User spend limits cap how much one person can spend on AI usage in a month. When someone reaches their limit, elvex stops processing their new requests until the limit is raised or the month resets. Everyone else carries on as normal.
Who can do this: Admins and Owners, from Admin → Cost Management → Controls.
The three ways to set a user’s limit
Type | Applies to | Set it under |
Default user spend limit | Every user who has no group limit or override | Default user spend limit |
Group member spend limit | Each member of a group | Group member spend limits |
User override | One specific user or API key | Specific user spend limit overrides |
Which limit applies to a user
Each user has one limit in force. elvex picks it in this order and stops at the first one that is set:
Override. If the user has an override, that is their limit.
Group. Otherwise, if they belong to one or more groups with a limit, the highest of those limits applies.
Default. Otherwise, the default user limit applies.
If none of these is set, the user has no limit of their own.
The company spend limit sits on top of all of this. It applies to everyone, whatever their own limit is.
Example
The default is $50. The Engineering group has a $200 limit and the Research group has a $500 limit. Priya has a $100 override.
User | Groups | Limit in force | Why |
Alex | none | $50 | Default |
Sam | Engineering | $200 | Group |
Jordan | Engineering, Research | $500 | Highest group limit |
Priya | Research | $100 | Override beats the group limit |
See why a user has their limit
Anywhere a user’s limit is shown, select it to open How this limit is decided. It lists the user’s override, group limits, the default and the company limit, marks the one that applies, and says if the user is currently blocked.
Set the default user limit
On the Controls tab, find Default user spend limit and select Change.
Tick the limit, enter an amount, and select Save.
Tick Apply default user limit to API keys if API keys should be held to the default as well. Otherwise the default covers people only.
Set a limit for a group
Under Group member spend limits, search for the group and select it.
Enter an amount and select Save.
A group limit is per member, not a shared pot: a $200 limit on a group of 10 means each member can spend up to $200.
Group membership changes apply straight away. To create or edit groups, use Manage groups.
Set an override for one user or API key
Under Specific user spend limit overrides, search for the user or API key and select them.
Tick Override, enter an amount, and select Save.
You can also do this from the Tracking tab by selecting Override on the user’s row.
An override can be higher or lower than the limit the user would otherwise have.
Overrides apply to API keys in the same way as to people.
Before you save: who would be blocked
When you enter a new amount, the dialog checks it against what people have already spent this month and names anyone the change would start blocking. This is a warning only; you can still save.
A limit of $0 blocks the people it covers immediately.
Remove a limit
Default: open the dialog, untick the limit, and save.
Group: select the trash icon on the group’s row, then save.
Override: select the trash icon on the user’s row, then save. The dialog shows which limit the user falls back to.
When someone is removed from your organization, their override is removed with them.
Alerts to users
A user with a limit is emailed at 75% and 90% of it, and when they reach it. See Spend alert emails.
Slack and Microsoft Teams
User limits follow the person’s elvex account. Someone using elvex from Slack or Teams whose Slack or Teams identity is not linked to an elvex account has no user limit; the company limit still applies to them.