What is BYOK?
Understand LinkedGrow's Bring Your Own Key model, which of the 2 keys pays for what, and what the AI actually costs.
Bring Your Own Key explained
BYOK stands for Bring Your Own Key, and it is how every model call you make in LinkedGrow is paid for. Nothing is resold and nothing is metered, so you connect an API key of your own from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI, Grok, Perplexity or Kimi, and that provider bills you for what you used.
You pay your LinkedGrow subscription for the platform features, and you pay the AI provider directly for actual usage at their wholesale API rates. Nothing is marked up along the way.
How it works
- Choose an AI provider - Pick from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI, Grok (xAI), Perplexity, or Kimi
- Get your API key - Create an account at the provider's website and generate an API key
- Add billing - Set up a payment method with the provider (pay as you go)
- Paste your key in LinkedGrow - Go to Settings > AI API and enter your key
- Start generating - Create unlimited posts, ideas, hooks, and more
The AI provider charges you based on actual usage. Each post generation typically costs $0.001 to $0.10 depending on the model you choose.
Which key pays for what
2 different AI bills sit behind LinkedGrow, and only one of them is yours:
| Who pays | What it costs you | |
|---|---|---|
| Everything the agents think: finding leads, scoring them, writing messages | LinkedGrow on linkedgrow.ai, the instance key from the setup wizard on your own server | Included in the plan, or billed by that provider to whoever set the instance up |
| Everything you generate: posts, carousels, hooks, ideas | You, on your own key from Settings | $2 to $4 a month for most people, billed to you by that provider |
So the content side is unlimited at cost price. Generate 10 posts a month or 200, you pay your provider for exactly what you used, and you choose the model.
The agent key is the administrator's business rather than yours, and it carries its own ceilings: 1 dollar a day per agent and 12 dollars a month per LinkedIn account by default.
Benefits of BYOK
- No generation limits - Create as many posts, ideas, and hooks as you want
- Choose your model - Use budget models for brainstorming ($0.001/post) and premium models for final drafts (up to $0.10/post)
- Full cost transparency - See exactly what you spend in your provider's dashboard
- No vendor lock in - Your API key works with any service, not just LinkedGrow
- Switch providers instantly - Try OpenAI today and Anthropic tomorrow with no friction
- Always access the latest models - When providers release new models, they are available immediately
Typical monthly AI costs
| Usage level | Description | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Light | 10-15 posts per month with a budget model | $0.01 - $0.06 |
| Regular | 30 posts per month with a recommended model | $0.21 - $1.50 |
| Active | 60 posts with hooks and ideas | $1 - $3 |
| Heavy | 100+ posts with image generation | $3 - $8 |
The table is an estimate for the writing tools only. Your provider's dashboard holds the real number, and it moves with how much you generate rather than with any subscription.
Getting started
Ready to set up your API key? See our step by step guides for each provider: