Troubleshooting: “You exceeded your current quota, please check your plan and billing details”

If you’re seeing the error: "You exceeded your current quota, please check your plan and billing details", it means your selected AI provider (OpenAI or Anthropic) has reached its usage limit or doesn’t have an active billing method set up.

What does this error mean?

This message comes directly from the AI provider (not Hey Help). It typically happens when:

• Your free usage has run out
• Your account has no billing method
• You’re on a limited trial plan or exceeded your quota

Do I need billing enabled to use OpenAI or Anthropic?

Yes. Both OpenAI and Anthropic require valid billing or preloaded credits to function properly with Hey Help:

✅ OpenAI: View or update your plan at: https://platform.openai.com/account/billing

✅ Anthropic (Claude): Visit https://console.anthropic.com/settings → Billing

I have a paid ChatGPT account, why do I still get this error?

A ChatGPT subscription (e.g. Plus) gives you access to ChatGPT on the web at chat.openai.com, but it does not include access to the OpenAI API. The API is a separate service with its own billing.

To check your OpenAI API credits or payment methods, go to your API billing page.

To monitor your usage, visit your usage dashboard.

What if I want to avoid billing?

If you’d like to avoid entering payment details, you can switch to Google Gemini, which offers a generous free tier with millions of tokens/month. You can create a free API key here.

🙋 Still need help?

If you’ve checked your billing setup and the issue continues, contact our support team at support@heyhelp.ai and we’ll help you troubleshoot.

Updated on: 22/07/2025