There are two ways to access the Napster API: direct self-serve signup and Azure Marketplace. Both use identical pricing and the same platform — the difference is how you purchase and how you are billed.
Option 1 — Buy direct (self-serve)
Sign up at napster.com/developer and click Start building.
- Free allowance: Every new account starts with $6 in free credits of agent time. No card required to start. No procurement process required.
- Add a card: When your free minutes run out, add a payment card to continue.
- Top-ups: Credits are prepaid — you top up and usage draws from your balance.
- Auto-recharge: Enable auto-recharge to automatically add credits when your balance falls below a threshold, so your agents never go offline unexpectedly.
- Billing: Prepaid. Your balance is charged as sessions run. No monthly invoice — you pay in advance and consume from your balance.
Option 2 — Azure Marketplace
Available at Microsoft Marketplace. Recommended if your organisation already has an Azure commitment and wants to draw Napster API spend against it, or if Microsoft procurement is your standard purchasing route.
- Billing: Postpaid. You are billed at the end of the billing period for what you used. If you used nothing, you pay $0.
- Same platform and same rates as direct purchase. Balances are separate — buying direct and through Marketplace creates two independent balances.
Pricing tiers
| Deployment type | Per minute | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Napster brings everything (hosted model included) | ~$0.058/min | ~$3.50/hr |
| Bring your own model (BYOM — your Azure OpenAI or other provider) | $0.01/min | $0.60/hr |
BYOM figures exclude what your own model provider charges you. Your provider bills you directly.
What counts as a billable minute?
Usage is billed by the minute, rounded up per session.
- A 15-second session bills as 1 minute (minimum charge per session).
- A 3m 35s session bills as 4 minutes.
- Idle sessions still count — a session that is open but silent continues to accrue minutes. Use
disableIdleTimeout: trueon the agent only when needed (e.g. kiosk deployments), and ensure client code calls instance.destroy() to close sessions cleanly.
What it costs in practice
| Scenario | Napster brings everything | Bring your own model |
|---|---|---|
| A 5-minute conversation | $0.29 | $0.05 + model costs |
| One agent, 8 hours/day | $28/day | $4.80/day + model costs |
| 2,000 conversations/month (avg 5 min) | ~$580/month | ~$100/month + model costs |
Volume discounts
The API is self-serve by default with no minimum commitment. For committed-volume or enterprise deals, contact the Napster team.
Which option should I choose?
- Choose direct if you want to be building in minutes on a card, or if you are just getting started.
- Choose Azure Marketplace if your organisation already has an Azure commitment or uses Microsoft procurement.