Case Study: Replicate launches prepaid credits in two weeks with Metronome, reducing fraud

Key results

The challenge

Replicate's billing-in-arrears model left it exposed to fraud, especially after launching high-value models such as Veo 3 (initially priced at $6 per 8-second video). A homegrown patchwork of fraud checks had become complicated and burdensome to maintain, consuming hundreds of engineering hours quarterly, and the team needed a durable approach that would not hurt conversion.

The solution

Using Metronome, Replicate replaced its arrears model with prepaid credits and auto-recharge for self-serve users while keeping invoice-based billing for enterprise accounts. Requiring credit purchase before usage cut off a common path for fraud, and clear APIs let engineers implement the change without waiting on vendor customizations.

The results, in context

Replicate launched prepaid credits in 14 days from first line of code to first customers. Since introducing the model, 90% of users have migrated to prepaid plans, fraud has dropped significantly, and conversion rates have remained steady, while engineering was able to retire internal fraud systems that required ongoing maintenance.

Products used