Summary

• Snowflake credits measure compute usage
• Credits are consumed whenever you execute queries
• Once credits are exhausted, queries are automatically blocked
• Usage can be fully monitored via the USAGE schema
• If you repeatedly reach your monthly quota, you can upgrade your subscription

What are Snowflake credits?

Snowflake credits are the unit used to measure consumption of compute resources in Snowflake. Credits are consumed whenever virtual warehouses are running and executing queries.

The total number of credits available to you depends on your subscription plan. Standard subscriptions include 20 credits per month.

Credits are primarily used for:

• Running SQL queries
• Powering dashboards and BI tools (like your Power BI, Tableau)
• Data transformations and scheduled jobs

Once your allocated monthly credits are fully consumed, Snowflake automatically suspends the warehouse. At that point, queries can no longer run until credits are replenished or the monthly quota resets.

How Snowflake credit usage works in practice

Every time a query is executed, Snowflake allocates compute resources via a virtual warehouse. Credits are consumed based on:

• How long the warehouse runs
• How many queries are executed
• How many users or tools query the data at the same time