Breaking Down ZEPIC's Pricing: Credits vs. Traditional Marketing Costs

A transparent look at our pricing model and why it's designed with your growth in mind

If you're evaluating ZEPIC against other marketing platforms, you've probably noticed we do things differently when it comes to pricing. While most platforms charge you separately for contacts, email sends, SMS, and various features, we've built something more flexible—a unified credit system that adapts to how you actually run your business.

After studying how hundreds of D2C and B2C brands engage their customers, we saw a pattern: most platforms charge for what’s easy to meter, not what drives growth. And that means you're often stuck paying for things you don't really use.

In this post, we break down how ZEPIC’s credit system works, why it’s different, what it covers, and how it can actually save you money, while giving you more flexibility, not less.

TL;DR: ZEPIC Credits Vs Traditional Pricing

What are ZEPIC Credits? A Deep Dive

Think of ZEPIC credits as a universal currency within our platform—email sends, WhatsApp messages, AI-generated content, flows, segments, and more. Instead of paying separately for each feature, you get one wallet to spend based on how you actually run campaigns. It’s simple, transparent, and built to give you control.

Let’s say you send a bulk email, follow up with WhatsApp, use AI for subject lines, and trigger flows based on clicks. With most tools, you’d need to budget for each step separately. With ZEPIC, this is covered by credits.

Here's how credits work:

Email Campaigns operate on volume efficiency. Credits are deducted based on how many emails you actually send. Sending a newsletter to 10,000 contacts? Your credits adjust accordingly. And, if you're only emailing your most engaged 2,500 subscribers with a targeted campaign, you use proportionally fewer credits. You're not penalized for being strategic about your email frequency.

This approach rewards good marketing practices. Instead of paying the same amount to email your entire list (including inactive subscribers who hurt your deliverability), you pay for actual engagement.

WhatsApp messaging follows a pass-through model where you’re charged exactly what Meta charges, without any hidden markups. Credits adjust automatically based on message type and destination. A notification to a US number costs differently than a conversation to an Indian number, and your credit wallet reflects that in real time.

Many platforms add 20-50% markup on SMS and WhatsApp costs, which can add hundreds of dollars to your monthly bill if you're doing significant messaging volume. 

And often, our customers find they can message more freely, build conversations, not just campaigns—because they’re not worrying about inflated bills.

ZENIE AI features are built into your subscription, not charged as expensive add-ons. While most platforms charge extra for every AI-generated copy, image, or prediction, ZEPIC includes it all by default. 

This means you can actually use AI strategically throughout your marketing operations. Instead of rationing AI usage because of cost concerns, you can leverage it wherever it adds value: write campaign copy, generate visuals, build segments, design templates, and even set up automation flows. Whether you use AI heavily or sparingly, it all comes from the same credit pool—no separate AI subscriptions to pay for, whether you use them or not.

Automation and data processing represent the backbone of your marketing operations, With ZEPIC, complex flows (like abandoned cart or post-purchase journeys) and backend processing (like data syncs or transformations) all run on credits. You use more credits for higher volume or complexity, but we handle the math, so you can just focus on strategy.

Unlike other platforms that require separate CDP subscriptions, plus additional charges for data processing, ZEPIC includes everything. Build sophisticated customer journeys without worrying about separate ETL costs, data activation fees, or integration expenses.

💡 Key Takeaway: One credit wallet covers email, WhatsApp, AI, automation, and data processing—no separate budgets, no surprise charges, no expensive add-ons.

Why this flexibility matters:

Let’s say you’re a seasonal brand, selling outdoor gear. In November, you ramp up for Black Friday—You send 50,000 emails, but only need 5000 WhatsApp messages for order confirmations.

And in January, the story flips—Email volume drops to 10,000, but you’re sending 20,000 WhatsApp messages for returns and support.

Most traditional platforms lock you into fixed volumes and add-ons. You’d have to upgrade your plan to meet those spikes, even if it’s just for a month. You’re stuck paying more, long term, for short-term needs.

