Previewing Campaign Costs Before Launch
See exactly what a campaign will cost before you commit any budget
Savo uses a simple, transparent pricing model: you're charged for the minutes of Signal Session conversation your participants complete. Before any campaign goes live, the creation wizard calculates an estimated cost so you can confirm your balance is sufficient — and the reserved amount shown is the maximum you'll ever be charged for that campaign.
The Cost Formula
When you launch a campaign, Savo sets aside a reserved amount from your balance. It is built from how many participants you are inviting, how long a typical session is expected to run, and the rate of $0.50 per minute.
Savo predicts the session length from the event itself, using its target duration and the number of conversation guides it contains. You pay only for the minutes of Signal Session conversation your participants complete, at $0.50 per minute. When the campaign closes, any part of the reserve that was not used returns to your balance.
When the reservation happens depends on when you add someone. Participants added before launch are reserved at launch. Participants added to a campaign that is already running are reserved as you add them. Either way you are charged only for the sessions people actually attend.
Costs Are Capped at the Reserved Amount
The reserved amount is not an estimate with potential overages — it is the ceiling. You won't be charged more than the reserved amount, regardless of how sessions run. If participants complete sessions faster than the target duration, your actual spend will be less. You will never be charged for overages above the reserved amount.
Where to Find the Cost Preview
The cost estimate appears at two points in the campaign creation wizard: Step 3 (Participants) and Step 7 (Review & Launch). Step 3 is where you take action — if your balance is insufficient, you'll be prompted to add funds before you can proceed. By the time you reach Step 7, the estimate is informational only; the balance check has already been satisfied.
The preview shows:
- Participant count — the number of people who will be invited
- Target session duration — the intended length of each session
- Reserved amount — the maximum this campaign will cost
- Current balance — your prepaid balance available to cover this campaign
- Balance status — whether your current balance is sufficient to cover the reserved amount
If your balance doesn't cover the reserved amount, you'll see a prompt to add funds before launching. Campaigns cannot launch without sufficient balance.
Tracking Costs During and After a Campaign
Once a campaign is active, the campaign detail page shows a live cost panel with:
- Used so far — actual spend to date based on completed session minutes
- Reserved amount — the maximum that will be charged for this campaign
- Sessions completed — total completed sessions
- Minutes billed — actual minutes consumed across completed sessions
- Rate — $0.50/min
- Spent so far — running total
Because costs are capped at the reserved amount, the ""Used so far"" figure will always be less than or equal to the reserved amount — it cannot exceed it.