Credit System Updates Are Live
Fast mode, Relax mode, updated PRO plans, and lower video credit costs — here's everything that's changed.
Quick Summary
- Fast mode: PRO users get priority processing with their paid credits.
- Relax mode: Free users get slower processing after their first few creations each day.
- Some high-cost models require paid credits. These models now cost fewer credits than before.
- PRO plans have been updated with more unlimited access tiers and adjusted pricing for monthly and quarterly billing.
Fast mode and Relax mode
NightCafe now has a queue-based credit system that prioritises PRO users with paid credits, but still lets everyone create with earned credits.
- There are now 2 modes of creating — Fast (skip the queue) and Relax (wait in the queue).
- PRO users spend paid (fast) credits to create in Fast mode. Fast credits are distinct from earned (relax) credits.
- If a PRO user runs out of fast credits, they can still spend relax credits on PRO models in Relax mode, or buy more fast credits with a PRO top-up.
- Free users get one free Fast creation each day, then switch to Relax mode.
- In Relax mode, the queue is prioritised based on how much each user has already created that day. Your first few Relax-mode creations each day will typically be quick (e.g. under 10 seconds), while heavy usage leads to longer wait times.
- PRO users are prioritised higher in the Relax mode queue after they've used up their fast credits.
- Some high-cost models (Nano Banana Pro, GPT 1/1.5 High, and medium and expensive video models) require fast credits. These models now cost fewer credits than before.
- In Relax mode, you can queue one creation at a time. Fast mode does not have concurrency limits.
Other credit system changes
- Badge reward have changed for some badges that were responsible for a significant portion of the credit supply.
- 5-day streak badge: 25 credits → 10 credits
- Premium 5-day streak badge: 50 credits → 20 credits
- Daily competitor badge: 5 credits → 3 credits
- Love bomber badge: still 5 credits, but now requires liking New creations (published in the last 30 minutes).
- The maximum credit value for the "Free first-creation-of-the-day" has been reduced from 8 credits to 4 credits.
More unlimited access for PRO users
The Hobbyist plan now includes unlimited use of "Fast" image models (e.g. Z-Image Turbo, Flux Schnell, SDXL Lightning).
The Enthusiast plan, and the new Creator plan include unlimited use of PRO models like Flux, HiDream, and Qwen Image 2512 in addition to the "Fast" models.
The Artist plan includes unlimited use of the next tier of models like Nano Banana, Seedream 4.0, Flux 2 Pro, and GPT 1.5 Low.
PRO plans no longer include fine-tuning credits. Your existing fine-tuning credits will still work, and fine-tuning can also be paid for with fast credits.
Lower credit costs for expensive models
We've reduced the credit cost of expensive image models (e.g. Nano Banana Pro, GPT 1/1.5 High) and medium-priced video models (e.g. Seedance 1.0 Pro and Pixverse v5) and expensive video models (e.g. Veo 3.1) by 25-30%. However, these models now require fast credits.
The Beginner and Hobbyist plans no longer include access to medium and expensive video models, but still have access to cheaper video models like Seedance 1.5 Pro, Kling 1.6 Standard, etc.
FAQs
More details on how the new system works
How long will Relax mode queue times be?
Queue times will always be variable, but:
- Your free first creation each day will skip the queue.
- Your next few creations each day should be relatively fast (e.g. under 10 seconds in the queue).
- As you keep creating, your priority in the queue goes down, and you might see queue times up to a minute or two at busy times.
- If you create hundreds of images in a day using earned credits, your queue priority will be the lowest, and you might see wait times of up to 5 minutes during busy periods.
- Priority is also affected by the credit cost of the model you're creating with. Higher-cost models have longer wait times.
Will earned credits expire?
No. The queue and priority system replaces the idea of expiring credits.
How can I tell how many of my credits are paid vs earned?
You can see this in the credits popup (click your credit balance in the top right corner).
How did you calculate how many of my existing credits are paid vs earned?
In our database, we have a history of:
- All the credit purchases you've made via your subscription, PRO top-ups, credit packs, or redeemed gift cards.
- All your other credit transactions for the last 3 months.
To determine how many of your current credits are paid, we looked at your balance as it was 3 months ago and how many credits you'd purchased before then. If your balance was lower than the total credits purchased, we assumed all those credits were purchased. If your balance was higher, we assumed you had all the credits you'd ever purchased, plus earned credits to make up the difference.
We then replayed your last 3 months of spend/earn/purchase history, always spending credits from the "earned" pile first, to arrive at a current balance split between paid and earned credits.
This method is weighted as heavily as possible towards preserving your paid credits.
Can PRO users opt in to Relax mode?
Yes. Even if you have fast credits, you can choose to create in Relax mode and save your fast credits for models that require them.
Will freebies be Fast or Relax mode? What about the free first creation of the day?
Freebies and the free first creation of the day are always Fast mode. When a PRO user uses a freebie or first creation of the day, their fast credit balance is not affected.
Will "Unlimited" models be fast or relax mode?
Each PRO plan has a Fast mode quota for Unlimited models. Unlimited models that come as part of your plan will be generated in fast mode until you reach this quota, then they will switch to relax mode while still remaining zero credits. The quota is based on a total equivalent credit spend. See the PRO plans on the pricing page for full details on each plan's quota.