What Are Cycles and How Much Does Each Minute Cost
VoxScriber's cycle system: 1 cycle = 15 seconds on Premium, conversion per engine (Standard, Premium, Ultra, Nano), accumulation at renewal, and expiration.
A cycle is VoxScriber's billing unit. The baseline is simple: 1 cycle = 15 seconds of audio on the Premium engine, meaning 1 minute = 4 cycles. Each engine consumes at a different rate — and that's what makes the same cycles yield more or fewer minutes.
Cost per minute, by engine
| Engine | Consumption | 1 hour of audio costs |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 1 cycle/min | 60 cycles |
| Premium (platform default) | 4 cycles/min | 240 cycles |
| Ultra | 10 cycles/min | 600 cycles |
| Nano (in-browser) | 0 cycles | free (separate quota per plan) |
Fractions are rounded up: a 61-second audio on Premium costs 5 cycles (61 ÷ 15 = 4.07 → 5); on Standard, 2 cycles.
Want to stretch your balance? Use the Standard engine for everyday audio — it costs 4× less than Premium and works great with background noise. The 120 cycles in the free plan give you up to 120 minutes on it.
When cycles are deducted
Only after the transcription completes successfully — billing and delivery happen together. A failed transcription charges nothing, and the system automatically tries again. Every transaction (credit and debit) is recorded in an immutable statement — see Statement and history.
Renewal: Does leftover balance accumulate?
Yes, with a cap. On subscription renewal, the plan's cycles are added to what you have left, up to the limit of 2× the plan's cycles. Examples with a 4,800-cycle plan (cap 9,600):
- Leftover 500 → you get 5,300;
- Leftover 8,000 → you get 9,600 (cap);
- Leftover 12,000 (from bonuses/purchases) → you keep 12,000 — renewal never reduces your balance.
On the free plan, the 120 cycles renew every 30 days.
Upgrade, downgrade, and cancellation
- Mid-month upgrade: you immediately receive the difference in cycles between the new and old plan (with the 2× cap of the new plan);
- Downgrade: doesn't credit or remove cycles — it takes effect at the next renewal;
- Cancelled / went back to free: cycles from one-off purchases stay yours (never expire) and the 120-cycle floor of the free plan is kept.
Frequently asked questions
Do cycles I bought individually expire?
No. Hour packs and custom balances don't expire, even if you later cancel a subscription.
Was I charged for a transcription that failed?
No. Deduction only happens together with delivery of the result. Temporary failures go into automatic retries at no cost.
Does in-browser (Nano) transcription use cycles?
No — it costs 0 cycles. It has its own monthly minute quota that varies by plan (60 min/month on free, 300 on Lite, unlimited from Advanced onwards).
Why did my balance "stop growing" at renewal?
You've hit the 2× plan cycles accumulation cap. Anything beyond that from bonuses or one-off purchases is preserved, but the plan's allowance doesn't add beyond the cap.
Where do I see how many cycles I have and what I spent?
In your account's billing panel, with the full history of credits and debits. See Statement and history.
Related articles
- How credits work
- How to choose the right plan
- Choose the transcription engine
- Local in-browser transcription (Nano)
- Statement and history
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