With ZEPIC's credits, your base subscription stays the same. If you need more email volume or higher WhatsApp usage in a busy month, you just top up credits. Just pay for what you actually use, when you use it.

Plus, unused credits roll over within your contract period—so if you have a yearly contract and don't use all your credits in Q1, they're still available in Q2 and beyond. You never lose what you've paid for.

That’s how many of our seasonal brands keep costs lean during off-peak months—without sacrificing flexibility when things ramp up.

💡 Key Takeaway: Credits adapt to your business rhythm—high usage months don't lock you into expensive annual commitments.

Common objections (and our honest responses)

1. "But I Already Pay for Contacts" 

Totally fair. Contact-based pricing has dominated the marketing space for over a decade. Platforms like Klaviyo, HubSpot, and Mailchimp have trained you to think in terms of cost per contact.

But here's what's fundamentally wrong with contact-based pricing: you're paying for potential, not performance. You're charged for every contact in your database, whether you market to them or not.

The contact storage tax that you didn’t know you were paying

Here’s how traditional pricing actually works:

You upload 10,000 contacts and immediately start paying around $190 to a tool like Klaviyo per month—regardless of whether they’re loyal customers, disengaged subscribers, or old imports that haven’t opened an email in years. You’re essentially paying rent on storage, not for outcomes.

This creates terrible incentives. You're discouraged from importing potentially valuable leads because they raise your monthly bill. You feel pressure to purge older subscribers, even if the right campaign might bring them back. You start optimizing for contact count—not for marketing effectiveness.

Here’s how it might play out:

• 10,000 contacts = $190/month (just for email/SMS)
• You’re charged for all contacts—even ones you never email
• Want better automation? Upgrade to a higher tier
• Need advanced features? Pay more
• Every new lead acquisition immediately increases your monthly bill

ZEPIC's approach eliminates contact storage costs entirely. You don't pay for contacts at all—not 10,000, not 100,000. Our pricing starts at just $30 monthly for 500 credits, and you only pay for actual marketing activities like emails sent, WhatsApp messages delivered.

This means you can import unlimited leads, maintain large customer databases, and segment as strategically as you want without every contact addition hitting your monthly bill. You pay only when you actually market to people, not for storing their information.
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💡 Key Takeaway: Stop paying for contact storage—focus your budget on actual marketing activities that drive results.

2. “I’m paying similar amounts for a similar tool”

Fair question. If you’re already paying for a tool that sends emails, runs automations, and checks the basic boxes, why switch?

But here's the thing—ZEPIC isn't just another email and WhatsApp tool.

We capture customer data, business data, and complete customer journeys like no other platform. This means you can micro-segment with surgical precision, hyper-personalize every message, and send fewer but 100% more effective campaigns. While other tools spray and pray, you're operating with complete customer intelligence.

Great—Your tool can also send campaigns? But can it show you what’s working?

Most platforms give you the basics—emails, automations, maybe even WhatsApp. But can they show you:

• Which channel actually led to a sale?
• Whether a click turned into a customer?
• What to cut or double down on based on revenue—not just engagement?

And without that clarity, you could be spending more on what looks good instead of what actually works.

The attribution gap that's costing you

You might know your email had a 25% open rate and your WhatsApp campaign had solid engagement. But which one actually drove that $5,000 sales spike last Tuesday?

Traditional platforms focus on surface-level metrics—opens, clicks, delivery rates. With ZEPIC, you get the same marketing capabilities you're used to, but with built-in revenue attribution that connects every campaign directly to actual sales. Now you can see:

• Which email campaigns are driving the most revenue (not just the most clicks)
• Whether WhatsApp follow-ups convert better than email sequences
• Which automated flows are actually worth the effort
• How to reallocate your budget based on real revenue data

Even if your marketing budget stays exactly the same, your outcomes don’t have to. Most ZEPIC customers discover they can generate 20–30% more revenue with the same spend, just by focusing on what works and cutting what doesn’t.

