With our recently announced overhaul of the Pocket Portal, we’ve brought flexible plans, simple payment options, and true ownership of infrastructure to developers, directly through the Portal.Beyond the free tier of 250,000 relays per day, the prime option for developers will be our new Pay As You Go (PAYG) plan, which unlocks service for higher volumes of relays, without paying for more than you need.Plus, we’re bringing a whole new innovation to the Web3 infrastructure space with our POKT rewards that are provided for paid service, and can then be staked for continued service! This move towards a unique staking-for-service model lets developers truly take ownership of their dApps' infrastructure.Let’s dig into how the PAYG plan and POKT rewards work, and some FAQs related to the Pocket Portal.

Easy Payments Based on Your Relay Traffic

PAYG brings much more simplified and streamlined infrastructure service to Web3 developers. After setting up an account in the Pocket Portal, developers can create up to two applications, and mint as many endpoints for their applications as they’d like.During the application creation process, developers will have the option to choose between entering credit card information or not entering any. If the user chooses not to enter credit card information, the application will be rate limited once relays pass the Always Free threshold of 250,000 relays per day. If a user does enter credit card information, that card will be automatically charged at the end of the billing cycle for any relays that exceed the free threshold. Billing information and payment processing are handled directly through the Pocket Portal via Stripe, enabling a full self-service option (Pocket Network will not save or store payment or personal identification data).PAYG means developers will only pay for the relay traffic that their dApps actually generate - no more paying for throughput that your dApp may not even require. Users will be billed on a monthly basis for the total number of relays consumed over the Always Free tier. The price per relay (PPR) will be $0.000007456. The total invoice will be calculated by multiplying the price of a relay by the number of relays over the free tier:Daily Bill = Relays > 250k * PPRMonthly Bill = Sum of Daily Bills

From Sunk Costs to POKT Rewards

One of the more innovative features of PAYG is the ability to truly turn your dApp infrastructure into an asset.Rather than paying SaaS fees into perpetuity, PAYG enables developers to receive an amount of POKT that correlates with their dApps’ relay traffic. This POKT is received after 24 months of paid service beyond the Always Free tier - and these 24 months of paid service do not need to be consecutive. Furthermore, there is no minimum amount of paid relays to be eligible - any month with any relay traffic above the free tier counts towards these 24 months.Best of all, after receiving POKT, developers can then simply keep the POKT staked in order to continue receiving relay service - no more sunk costs! This is an innovation that brings true ownership to developers’ infrastructure, and converts that infrastructure into a real asset, rather than just endless SaaS fees.

FAQs

Beyond some of the key points addressed above, here are some more FAQs to get you up to speed with the Pocket Portal.

LEGACY APPLICATIONS

This section is relevant for Pocket Portal users who created applications prior to September 21, 2022 only.How will I be affected by the new pricing?As a customer with an existing application, you will be grandfathered into a legacy free plan for a limited time, with no further action required. In this plan, there will be no effect on your performance. No rate limiting will be put in place, and your app will operate with the service you’re accustomed to.  In Q4 2022, the Pocket team will reach out to you via email and in-portal notification with a schedule and instructions for next steps.How long will I be on this legacy free tier?We intend to transition all of the legacy applications by December 2022.If I want to start paying now, what should I do?If you would like to start paying now, simply navigate to the application you’d like to upgrade and select “Upgrade to Pay As You Go". Alternatively, if you’d like to start a new application, simply use your existing account to create a new application within the portal. The UI will lead you through the steps to start a subscription.

PORTAL BASICS

What is the Pocket Portal?The Pocket Portal is a gateway to a decentralized RPC network, where developers can create ("mint") blockchain network endpoints for use in their applications. Portal users can also monitor network performance and configure custom security features around their endpoint.Which blockchains can I connect to?The Pocket Portal currently supports creating an endpoint for dozens of chains, including Ethereum, Harmony, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Fuse, and many more.How many endpoints can I create?The Pocket Portal currently allows a user to create unlimited blockchain-specific endpoints for any chain served via the Portal. These endpoints can each be monitored as a single Application allowing for cross-chain analytics.What’s the difference between an Application and an Endpoint?The Portal organizes relay traffic through Applications, which are collections of relay traffic. An Application can consist of one or more Endpoints, which are URLs that can receive RPC requests from a blockchain. A Portal account can contain up to two Applications, which can in turn contain multiple endpoints.Can I pay in POKT?A priority feature that we aim to implement in the beginning of 2023 is the ability for users to stake their POKT within the Portal to receive relay throughput. Users would then receive relay throughput based on the BaseRelaysPerPOKT protocol parameter. Additionally, users will be able to unstake their POKT when service is no longer needed.At present, users will receive POKT after 24 months of paid service, which they will then be able to keep staked for continued service.Do you offer enterprise rates?Yes! We offer enterprise customizations for accounts averaging 150 million requests per month or more.  Contact us if you are interested in chatting about our enterprise offerings.Can I pay with stable coins?An option for paying with stablecoins is on our product roadmap.How do I pay by invoice?Pay-by-invoice is available for enterprise clients only. If you are interested in our enterprise packaging please reach out to us.Do you offer refunds? Are they prorated?All sales are subject to our standard terms of service.What happens if I go over my daily relay limit?The Pocket Portal has overflow protection in case an app in the Always Free plan accidentally goes over 250,000 relays in a day. All surplus relays are served by our backup infrastructure, ensuring no service interruptions. This is only a temporary measure, so the app owner should upgrade the plan to "Pay As You Go" or contact sales for an enterprise plan.

LEARN MORE

How can I get [blockchain] added to the Portal?Pocket Network is expandable, and is continually adding support for new chains. Community members can advocate for chains to be considered by reaching out on Discord and posting a suggestion on our suggestion board.Where can I find the product roadmap?View our product roadmap.