🔍 What Are Hyperdrive Credits?
Hyperdrive Credits (HDC) are a dedicated credit currency used exclusively by Search Atlas Authority Building tools. They are separate from your general platform credits and are consumed whenever you use features such as PR Distribution, Cloud Stacks, and the URL Indexer.
Previously labeled simply as "Credits" inside the Authority section, these have been officially renamed to Hyperdrive Credits (HDC) across the platform so you can always tell them apart from other credit types.
⚙️ Which Actions Consume Hyperdrive Credits?
The following Authority Building actions deduct HDC from your balance:
- PR Distribution — Creating or resuming a press release campaign consumes HDC based on the distribution scope selected.
- Cloud Stacks — Building a new Cloud Stack or applying a custom template triggers an HDC charge proportional to the number of sites and assets generated.
- URL Indexer — Each URL submitted for indexing deducts 1 HDC per URL. Large batches can therefore add up quickly. For example, submitting 100,000 URLs would consume 100,000 HDC.
- QUEST AI Visibility — Running visibility analyses draws from your HDC quota as shown in the Quotas panel.
- Campaigns — Active outreach campaigns may trigger ongoing HDC usage depending on their configuration.
If you noticed a sudden, large drop in your credits — for instance, 100,000 HDC disappearing — the most common cause is a bulk URL Indexer submission or a large Cloud Stack build that ran in the background after being initiated.
🔎 How to Review Your Credit Activity
To identify exactly what consumed your Hyperdrive Credits, follow these steps:
- Click your avatar in the top-right corner of the platform.
- Select Billing from the dropdown menu.
- Open the Activity Log tab.
- Review the timestamped entries — each HDC deduction is logged with the associated action, tool, and amount consumed.
This log is the fastest way to pinpoint which action caused an unexpected credit drop. Filter by date to narrow down the timeframe in question.
📊 Checking Your Current HDC Balance and Quotas
To see your current Hyperdrive Credit balance and remaining quotas:
- Go to Left sidebar → Authority → QUEST AI Visibility.
- Click Quotas to view your HDC allocation and remaining balance.
- Alternatively, navigate to Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups and click Quota model details for a full breakdown of all credit types on your plan.
🌐 Can My Plan Support Two More Authority-Focused Websites?
Whether your current plan can accommodate additional websites focused on Authority Building depends on two factors:
- Website slot limit — Your plan may cap the number of projects or domains you can manage simultaneously. Check your plan details under Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups.
- Hyperdrive Credit allocation — Authority Building tools are HDC-intensive. Adding two more websites running PR Distribution, Cloud Stacks, or the URL Indexer will increase your monthly HDC consumption significantly. Review your current usage trend in the Activity Log before scaling up.
If your plan's HDC allocation is already being fully consumed by your existing website(s), you can purchase additional credits via Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups → Add Payment Method or explore a higher-tier plan that includes a larger HDC quota.
✅ Best Practices to Avoid Unexpected Credit Usage
- Before submitting URLs to the Indexer, double-check the batch size — each URL costs 1 HDC.
- When creating a new Cloud Stack, review the site count and template scope on the confirmation screen before finalising.
- Set a habit of checking the Activity Log weekly to catch unexpected usage early.
- If you plan to scale Authority Building across multiple domains, contact our team in advance to ensure your plan's HDC allocation is sufficient.
🛠️ Need Further Help?
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.