---
title: "Open-source monetization for AI products | Tanso"
canonical: https://tansohq.com/product/agent-monetization
description: "Open-source monetization for AI products: usage billing, plans, credits, entitlements, margin analytics, and optional Stripe and MCP integration."
---

> Full site context for agents: https://tansohq.com/llms.txt

# Open-source monetization for AI products | Tanso

tanso-oss connects usage, pricing, credits and access controls for AI products. Track cost and revenue alongside usage, and inspect margin by customer, feature and model.

## Deployment

Self-hosted software is free under AGPL-3.0. Your team manages its infrastructure and connected services. Paid hosting is available by contact. [View pricing](https://tansohq.com/pricing.md).

## Capabilities

- Plans, features, subscriptions, and flat, usage-based or graduated pricing.
- Usage events with customer, feature, model, provider, cost and revenue context.
- Credit grants, balances, expiry, deductions and transaction history.
- Scheduled credit burn weights and credit prices.
- Entitlement checks before work; usage reporting afterward.
- Optional Stripe integration for payment collection or Stripe-led billing.
- REST API, TypeScript SDK and an optional scoped MCP server.

## Self-hosting quickstart

Use the repository's deployment instructions. Set JWT_SECRET, APP_SECRETS_KEY, and a real POSTGRES_PASSWORD in your deployment environment.

    git clone https://github.com/tansohq/tanso-oss.git
    cd tanso-oss/deploy
    cp .env.example .env
    # Set the required secrets in .env before starting.
    docker compose up -d --build
    ./setup.sh

- [Complete quickstart](https://tanso.mintlify.app/quickstart)
- [Repository](https://github.com/tansohq/tanso-oss)

## Integration loop

1. Check an entitlement before serving a request.
2. Perform the permitted work.
3. Report a usage event with cost and revenue context.

An entitlement check belongs in your application's request path. Reporting usage after work cannot retroactively stop work already performed.

## Monetization for customers' agents

When an operator enables the relevant surfaces, a tanso-oss instance can expose:

- Public pricing: GET /public/v1/catalog/{slug}/pricing.json.
- Opt-in customer signup: POST /public/v1/catalog/{slug}/signup.
- Customer-scoped API keys with read and purchase scopes.
- Subscription and credit purchases with Stripe payment setup and operator-configured spend caps.
- Optional MCP tools with explicit confirmAction for money-moving operations.

The public catalog and signup routes run on the operator's instance. A free plan configured for that operator's product is not a free hosted Tanso plan. A buyer's agent obtains the instance URL, catalog slug, and credentials from the product it is buying.

The MCP server is off by default and must be configured by the operator. Admin tools require their own opt-in. Use the current docs for flags, scopes and tool behavior.

- [MCP documentation](https://tanso.mintlify.app/mcp.md)
- [Agent guide](https://tansohq.com/docs/agent-auth.md)

## Get started

- [Self-host free](https://github.com/tansohq/tanso-oss)
- [Read the docs](https://tanso.mintlify.app)
- [Contact us for paid hosting](mailto:kat@tansohq.com?subject=Tanso%20hosted%20inquiry)
- [Explore the AI Pricing Finder](https://tansohq.com/ai-pricing-finder)