Subscore

BillingTesting methodology

Billing measures how clear and fair the payment process is.

We check whether the app explains its prices before payment, whether important features cost extra, whether credits expire, whether refunds are possible, how easy cancellation is, and what name appears on the bank statement.

Paywalls still exists in the live database with a 20% weight, but the tester hint says it is deprecated and removed from testing. It is also missing from the active Billing and Policies guided session. This should be fixed before publishing. Either restore the Paywalls test to the testing workflow or remove it from the live Billing score and spread its weight across the remaining tests.

6 evidence groups
6 scored tests

Billing is organized into 6 evidence groups: Pricing Clarity, Paywalls, Credit Expiry, Refunds, Cancellation, and Payment Privacy.

How the Billing score is calculated

Each test receives a score from 0 to 10. We multiply each score by its weight and add the results together.

Pricing Clarity and Paywalls each contribute 20%. Credit Expiry, Refunds, Cancellation, and Payment Privacy each contribute 15%.

Outside the Privacy category, an Unknown result normally receives 0 points. Credit Expiry is a special case: its database rule gives Unknown a score of 2/10.

If a test truly does not apply, we remove it from the calculation and increase the remaining test weights so they still add up to 100%. Billing makes up 15% of the Pricing score.

20%Pricing Clarity
20%Paywalls
15%Credit Expiry
15%Refunds
15%Cancellation
15%Payment Privacy

Weighted evidence groups (combined 100%)Billing score15% of Pricing score

View exact calculation

Each test receives a score from 0 to 10. We multiply each score by its weight and add the results together.

Billing makes up 15% of the Pricing score. Pricing makes up 10% of the overall performance score.

Scored tests and weights

Scored test	How much it counts	See scoring
Pricing Clarity	20.00%	View
Paywalls	20.00%	View
Credit Expiry	15.00%	View
Refunds	15.00%	View
Cancellation	15.00%	View
Payment Privacy	15.00%	View
Total	100%

How the score is calculated

Each test gets a score from 0–10
Test score × how much it counts
Example: 7.50 × 20.00% = 1.50 points
We do this for every test
We add all the points together
Final Billing score
Counts for 15% of Pricing

Example calculation

We multiply each test score by how much it counts. We then add all the points together.

Scored test	Test score	How much it counts	Calculation	Points added
Pricing Clarity	7.50	20.00%	7.50 × 20.00%	1.50
Paywalls	8.00	20.00%	8.00 × 20.00%	1.60
Credit Expiry	10.00	15.00%	10.00 × 15.00%	1.50
Refunds	5.00	15.00%	5.00 × 15.00%	0.75
Cancellation	10.00	15.00%	10.00 × 15.00%	1.50
Payment Privacy	5.00	15.00%	5.00 × 15.00%	0.75
Final Billing score	—	100%	Add all points	7.60/10

Unknown and Not Applicable

Unknown

Outside Privacy, Unknown normally receives 0 points. We only use Unknown when we cannot find a clear answer. Credit Expiry is the exception: Unknown scores 2/10 under the live database rule.

Not Applicable

If a test truly does not apply, we remove it from the calculation and spread its weight across the remaining tests.

Automatic scoring

Pricing Clarity and Paywalls convert checklist percentages directly into scores. Paywalls uses inverted scoring, so fewer extra paywalls lead to a higher score.

Why Billing matters

The price shown on the homepage is not always the full story.

An app may advertise a cheap subscription but only explain later that images cost extra credits, videos require a more expensive plan, credits expire, refunds are not allowed, cancellation requires contacting support, or the bank statement shows the adult app’s name.

Users should know these things before paying.

A good billing system clearly explains the price, renewal rules, included credits, extra costs, refund policy, and cancellation process.

