Credits are the currency used in ArcGIS Online and across ArcGIS for transactions such as storage, spatial analysis, and using premium content. In Insights in ArcGIS Online, credits will only be consumed for capabilities that use premium content or ArcGIS Online analysis. Each Insights license purchased will include 1,000 additional credits for your ArcGIS Online organization to allow Insights in ArcGIS Online users access to these premium services.
Processes that consume credits
Most of the functions of Insights in ArcGIS Online can be used without consuming credits from your organization. The exceptions are processes that supplement your data with data from a service provided by Esri, such as ArcGIS World Geocoding Service, ArcGIS GeoEnrichment Service, and ArcGIS Online network analysis services.
The following table summarizes the capabilities that consume credits when run:
| Capability | Consumes credits? | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Create maps, charts, and tables | No | ||
Perform analysis | Buffer/Drive Times - Fixed Distance | Overlap | No |
Dissolve | Yes | ||
Buffer/Drive Times - Travel Mode | Yes | ||
Spatial Aggregation | No | ||
Spatial Filter | No | ||
Enrich Data | Yes | ||
Calculate Density | No | ||
Find Nearest | No | ||
Enable location | Coordinates | No | |
Address —World Geocoding Service | Yes | ||
Address — Custom locator service | No | ||
Geography | No | ||
Share datasets, pages, models, themes, and workbooks | No | ||
Calculate fields | No | ||
Create relationships (joins) | No | ||
Enabling location using ArcGIS World Geocoding Service
Enabling location using World Geocoding Service requires credits from your ArcGIS Online organization. World Geocoding Service uses address fields, such as street, city, and state/province, to create a new spatially enabled Address field in your dataset.
Credits will not be consumed when you enable location using coordinates or geography, or using addresses if World Geocoding Service is not used (for example, if you use your own locator service).
Tip:
If you have a nonspatial table, such as a Microsoft Excel table, that will be used frequently or by multiple members of your organization, you can reduce credit consumption by enabling location on the table then sharing the dataset to create a feature layer rather than enabling the location on the Excel table multiple times.
Using Enrich Data
Enrich Data uses ArcGIS GeoEnrichment Service to add demographic and lifestyle data to your spatial datasets. Enrich Data creates a new dataset with additional fields based on the variables that you choose.
Tip:
If you have a dataset, such as a custom boundary, that requires demographic or lifestyle data and will be used frequently or by multiple members of your organization, you can reduce credit consumption by using Enrich Data then sharing the dataset to create a new feature layer rather than enriching the dataset multiple times.
Creating buffers and drive time areas
Buffer/Drive Times uses the street networks from the network analysis service to create drive time areas when a travel mode is used. Buffer/Drive Times creates a new result dataset of area features.
Credits will also be consumed when you create a buffer using a fixed distance and the Dissolve option is enabled because dissolved buffers are created using the ArcGIS Online Create Buffers tool. The default buffer option, Overlap, will not consume credits when run with a fixed distance.
Usage costs
For processes that consume credits, Insights in ArcGIS Online will charge at the same rate as the equivalent process in ArcGIS Online:
| Service | Credits used |
|---|---|
World Geocoding Service | 40 credits per 1,000 geocodes |
ArcGIS Online network analysis services | 0.5 credits per drive-time area |
GeoEnrichment Service | 10 credits per 1,000 attributes (data variables multiplied by total feature records) |
Spatial analysis (dissolved buffers) | 1 credit per 1,000 features |
As part of your Insights license, each Insights in ArcGIS Online user will receive 1,000 credits. These credits will be renewed annually with your Insights license subscription and are available for use with all ArcGIS Online products that consume credits. Additional credits can also be purchased for your ArcGIS Online organization if necessary.
The following examples demonstrate the amount of analysis that can be performed with 1,000 credits:
- Geocode 25,000 locations at 40 credits per 1,000 locations using World Geocoding Service.
- Create 2,000 drive time areas at 0.5 credits per drive time area.
- Enrich 10,000 features with 10 attributes at 10 credits per 1,000 attributes.
- Create dissolved buffers for 1,000,000 features
- Any combination of the above processes that uses a total of 1,000 credits, such as:
- Geocode 12,500 locations using World Geocoding Service, plus create 500 drive time areas, plus enrich 25,000 features with one attribute.