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Dimensional Pricing

Dimensional pricing lets you charge different rates for the same meter based on event attributes. Instead of a single per-unit rate, you define a rate card with rates for specific dimension combinations.

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When to Use Dimensional Pricing

Standard usage pricing applies one rate to all events. But real-world billing often needs more granularity:
ScenarioWithout DimensionsWith Dimensions
AI API with regional pricing$0.10/call everywhere0.08/callUS,0.08/call US, 0.12/call EU, $0.15/call APAC
Support calls by outcome$5.00/call for all outcomes3.00resolved,3.00 resolved, 5.00 transferred, $8.00 escalated
Cloud compute by instance type$0.50/hour for all VMs0.10/hoursmall,0.10/hour small, 0.50/hour medium, $2.00/hour large
Data transfer by destination$0.02/GB everywhere0.01/GBsame−region,0.01/GB same-region, 0.05/GB cross-region, $0.10/GB egress
Use dimensional pricing when event attributes significantly impact your cost structure or value delivered.

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How It Works

  1. Meter with dimensions — Configure which event properties are dimension keys (e.g., region, call_type)
  2. Rate card — Define rates for specific dimension combinations
  3. Event matching — When usage is calculated, Monk groups events by dimension values and applies the matching rate
  4. Invoice breakdown — Each dimension combination appears as a separate line item

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Example: AI Call Center

Let’s build pricing for an AI-powered call center that charges differently based on:
  • Region: US, EU, APAC
  • Call outcome: resolved, transferred, escalated

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The Rate Card

RegionOutcomeRate per Call
USresolved$2.00
UStransferred$4.00
USescalated$6.00
EUresolved$2.50
EUtransferred$5.00
EUescalated$7.50
APACresolved$3.00
APACtransferred$6.00
APACescalated$9.00
——$4.00 (fallback)

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Usage Events

Your application sends events with dimension properties: 
{
  "customer_id": "cust_123",
  "event_name": "ai_call",
  "properties": {
    "region": "US",
    "call_outcome": "resolved",
    "duration_seconds": 180
  }
}

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Invoice Result

For a customer with 100 US calls (60 resolved, 30 transferred, 10 escalated) and 50 EU calls (all resolved):
Line ItemQuantityRateAmount
AI Calls - US / Resolved60$2.00$120.00
AI Calls - US / Transferred30$4.00$120.00
AI Calls - US / Escalated10$6.00$60.00
AI Calls - EU / Resolved50$2.50$125.00
Total$425.00
Each dimension combination becomes its own invoice line item, giving customers clear visibility into what they’re being charged for.

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Key Concepts

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Dimension Keys

Dimension keys are event property names that Monk uses to group and price usage. You configure these on the meter. 
{
  "displayName": "AI Calls",
  "aggregationType": "COUNT",
  "eventTypeFilter": { "include": ["ai_call"] },
  "groupKeys": ["region", "call_outcome"]
}
Property names must match exactly — If your rate card specifies region but events send Region, they won’t match.

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Rate Cards

A rate card is a table of dimension combinations and their rates. Rate cards are attached to pricing configurations and can be:
  • Org-level defaults — Apply to all customers unless overridden
  • Contract-specific — Custom rates for specific customers

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Fallback Rates

When an event’s dimension values don’t match any rate card entry, Monk uses the fallback rate. This is the pricing’s base unitAmount.
Always set a sensible fallback rate. If events arrive with unexpected dimension values (e.g., a new region you haven’t configured), they’ll be billed at the fallback rate.

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Rate Resolution

For each event, Monk finds the best-matching rate:
  1. Exact match — All dimension values match a rate card entry
  2. Partial match — Some dimensions match (more specific matches win)
  3. Fallback — No matches found, use base unit price

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Dimensional vs Tiered Pricing

FeatureDimensional PricingTiered Pricing
Rate varies byEvent attributes (region, type, tier)Usage volume (0-100, 101-1000, etc.)
Invoice line itemsOne per dimension combinationOne line item with tiered calculation
Use caseDifferent costs/value by attributeVolume discounts
Can combine?Yes — dimensional pricing can have tiersYes — tiers can vary by dimension

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Design Considerations

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Choose Dimensions Carefully

Good dimensions:
  • Directly impact your cost structure (region, compute size)
  • Affect value delivered to customers (priority level, feature tier)
  • Are consistently present in events
Poor dimensions:
  • High cardinality (user IDs, timestamps)
  • Inconsistently populated properties
  • Values that frequently change

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Plan for New Dimension Values

When you add a new region or call type:
  1. With fallback rate: New values are billed immediately at the fallback rate
  2. Update rate card: Add specific rates for new values as needed
Start with a conservative fallback rate (higher than your average), then add specific lower rates as you understand your cost structure.

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Invoice Clarity

Dimensional pricing creates multiple line items. Consider:
  • Keep dimension names customer-friendly (US Region not us-east-1)
  • Limit to 2-3 dimensions to avoid invoice complexity
  • Use labels that explain what the customer is paying for

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Common Patterns

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Multiple Meters with Dimensions

Combine dimensional pricing across different meters for comprehensive billing:
MeterDimensionsExample Rates
AI Callsregion, outcome$2-9/call depending on combo
AI Tokensmodel, priority$0.001-0.01/token by model
AI Trainingregion, compute_tier$0.10-1.00/minute by resources
Each meter has its own rate card, and all contribute to the final invoice with separate line items per dimension combination.

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Dimensions + Tiers

Combine dimensional and volume pricing for sophisticated billing models: 
{
  "name": "AI Call Pricing",
  "pricingModel": "TIERED",
  "rateCard": [
    {
      "dimensions": { "region": "US" },
      "tiers": [
        { "minQty": 0, "maxQty": 1000, "unitAmount": "2.00" },
        { "minQty": 1001, "unitAmount": "1.50" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
This gives you volume discounts that vary by dimension — first 1,000 US calls at 2.00,then2.00, then 1.50 each, while EU calls have different tiers.

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Next Steps

How Usage-Based Billing Works

See how rate cards fit into the full billing flow

Set Up Dimensional Pricing

Step-by-step implementation guide

Enterprise Billing

Per-customer rate overrides

Meters

Configure meters with dimension keys

Pricing

Pricing models and configuration

Events API

Send events with dimension properties