AI is the most powerful part of C Building and also the part that costs something to run. So C Building counts what you use in points: 1 point = US$0.01. This post explains exactly what uses points, what doesn't, and what happens when you run out.
What your plan includes
C Building has two plans, Free and Pro. Each gives you points and a few allowances:
The full details are on the pricing page. Websites in the recycle bin don't count toward your website limit. If you restore one, it takes up a website slot again, so you need a free slot on your plan. After restoring, publish it again to put it back online.
What uses points, and what doesn't
Uses points:
- AI, by usage: the website AI, chat with the assistant, and web search. One AI turn uses at most 50 points, AI images included.
- AI images: 6 points each.
- Your website's editing environment (sandbox): about 24 points an hour while it runs, that is, while the AI works on your website, for a short moment when you press Send to save your own changes, and while you write in the Articles panel. It goes to sleep after a few minutes without use and uses no points while asleep.
- The assistant 小C's own environment: about 10 points an hour while it works on your requests.
- Publishing: no fee of its own, but its build runs in the editing environment and uses about 1 point each time. Writing an article yourself uses no AI points, but publishing, updating or unpublishing a live article refreshes your website the same way, also about 1 point.
- Copying a whole website uses AI by usage plus several minutes of environment time, so it uses more points than a small edit, though one AI turn still uses at most 50 points.
Uses no points:
- Hosting your published websites.
- Visitor traffic, however many visitors you get.
- Reading form submissions and connecting a domain yourself in the dashboard. If you ask the AI to do them, that AI turn uses points like any other request.
Editing the page yourself uses no AI. While you click on the page and change text, images or styles, your changes wait in the change bar and use no points; when you press Send, the editing environment starts for a short moment to save them, which uses only a small amount of points. Copying a template into a new website uses no AI either, so the copy itself costs no AI points; editing it afterwards, and any AI tailoring (including when you pick a template in the "Create a new website" chat and the AI rewrites it from your answers), use points as usual. Starting from a template skips the AI's first build, so it usually takes fewer points than having the AI build a site from scratch. So the small, precise changes that make up most of a website's life cost very little when you make them yourself; save AI for the changes that are easier to describe than to do. We explain the thinking in what AI should do for you, and what you should do yourself.
When points arrive, and when they expire
On Free, a new account gets 100 points once, when it signs up, and they never expire. On Pro, 2,000 points arrive every month when your plan renews; they are valid for 2 months, and only while Pro is active. Top-up points are valid for 12 months. The points that expire soonest are always used first, and sign-up points last.
When you run out
A turn that starts while you still have points always finishes, using what is left down to 0 and never more. Once your points are used up, AI and editing pause until you add points or upgrade. Your websites are kept, and published websites stay online, because hosting and visitor traffic use no points. To keep going:
- On Free, upgrade to Pro for 2,000 points every month, unlimited websites and unlimited custom domains.
- On Pro, top up at any time: US$10, $25, $50, $100 or $200 give 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000 or 20,000 points.
- Or wait for next month's points, which arrive when Pro renews.
Short safety limits
Your points balance is what limits AI use. To prevent abuse, a few AI helper features have a short per-minute safety limit. If you hit it, you'll see a "Too many requests" message; just wait a few seconds and carry on.
Whose points are used
AI use on a website comes from the points of the person doing the work. Today that is always the website's owner. Inviting others to edit a website is coming soon; when it opens, each collaborator will use their own points.
Why we built it this way
Why points instead of a set number of AI edits?
Because requests differ. Changing one word and redesigning a page take very different amounts of AI work. With points, a small request uses little and a big one uses more, and one AI turn never uses more than 50 points, so you always know the most a request can cost before you send it.
Why does editing by hand cost so little?
Because it should be the everyday way to change a website. Editing by hand uses no AI: your changes wait in the change bar without using points, and only pressing Send starts the editing environment for a moment, so small fixes stay cheap and you don't need to ask the AI for each one. An AI turn costs more: AI by usage, at most 50 points a turn, plus the editing environment's time while the AI works.
What about the Free plan?
The Free plan costs nothing and has no time limit. A new account gets 100 points when it signs up, and they never expire. It includes 3 websites, a C Building web address and 1 GB of storage, but no custom domain. When the points run out, upgrade to Pro to keep going.
Wrapping up
Everything is counted in points: AI by usage, at most 50 points a turn, and the editing environment by the time it runs, about 24 points an hour. Hosting and visitor traffic use none. Start free with 100 points, or go Pro for US$20 a month with 2,000 points. That's the whole model.