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How a 402 challenge works in an agent request
The x402 pattern is a retry loop built on the standard 402 Payment Required status. Each step below happens inside the agent’s HTTP client, so no human approves individual payments.
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- The agent calls a protected endpoint without payment. The request looks like any other API call.
- The server returns 402 with payment terms. The terms commonly include the accepted network, the asset (for example, USDC), the amount, the destination address, and a timeout or payment scheme.
- The agent’s payment client checks those terms against its own policy. If the network, asset, or amount is outside the configured limits, the client should refuse and stop.
- The client signs or authorizes the payment and repeats the original request with the payment payload in a header.
- The service or its facilitator verifies the payment, runs the request, and settles. When and how settlement happens depends on the implementation, as explained below.
A 402 challenge tells the agent what the service wants. It does not show that the service is trustworthy, that the output is correct, or that the price is fair. Those questions remain with the buyer.
What “free” means in a 402 system
The protocol has no standard free allowance, subscription, or price list. A provider can offer a free route, a metered route, or both, and it expresses the difference through its own access rules. When comparing options, check four things: which models or endpoints are free, what the free limit is, what each paid call costs and in which unit, and whether the price is fixed per request or depends on usage.
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ArcRouter: a free model tier and paid per-request calls
ArcRouter’s documentation, as checked on 4 October 2026, describes two access modes.
The free tier
The free tier costs $0 and is limited to free models. ArcRouter lists a limit of 20 requests per hour per IP. Its documentation states: “Free-tier users are always restricted to free models.” That restriction applies to ArcRouter’s free tier only. It is not a general rule for 402-based services.
Paid per-request calls
Paid access is priced per request through MPP or x402, at $0.001 to $0.015 per request. The price depends on the complexity of the request, as shown below.
| Complexity tier | Price per request (ArcRouter documentation) |
|---|---|
| Simple | $0.001 |
| Medium | $0.002 |
| Complex | $0.005 |
| Reasoning | $0.012 |
| Premium | $0.015 |
| Council mode | Five times the price of the selected tier (for example, $0.005 on a simple request and $0.075 on a premium request, by that multiplier) |
These are vendor-published prices and can change. Check the current ArcRouter pricing page before budgeting for a workload.
ArcRouter’s x402 documentation describes an authorization for a ceiling on each call, with differences between the ceiling and the final charge returned in batched refunds. This is ArcRouter’s documented arrangement. It should not be assumed for other gateways.
Which chain ArcRouter accepts
ArcRouter’s product comparison page documents x402 on Base. Its separate endpoint documentation shows an Arc option as well. Do not assume that every ArcRouter route accepts Arc. Confirm the network in the 402 challenge your client actually receives.
Arcloak: paid calls on Arc mainnet, billed by delivered tokens
Arcloak’s buyer quickstart describes paid wallet-based calls on Arc mainnet using x402 with the upto scheme. The agent authorizes a ceiling, and the final charge is tied to the tokens delivered. The quickstart describes paid calls only. It does not establish a free tier. For current prices, use Arcloak’s pricing page, because the quickstart does not list the full price table.
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Arcloak also warns that open-tier nodes are run by third parties, and those operators can see prompts in plaintext. Keep secrets and sensitive data out of prompts sent to open-tier nodes unless the provider’s data handling has been checked separately.
Side-by-side comparison
| Axis | ArcRouter (documented) | Arcloak (documented) |
|---|---|---|
| Free access | Free models only; 20 requests per hour per IP | Not stated; the buyer quickstart describes paid calls only |
| Paid model | Per-request MPP or x402 budgets, with a ceiling and batched refunds of the difference | x402 upto scheme with an authorized ceiling; charge tied to tokens delivered |
| Example price | $0.001 to $0.015 per request by complexity; council mode five times the tier price | Not stated in the quickstart; see the pricing page |
| Network and asset | x402 on Base per the product comparison page; an Arc option per the endpoint documentation | Arc mainnet, USDC |
| Client setup | Standard 402 challenge handling; check the network and asset in each challenge | Funded Arc wallet, @x402/fetch, @x402/evm, one Permit2 approval |
| Spending control | Keep max_tokens appropriate to the expected response and limit exposure to the quoted ceiling |
Client-side controls on allowed asset and per-payment maximum |
| Prompt privacy | Not stated in the reviewed endpoint documentation | Third-party open-tier nodes can see prompts in plaintext |
What authorizes a paid call
A paid call is authorized by the wallet and the payment client, not by the prompt. Before an agent is allowed to pay, configure these limits outside the agent’s instructions:
- Asset: the token the client may spend, such as USDC only.
- Network: the chain the client may pay on, such as Arc or Base. Reject challenges for any other network.
- Per-payment maximum: the largest single authorization the client will sign.
- Total budget: a cap across all calls in a session or period.
- Recipient: the payment destination the client will accept, when the policy supports that check.
Settlement and failed requests
Arcus, a payment facilitator, documents this behavior: “Payment is settled only after your handler returns successfully. A failed request is never charged.” This is Arcus’s documented rule for its own implementation. It is not a guarantee that every provider handles failed calls the same way. Check each provider’s settlement rules and whether it refunds unused parts of a ceiling. Arcus’s merchant directory also lists APIs, which is relevant if you are building the seller side.
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- Set a per-payment maximum and a total budget in the wallet or payment client, not in the prompt.
- Restrict the asset and network to the ones your workload needs.
- Limit
max_tokensso each response stays within the ceiling you expect to authorize. - Stop the retry loop after a payment failure or a repeated 402 response, rather than paying again automatically.
- Review the spend log after each run and compare it with the quoted price.
Free-tier use has its own limit: ArcRouter caps free requests at 20 per hour per IP. Once an agent exceeds that limit, it will need either a paid route or a wait before the next call.
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Choosing between the tiers
Use a free route for low-volume testing where the free model meets your needs and the hourly limit is acceptable. Move to a paid route when you need a specific model, higher throughput, or a predictable per-request cost. Choose a provider on Arc mainnet when you want metered token billing with a USDC ceiling, and be aware that its open-tier nodes may expose prompt content. Verify every price, limit, network, and settlement rule on the provider’s current documentation before you deploy, because these vary and change.
Sources: ArcRouter product comparison page and endpoint documentation; ArcRouter x402 documentation; Arcloak buyer quickstart; Arcus documentation. Checked on 4 October 2026. No independent tests were run for this article, and all pricing and implementation details are as each vendor documents them.
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