

Example Configuration:

{
  "pricePerSecond": 0.05,
  "markupMultiplier": 2.0
}

Use Cases:

CPU-intensive queries
Long-running analytics
Databases with execution time SLAs

Pricing Examples:

Execution Time

Calculation

Price

50ms

(50/1000) × $0.05 × 2.0

$0.005

1 second

(1000/1000) × $0.05 × 2.0

$0.10

30 seconds

(30000/1000) × $0.05 × 2.0

$3.00

5. Hybrid Pricing

Combine multiple factors for comprehensive pricing.

Formula:

Cost = (rowCost + complexityCost + sizeCost) × markup

Example Configuration:

{
  "rowPrice": 0.001,        // per row
  "complexityPrice": 0.00001, // per cost unit
  "sizePrice": 0.05,        // per MB
  "markupMultiplier": 1.5
}

Use Cases:

Enterprise databases with diverse workloads
Maximum control over pricing
Value-based pricing models

Example Calculation:

Query: SELECT * FROM large_table LIMIT 5000
- Rows: 5,000
- EXPLAIN cost: 10,000
- Size: 5 MB

rowCost = 5000 × $0.001 = $5.00
complexityCost = 10000 × $0.00001 = $0.10
sizeCost = 5 × $0.05 = $0.25

Total = ($5.00 + $0.10 + $0.25) × 1.5 = $8.03

Markup Multiplier

The markup multiplier allows you to:

Cover operational costs (infrastructure, monitoring, support)
Generate profit margins on top of base costs
Differentiate pricing tiers (premium vs. standard)
Adjust for market conditions without changing base prices

Common Markup Strategies

Multiplier

Use Case

Margin

1.0x

Cost recovery only

1.5x

Standard SaaS pricing

33%

2.0x

Premium service

50%

3.0x

Enterprise/white-glove

67%

Pricing Best Practices

Start Conservative

Begin with higher prices and adjust based on:

Market feedback
Competitor analysis
Customer acquisition cost
Operational costs

Monitor Usage Patterns

Track:

Average query costs
Peak usage times
Common query patterns
Agent spending behavior

Communicate Clearly

Provide agents with:

Cost estimation before queries
Historical spending data
Pricing tier documentation
Cost optimization tips

Offer Predictability

Consider:

Maximum query costs
Daily spending caps
Volume discounts
Prepaid credits

Cost Estimation

Before executing queries, the gateway provides cost estimates:

{
  "estimatedCost": "2.45",
  "basedOn": "row_count",
  "confidence": "high"
}

Confidence Levels:

High: Row count or data size can be predicted accurately
Medium: EXPLAIN cost estimates available
Low: Complex queries with unpredictable results

Volume Discounts

Coming soon: Automatic volume discounts for high-usage agents.

Example Tiers:

{
  "tier1": { "threshold": 0, "discount": 0 },
  "tier2": { "threshold": 1000, "discount": 0.1 },
  "tier3": { "threshold": 10000, "discount": 0.2 },
  "tier4": { "threshold": 100000, "discount": 0.3 }
}

Real-World Pricing Examples

Yearn Finance Case Study

Database: Kong indexer data (24-hour retention) Update Frequency: Every 15 minutes Average Query: 5,000 rows

Pricing Configuration:

{
  "basePricePer1000Rows": 1.0,
  "markupMultiplier": 2.0
}

Monthly Costs:

Traditional Neon: $207/month
SerenDB + x402: ~$30/month
Savings: 85%

Analytics API

Database: User behavior analytics Average Query: 10,000 rows (complex aggregations) Query Volume: 1,000 queries/day

Pricing Configuration:

{
  "basePricePer1000Rows": 0.5,
  "markupMultiplier": 2.5
}

Daily Revenue:

Per query: (10,000/1000) × $0.50 × 2.5 = $12.50
Daily: $12.50 × 1,000 = $12,500
Monthly: $375,000

Updating Pricing

Update pricing at any time:

curl -X POST https://x402.serendb.com/api/providers/:id/pricing \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "basePricePer1000Rows": 1.5,
    "markupMultiplier": 2.0
  }'

Notes:

Changes take effect immediately for new queries
In-flight queries use previous pricing
Agents are notified of pricing changes via API responses

Need Help?

Get Started - Quick start guide
API Reference - Complete API documentation
Examples - Pricing implementation examples
GitHub Issues: https://github.com/serenorg/serenai-x402/issues

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Last updated 17 days ago