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[ARTICLE · art-23862] src=vercel.com pub= topic=ai-tools verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Budgets for API keys on AI Gateway

Vercel has introduced spend caps for API keys on its AI Gateway, allowing users to set a dollar limit that automatically rejects further requests once exceeded. The feature applies across all AI Gateway providers and models, addressing unpredictable costs from autonomous workflows, shared demos, and developer experimentation. Users can configure budgets via the AI Gateway API Keys page or programmatically through the Vercel CLI, with optional daily, weekly, or monthly reset periods.

read1 min publishedJun 9, 2026

AI costs are getting harder to forecast. As teams lean more on coding agents and other token-heavy workflows, a key can burn cost faster than anyone notices:

Autonomous workflows that can loop or fan out without supervision

Demos and prototypes that could catch unexpected traffic if shared or shipped

Developers exploring or experimenting without a sense of per-model cost

Set a spend cap on any key, and AI Gateway rejects further requests on that key once the limit is exceeded, until the budget resets or you raise it. The cap applies to all AI Gateway providers and models running through the key, making it easier to consolidate and govern AI costs.

On the AI Gateway API Keys page, click Create Key, enable the Spend Quota option, enter a limit in dollars, and choose a refresh period.

You can also edit existing keys and add, change, or remove budgets by clicking the right hand side ... menu and Edit Key.

Create a budgeted API key programmatically via the Vercel CLI. The format is:

Pair a key with an optional refresh period (daily

, weekly

, monthly

, or none

) to scope the limit to a window. Each period resets at the start of its window in UTC.

Keys created programmatically will also appear in your team AI Gateway API Keys view, so you can see all keys in one place.

Read the API keys documentation for more information about setting and using budgets for API keys.

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