💡 Key Takeaway: ZEPIC captures complete customer intelligence for precise targeting and revenue attribution—it's not just another email tool with better pricing.

3. "Credits sound complicated"

You might be thinking: “I just want simple per-contact pricing. I don’t want to worry about running out of credits mid-campaign.”

Here’s what we’ve seen across hundreds of customers:

Credits sound complex at first, but they’re actually simpler in practice. The complexity you're worried about is front-loaded into the decision-making process, not the ongoing usage.

Compare that to traditional platforms: Yes, per-contact pricing looks simple—but it hides layers of friction. Feature limits. Channel add-ons. Upgrade nudges. Multiple tools stitched together. You're constantly managing complexity under the hood.

With credits, it’s the opposite.

You can finally stop asking, “Can I afford to message this segment?” and start asking, “Does this campaign make strategic sense?”

💡 Key Takeaway: Credits eliminate pricing complexity—no feature restrictions, no forced upgrades, no separate tool budgets to manage.

4. "What if I run out of credits mid-campaign?" 

It’s a valid concern—no one wants a campaign stalling halfway through. Here’s what we do to prevent this:

Multiple Safety Nets: You’ll get alerts at 75% and 90% credit usage, along with clear projections based on your current campaign activity. You’ll know exactly when you’re approaching your limits—and what to do about it.

Flexible Top-Ups: Need more credits? Just buy what you need. No forced plan upgrades.

Auto-Upgrade Options: For customers who consistently hit limits, we offer automatic upgrades to prevent disruption. You stay in control, and your campaigns never get cut off.

You can now know exactly what each marketing activity costs and budget accordingly, rather than guessing how contact growth will impact their bills.

💡 Key Takeaway: Auto-upgrade options and flexible credit purchases ensure your campaigns won't stop mid-send.

The bottom line

ZEPIC's credit system isn't just different for the sake of being different. It's designed around how modern businesses actually operate and the real challenges they face with traditional marketing platforms.

Traditional platforms optimize for their own growth, not yours. 

• Contact-based pricing charges you for storage, not performance
• Feature restrictions force expensive upgrades just to unlock one capability
• Separate tools create data silos that break the customer journey

ZEPIC optimizes for your business success. With Credits:

• You pay more when you do more marketing, which usually means growth
• You pay less during quiet periods, without downgrading or losing features

Marketing isn’t linear—and neither are your campaigns. Your customer journey doesn’t stay in one channel. An email sparks a click, a cart gets abandoned, a WhatsApp brings them back, a purchase happens, and post-sale flows kick in.

Traditional platforms make you manage and pay for each step separately. ZEPIC sees the full picture—and lets you execute the full journey using one credit system.

Transparency drives better decisions. When you know exactly what each marketing activity costs, and what it delivers, you naturally optimize for growth. Our customers consistently report making smarter strategic calls because they can finally see what’s working.

Whether you’re just starting out or scaling fast, ZEPIC adapts. You’re not stuck paying for unused features or locked into rigid, channel-specific tiers.

The credit system flexes with your needs, so you can focus on results—not your pricing plan.

Ready to see how Credits work for your business?

The best way to understand ZEPIC pricing is to see it in action with your actual usage patterns. We've built several tools to help you make this evaluation:

Use our Credits Calculator to input your current email volume, contact count, SMS usage, and automation needs. You'll get a detailed breakdown of estimated credit consumption and see exactly how your costs would compare to your current platform mix.

Start with our free trial to see how your actual campaigns and usage patterns utilize credits. Our pricing starts at just $23 monthly for 500 credits, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes to experience the difference integrated marketing with revenue attribution can make.

Prefer a conversation? Schedule a call with our team. If you're spending over $500/month on multiple tools, we’ll map your current stack to ZEPIC, highlight potential savings, and walk you through how consolidation improves both performance and profitability.

See what flexible, transparent, and revenue-aligned pricing actually looks like.

👉 Explore ZEPIC's Pricing