Usage limit best practices

The number of messages you can send to the 5Types assistant depends on your plan, and on how each message is used. Here’s what counts, what affects it, and a few simple ways to make your monthly conversation go further.

How much is included

  • Free — a limited allowance, around 50 messages a month.
  • Plus — a regular allowance, around 2,000 messages a month — more than enough for everyday use.

These are approximate. Only your messages to the assistant count — looking up charts, viewing bodygraphs, and browsing Notable People are always free and unlimited.

Swift and Sage

You can choose which model answers you, right from the chat:

  • Swift — fast, everyday answers. It’s the default, and it’s the most economical: ideal for quick questions and exploring concepts.
  • Sage — more thorough, complex analysis. It digs deeper into in-depth readings, multi-person comparisons, and family or relationship work — but it uses about 4× the credits of Swift per message. Sage is a Plus feature.

A good rhythm is to stay on Swift for most of a conversation and switch to Sage when you want a richer, more careful read — then switch back. You can change models anytime, and the choice is remembered for next time.

What affects your usage

What a single message uses comes down to how much work the assistant does to answer it — not how long your message is. The main factors:

  • Model choice (Swift or Sage). Sage’s deeper analysis uses about 4× the credits of Swift per message, so it’s the single biggest factor in how much a message costs.
  • Lookups (tool calls). Behind each reply the assistant may pull up a chart, search the HD Encyclopedia, compare two people, or check transits. Each lookup uses a little more, so a question that needs several uses more than a quick one.
  • Depth of the request. An in-depth reading or a multi-person analysis draws more than a simple, conceptual question.
  • Conversation length. The assistant re-reads the conversation each turn, so very long threads can use a little more per message.

So your real message count flexes with how you use it: quick questions stretch your allowance further, while sophisticated, tool-heavy ones can each count as several everyday messages.

How the assistant stretches your usage

  • The assistant remembers everything earlier in the same conversation, so referring back (“as you mentioned”) is cheaper than re-explaining.
  • Once it has looked something up — a chart, an encyclopedia entry — follow-up questions about it don’t need to fetch it again.

Best practices

1. Plan your conversation

Before you start, think about what you actually want to know, whether you can combine related questions, and any background worth giving upfront. A little planning cuts down the back-and-forth.

2. Be specific and concise

A clear, detailed question (“How does my Sacral authority shape work decisions?”) gets a better answer with fewer follow-ups than a vague one. Include the context that helps the assistant understand what you need.

3. Build on the conversation

The assistant remembers the current chat — refer back to earlier points instead of repeating them, and ask follow-ups in the same thread rather than starting over.

4. Batch related questions

If you have several related questions about a chart, ask them in one message instead of a stream of small ones — they’re answered together.

5. Explore the free surfaces freely

Chart lookups, bodygraphs, and Notable People never touch your monthly usage, so dig into those as much as you like — and bring what you find to the assistant.

6. Bookmark answers you’ll want again

Save a reply to your Bookmarks and pull it back up anytime — instantly, and without using any of your monthly allowance. It’s the easiest way to avoid re-asking similar questions or concepts.

7. Monitor your usage

Check where you stand anytime under Settings → Usage. Your allowance refreshes every month.

Want more?

Plus gives you a much larger monthly allowance, in-depth readings, relationships and composites, and the full HD Encyclopedia.

Still need help?

Email us at hello@5types.com and we’ll get back to you. You can also browse the Help Center.