What good Billing looks like

A strong Billing result usually means important pricing details are shown before checkout, few important features require another payment, purchased credits do not expire, the refund policy is easy to find, users can cancel without contacting support, and the bank-statement name is discreet and explained before payment. Common problems include the annual price being shown as a monthly price, hidden extra credit costs, important features requiring a higher plan, purchased credits expiring without a clear warning, a refund policy that is difficult to find, users having to email support to cancel, a statement name that reveals the type of service, and a billing name shown only after payment.

Main benchmarks

GoodLimitedWeak

Pricing Clarity

80%+60–79%Under 60%

Paywalls

20% or less21–40%Over 40%

Credit Expiry

NoUnknown or limitedYes

Cancellation

YesLimitedNo

Minimum useful standard

Pricing Clarity: 80%+
Refunds: Yes
Payment Privacy: Yes

Common red flags

The annual price is shown as a monthly price
Extra credit costs are hidden
Important features require a higher plan
Purchased credits expire without a clear warning
The refund policy is difficult to find
Users must email support to cancel
The statement name reveals the type of service
The billing name is only shown after payment

How we test Billing

We use a paid account and check the full payment process.

We review the pricing page, checkout page, account settings, credit balance, payment help pages, refund policy, subscription terms, and cancellation settings.

We record what a normal user can see before and after paying.

Payment Privacy is filled from the structured Pricing section of the database. The other active billing checks are completed through the Billing and Policies testing session.

Limitations

Billing details can change depending on country, currency, website or mobile app, App Store or Google Play, payment provider, subscription plan, temporary discount, or local taxes.

We use the normal website checkout available to our test account on the recorded test date.

A bank-statement descriptor may also differ between payment providers. We record the descriptor shown by the company or used during our test payment.

Billing makes up 15% of the Pricing score.

Evidence groups

Billing has 6 evidence groups made up of 6 scored tests.

Pricing Clarity measures how much important information the app shows before payment.

We check eight pricing details that users need before checkout.

Pricing Clarity

20%of Pricing Clarity (20% total)

How much important information the app shows before payment.

How we test

We check the pricing and checkout pages before completing payment. Each clearly explained item receives one point. We check subscription price, renewal period, included credits, image cost, video cost, usage limits, credit expiry, and refund policy.

What counts

The full subscription price is visible
The renewal period is explained
Included credits are shown
Image and video costs are explained
Important limits are visible
Credit expiry is explained
The refund policy is linked or summarized

What does not count

Information shown only after payment
Important details hidden in unrelated pages
Vague wording such as additional fees may apply
A discount price with no normal price
An annual total hidden behind a monthly average

Result shown

6 of 8 pricing details were clearly shown

Pricing Clarity: 75%

Scoring

The percentage becomes a score from 0 to 10.

Checks passed	Score
0 of 8	0/10
2 of 8	2.5/10
4 of 8	5/10
6 of 8	7.5/10
8 of 8	10/10

In this example, Pricing Clarity scores 7.5/10.

Evidence group 2 of 6

Paywalls measures how many important features require another payment after subscribing.

This may include buying a more expensive plan, purchasing separate credits, or paying for the feature separately.

Paywalls

20%of Paywalls (20% total)

How many important features require another payment after subscribing.

How we test

We check the same 10 core features used in Included Features: standard chat, character library, character creation, image generation, image editing, video generation, voice messages, voice calls, memory controls, and message regeneration. We count how many require an extra payment.

What counts

A more expensive subscription is required
Extra credits must be purchased
The feature requires a separate purchase
The feature is shown but locked on the tested plan

What does not count

A feature included in the tested plan
A feature using credits already included with the subscription
A reasonable usage limit
A feature the platform does not offer at all

Result shown

2 of 10 core features require another payment

Paywall rate: 20%

Scoring

This score is inverted. Fewer extra paywalls lead to a higher score.

Features paywalled	Score
0 of 10	10/10
2 of 10	8/10
4 of 10	6/10
6 of 10	4/10
8 of 10	2/10
10 of 10	0/10

In this example, Paywalls scores 8/10.

