Atlassian announced an expanded usage-based pricing model on September 1, 2026. The change adds a usage layer on top of your existing subscription for specific capabilities, most notably AI and automation. If your organization runs on Jira, Confluence, Jira Service Management, or related Atlassian products, this shift affects how some of your future usage gets priced and managed.
As an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner, Isos Technology did not create this pricing model and cannot change it. What we can do is help you understand what is coming, plan for it, and get the most out of your Atlassian investment. Here are the questions we hear most often, answered in plain terms.
Atlassian's usage-based approach works alongside your current subscription rather than replacing it. It adds metering for capabilities like Rovo AI features and automation, so your organization pays based on actual consumption once you go beyond what your plan already includes.
Atlassian built the model around four ideas:
Your plan includes a substantial amount of usage at no extra cost.
Your team keeps working without interruption as usage grows.
Pricing stays public so you can plan ahead.
Admins get real-time visibility and control over what is being used and by whom.
For most meters, usage-based billing begins December 3, 2026. The exact timing can shift depending on the capability and your billing cycle, so it is worth confirming the details for your specific products.
A few new terms are relevant to this change.
Rovo credits now cover two things. The first is AI features used across Atlassian apps and Collections. The second is certain calls to the Teamwork Graph, Atlassian's system for connecting context across your tools.
Everyday embedded AI, like summaries and definitions, remains free. Basic AI actions, such as Quick Answer mode in Rovo Chat or standard Rovo Agents, use a fixed rate of 10 credits per use. More intensive features, like Think Deeper mode, Confluence slides, or the Jira Coding Agent, use a variable number of credits depending on how much processing the request requires and what it produces.
Most calls to the Teamwork Graph, like installing the CLI or Rovo MCP, or looking up and updating context within a single Atlassian product, remain free. Calls that pull context across multiple connected systems, run ranking or inference, or filter results based on permissions consume a variable number of credits. Most of these calls fall somewhere between one and ten credits.
Most Atlassian Cloud apps and Collections include an allowance for these metered capabilities as part of your plan. The specifics vary by product.
Atlassian offers a usage calculator to help you estimate what your organization is likely to need based on its size and how your teams work today.
Usage draws from three sources, in order. Your included allowance goes first, at no extra cost. If you have purchased a usage pack, that gets used next. Anything beyond that counts as extra usage, billed after the fact unless your admin has limited or disabled it.
Because allowances pool at the organization level, any team or app pulling from the same meter shares the same balance. Admins can track this in real time.
You will know before it becomes a problem. Admins get notifications at 80% and 100% of your allowance, and at any custom limits you have set.
If you want more capacity, you have a few options. You can upgrade your plan or move to a Collection, which typically includes a larger allowance than a standalone app at the same tier. You can also add an annual usage pack to top up your capacity for the month. Monthly usage packs and committed packs are on the way as additional options.
What happens once you hit the ceiling depends on your settings. If extra usage is turned on, which is the default, your team keeps working and the extra usage gets billed at the published rate. If extra usage is turned off or a limit is reached, only that specific meter pauses. Everything else keeps running, and the paused capability comes back once your allowance refreshes or you add more capacity.
Atlassian Administration is where this happens. It gives your admins visibility into what is being used and by whom, filtered by app or time period, along with alerts as you approach your limits.
It also helps you plan ahead with forecasts based on your historical usage, and it gives you control to turn extra usage on or off by meter and to set your own usage ceilings. To find it, go to Atlassian Administration, choose your organization if you manage more than one, and look under Insights and then Platform usage.
Atlassian has more usage management capabilities in development, with availability expected to vary by meter and product ahead of the December 3, 2026 rollout. These include exporting usage data in plain, readable terms, monthly usage packs for short-term spikes, committed packs for annual prepayment, and more granular controls for managing usage across specific groups, users, and agents.
Atlassian publishes full details on its usage-based pricing page, along with support documentation for each meter, including Rovo credits, automation steps, Assets objects, Bitbucket, and Customer Service Management AI agent resolutions.
If you would rather talk it through with someone who knows your environment, that is where we come in. We help clients estimate their likely usage, review their current Atlassian setup for efficiency, and plan ahead so this change does not catch anyone by surprise.