# Does prepaid data API balance expire if I don't use it?

> Whether prepaid balance for a social data API expires, what to ask any vendor before topping up, and how long a small balance lasts for Weibo or Xiaohongshu jobs.

Canonical page: https://okdata.online/answers/data-api-balance-expire/

**Short answer: **On okdata it does not: money you top up stays on the account until you spend it, with no monthly reset. That suits occasional jobs, such as a quarterly check of 200 Xiaohongshu searches ($4.00) or saving the Weibo hot search list every hour for a year ($17.52). Many other APIs do expire credits, so ask before you top up anywhere.

The worry is reasonable. Developers on V2EX have been caught out when [AI API credits expired](https://www.v2ex.com/t/1099592) before they were used, and plan-based data tools reset unused quota every month. For a team that buys social data a few times a year, expiry rules can matter more than the price.

## How it works here

- Your balance is in US dollars and stays until you spend it. There is no plan, no monthly fee and no reset.
- Each call takes its price from the balance; failed calls take nothing.
- A new key starts with $0.10 to try things.

## How long a small balance lasts

| Job | Endpoint | Calls | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly brand check, 200 searches | [Xiaohongshu note search](/apis/xiaohongshu/notes/search/) | 200 | $4.00 |
| Same check, four quarters | Xiaohongshu note search | 800 | $16.00 |
| Weibo hot search saved hourly for a year | [Weibo hot search](/apis/weibo/trends/list/) | 8,760 | $17.52 |

Because nothing expires, topping up once for a year of occasional work is fine; you do not have to spend it by a deadline.

## Check what is left

```bash
# Balance and your key's rate limit
curl -s "https://api.okdata.online/v1/account" -H "Authorization: Bearer $OKDATA_API_KEY"

# Every call also reports the balance after it
curl -s "https://api.okdata.online/v1/weibo/trends/list" -H "Authorization: Bearer $OKDATA_API_KEY" \
  | jq '.meta.billing'
```

## Questions to ask any vendor before topping up

1. Does paid balance expire, and after how long?
2. Do bonus or promotional credits have their own, shorter expiry, and are they spent first?
3. Does an unused monthly quota roll over, or reset?
4. Can unused balance be refunded, and how?

For okdata, refunds of unused balance belong to the terms of service, which are still a draft; if you plan a large top-up, ask hello@okdata.online first. Everything about prices and what is never charged is on the [pricing page](/pricing/).

## Endpoints used

- [Weibo hot search](https://okdata.online/apis/weibo/trends/list/) `weibo.trends.list`: $0.002 per call · about 50 board entries per page
- [Xiaohongshu note search](https://okdata.online/apis/xiaohongshu/notes/search/) `xiaohongshu.notes.search`: $0.02 per call · about 20 notes per page

Updated 2026-11-12