The bill follows the model each task runs on. Run routine Junie work on the Default model, move eligible work to your own keys or the free tiers, and set credit limits before spend grows. Every fact here is from JetBrains' documentation as of October 12, 2026.
When you need this
- Credits run out mid-month because every task runs on the largest model.
- Engineers want models JetBrains AI does not offer, or already pay for another provider.
- Some code must stay on the developer's machine.
- Finance asks why the bill shows calls to models nobody selected.
Evaluation criteria
Start from the Default model
Does each task run on a model sized for it?
Look forStart routine work on Default, which JetBrains selects for price and quality and updates as models ship. Use Plan mode to plan on a stronger model and implement on a cheaper one. Increase reasoning effort only when a task needs it. JetBrains says higher effort costs more and takes longer without reliably better results.
Know what each model costs
Can engineers see what a task cost?
Look forCheck session costs with /usage in Junie CLI. It reports tokens, models, cost, and the remaining balance. One credit buys US$1 of usage at provider API rates for input, cached, and output tokens per million. Check promotions too. In August 2026, JetBrains made Gemini 3.7 Flash the default at a temporary 40% discount.
Use your own keys where they are cheaper
Which teams already pay a model provider directly?
Look forConnect OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, or OpenRouter keys in Junie CLI, or sign in through Copilot CLI with a GitHub Copilot subscription. A connected key takes precedence over JetBrains AI for the same model. Central Business admins can assign OpenAI, Google Vertex AI, Anthropic, or Amazon Bedrock by policy. Set a provider budget because these requests bypass Central credit limits.
Move eligible work to the free tiers
Which work could run on Junie Lite or a local model?
Look forUse Junie Lite in JetBrains Air or Junie CLI with any JetBrains account. It runs Qwen 3.6 27B on JetBrains infrastructure. JetBrains calls it "virtually unlimited" for normal use and publishes no quota, because the model behind it can change. When that model reaches capacity, requests stop with no fallback, so keep deadline work on credits or your own keys. For local work, Junie Local runs Qwen3.6-27B at 4-bit on an Apple Silicon M5 Mac with 64 GB and macOS 26. Nothing leaves the machine. JetBrains reports results on par with Sonnet 4.5 on its private test set.
Budget for helper models
Does the budget include calls the engineer did not choose?
Look forBudget for helper calls on your own keys too. Junie uses a second model from the same provider to summarize context and handle routing and memory. Anthropic tasks call Claude Haiku, and Google tasks call Gemini Flash. These calls appear on the provider bill even when the engineer did not select those models.
Questions to ask vendors
- Which models are enabled for our organization, and who reviews the list when the Default changes?
- Which teams should run on their own provider keys, and who owns those keys?
- Which repositories are approved for Junie Lite, which runs on JetBrains infrastructure?
- What per-user monthly limit applies to credits, and what limit applies to own-key spend at the provider?
Red flags
- Maximum reasoning effort as a personal default.
- Own-key spend with no budget at the provider, because Central credit limits do not cover it.
- Workflows that depend on the model behind Junie Lite, which JetBrains may change without notice.
- A local-model plan that assumes hardware below an M5 Mac with 64 GB of memory.
Products in this piece
Sources
- Official documentation
- 13
- Public source
- 5
- Junie docs: Model selection
- Junie docs: Plugin model settings
- Junie docs: Junie CLI quickstart
- Junie docs: Bring Your Own Key
- Junie docs: GitHub Copilot as a provider
- Junie docs: Junie Lite
- Junie docs: Junie Local
- JetBrains Junie blog: Junie Local launch (Aug 24, 2026)
- Junie docs: Custom LLMs
- JetBrains Central Console docs: Plans and pricing
- JetBrains Central Console docs: AI providers
- JetBrains Central Console docs: AI credit limits
- JetBrains Junie blog: Junie's new default runs on Gemini 3.7 Flash (Aug 17, 2026)
- AdComplex1867 on Reddit r/Jetbrains: Junie is now costing me about US$5 a day (Sep 30, 2025)
- dzhiurgis on Hacker News: Gemini through Junie (Apr 22, 2026)
- soco on Hacker News: Junie crashes and daily spend (Feb 4, 2026)
- lowercased on Hacker News: Junie as a daily driver on the US$30 plan (Sep 24, 2026)
- FpUser on Hacker News: Junie on Gemini Flash for professional work (Jul 4, 2026)