Evidence group 3 of 6

Credit Expiry measures whether purchased credits disappear after a set amount of time.

Users should not lose credits they paid for without a clear warning.

Credit Expiry

15%of Credit Expiry (15% total)

Whether purchased credits disappear after a set amount of time.

How we test

We check pricing terms, the credit purchase page, account balance, help pages, and subscription rules. We record whether credits expire and, when possible, the exact expiry period.

What counts

Purchased credits expire
Credits disappear after a set number of days
Unused credits are removed at the end of a billing period

What does not count

Normal subscription renewal rules when credits are clearly explained as monthly
Safety or account-closure rules unrelated to purchased credit expiry

Result shown

No — purchased credits do not expire

Scoring

We use the result categories below.

Result	Score
No — credits do not expire	10/10
Limited — only some credits expire or special rules apply	5/10
Yes — purchased credits expire	0/10
Unknown — the company does not explain it	2/10

In this example, Credit Expiry scores 10/10.

Evidence group 4 of 6

Refunds measures whether users can get their money back and what rules apply.

Users should know the refund rules before paying.

Refunds

15%of Refunds (15% total)

Whether users can get their money back and what rules apply.

How we test

We review the current refund policy. We record whether refunds are allowed, how long users have to request one, which purchases can be refunded, and important restrictions.

What counts

A clear refund process exists
Users have a reasonable request period
The policy clearly explains which purchases qualify

What does not count

Unofficial support answers
Refund promises with no written policy
Policies we cannot confirm

Result shown

Limited — refunds are available within seven days, but only when no credits have been used

Scoring

We use the result categories below.

Result	Score
Yes — a clear and useful refund policy exists	10/10
Limited — refunds have important restrictions	5/10
No — refunds are not available	0/10
Unknown — the policy is unclear	0/10

In this example, Refunds scores 5/10.

Evidence group 5 of 6

Cancellation measures how easy it is to stop the subscription.

Users should be able to cancel without searching through several pages or contacting support.

Cancellation

15%of Cancellation (15% total)

How easy it is to stop the subscription.

How we test

We open the paid account settings and look for the cancellation option. We record whether self-service cancellation exists, how many steps are required, whether support must be contacted, and whether the end date is clearly shown. We may stop before the final confirmation so the test account remains active.

What counts

Cancellation is available in account settings
The process is clear
Support is not required
The user receives a clear confirmation

What does not count

Logging out
Deleting the app without stopping the subscription
Cancelling notifications only

Result shown

Yes — cancellation was available in account settings and took three steps

Scoring

We use the result categories below.

Result	Score
Yes — clear self-service cancellation	10/10
Limited — cancellation has important difficulties	5/10
No — no usable cancellation process	0/10
Unknown	0/10

In this example, Cancellation scores 10/10.

Evidence group 6 of 6

Payment Privacy measures how discreet the payment looks on a bank or card statement.

Users may not want an adult AI app’s name clearly shown on their statement.

Payment Privacy

15%of Payment Privacy (15% total)

How discreet the payment looks on a bank or card statement.

How we test

We check the checkout page, payment help pages, billing information, expected bank-statement name, and available payment methods. We record whether the billing name is discreet and whether it is shown before payment.

What counts

The bank-statement name is discreet
The descriptor does not clearly reveal the adult service
The expected name is shown before payment
Payment information is handled through a normal secure checkout

What does not count

Marketing claims about discreet billing with no supporting detail
Descriptors shown only after payment
Unofficial user guesses about statement names

Result shown

Limited — the statement used a parent-company name, but it was not clearly shown before checkout

Scoring

We use the result categories below.

Result	Score
Yes — discreet and clearly explained	10/10
Limited — some privacy is provided, but restrictions apply	5/10
No — the payment is not discreet	0/10
Unknown	0/10

In this example, Payment Privacy scores 5/10.

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