AI API Reseller Refund Policies, Compared
Before you prepay a discount API reseller, read what its terms actually say about getting money back. We did it for all seven on our board — every quote below is verbatim, with a capture date and source link.
| Provider | Grade | The clause, verbatim |
|---|---|---|
| APIMaster.ai | C | “Usage-based charges for API calls that were successfully delivered are generally non-refundable” captured 2026-09-22 — source |
| ShopAIKey | F | “No refunds in any case: bought but not used, do not know how to use it, changed your mind, etc. The only exception is when the key genuinely cannot be used due to an error on our side.” captured 2026-09-22 — source |
| CheapAI (cheapai.io) | D | “refunding the unused portion of the Balance is the Operator's right, not its obligation. The Operator may consider a written request sent to the Operator's email address before the Account is deleted and, if granted, refunds the remainder to the payment instrument from which the top-up was made within 10 (ten) business days, withholding the costs actually incurred to process the refund (payment-provider fees); where the User deletes the Account, the unused Balance is forfeited and non-refundable” captured 2026-09-22 — source |
| APICheap (apicheap.net) | F | “ALL SALES ARE FINAL. NO REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ONCE AN API KEY HAS BEEN UTILIZED” captured 2026-09-22 — source |
| CheapCredits.ai | N/A | “No refund policy, terms of service, or privacy policy is published anywhere on the site.” captured 2026-09-22 — source |
| CheapTokens.ai | F | “All sales are final.” captured 2026-09-22 — source |
| TokenMart (thetokenmart.ai / .com) | D | “Company reserves the right to adjust the token value, conversion rates, or pricing of Credits at any time … including without limitation any reduction in the number of API calls, tokens, or model interactions available for a given Credit balance following a pricing adjustment. Client's sole remedy for any such change shall be to terminate this Agreement for convenience” captured 2026-09-22 — source |
What stands out
- Two providers publish absolute no-refund clauses. ShopAIKey's homepage: “No refunds in any case: bought but not used, do not know how to use it, changed your mind, etc.” APICheap's policy section is titled “ABSOLUTE NO REFUND”: “ALL SALES ARE FINAL. NO REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ONCE AN API KEY HAS BEEN UTILIZED”. (Both re-verified verbatim on 2026-09-22.)
- One provider can shrink credits you already bought. TokenMart's agreement (§7.9) reserves the right to “adjust the token value, conversion rates, or pricing of Credits at any time” with no liability for “any reduction in the number of API calls, tokens, or model interactions available for a given Credit balance” — your sole remedy is to leave.
- One provider says the quiet part clearly. CheapTokens.ai: “All sales are final” — and its FAQ explains why: “Perishability is the product.” Credits expire nightly at 24:00 UTC by design.
- One provider publishes no terms at all. CheapCredits.ai has no refund policy, no terms of service and no contact channel as of 2026-09-22 (re-checked) — nothing to grade.
- The friendliest clause still favors the house. The best grade on the board is a single C: APIMaster (“generally non-refundable” for delivered usage, case-by-case for unused balance).
- Terms move, and only in one direction. cheapai.io was a C when we first captured its terms on 2026-08-07 (“unused portion of the Balance may be refunded … within 10 (ten) business days”). By our 2026-09-22 re-check the same section read “refunding the unused portion of the Balance is the Operator's right, not its obligation” — now a D. We keep our 2026-08-07 excerpt and an archived copy of the 2026-09-22 page.
That cheapai.io change is one of several we've tracked. See the full terms changelog for dated before/after quotes across every seller we review.
How to protect yourself
- Prepay only what you can afford to lose in the worst case. Most terms above make prepaid balances hard or impossible to recover.
- Screenshot the terms page on the day you buy. Several of these documents have changed within months of publication.
- Verify the key immediately after purchase — in your browser, before you build anything on it.