If you’ve ever booked an expert call through a major network like GLG or Guide point, chances are you’ve encountered the mysterious “credit system.” It sounds harmless—like frequent flyer miles. But behind those credits? Hidden costs, unpredictable budgets, and surprise invoices.
Let’s unpack what’s really going on—and give you a cheat sheet to ask the right questions before you sign another contract.
What Is the Expert Network Credit System?
Most traditional expert networks use a credit-based pricing model. Instead of a flat fee, you buy a bundle of credits in advance. Each call with an expert then deducts a certain number of credits.
The problem?
- You rarely know how many credits a call will cost in advance.
- You don’t always know what each credit is worth in dollars.
- You may end up paying 25%+ more per call than you budgeted.
Think of it like going to a restaurant that only accepts tokens. You hand over 5 tokens for a steak… and only later find out those tokens cost $40 each.
Why It Matters
For procurement teams, finance leads, or researchers managing tight budgets, credit systems create a black box. We’ve seen cases where firms thought they were paying $800 per call—and ended up closer to $1,200 after credit burn analysis.
And this doesn’t include premium expert tiers, rollover limits, or expiration policies, which add more complexity (and cost).
What to Do Instead
Before you sign or renew a contract with any expert network, ask the right questions. We’ve put together a one-page PDF with the 11 most important ones—battle-tested by analysts and strategy teams:
These questions force transparency—and often lead vendors to offer better, more predictable pricing models.
Final Thought
Expert networks can be incredible tools for due diligence, strategy, and customer research. But their pricing models shouldn’t be harder to understand than the industries you’re researching.
- GLG pricing”
- “expert call cost”
- “credit system expert network”
- “hidden costs expert network”
- “Inex One vs GLG”
- “AlphaSights call pricing”
| Network | Pricing Model | Credit Cost per Call | Hourly Price (USD) |
| GLG | Subscription + credits | Clients prepay credits; cost per call varies widely | Clients pay $1,000–1,300/hr; experts get ~$300–500/hr (reddit.com, linkedin.com) |
| Guidepoint | Subscription + credits | Similar prepaid credits; actual credit usage unclear | Avg ~$1,000/hr |
| AlphaSights | Transaction (per use) | No credits—flat hourly agreement | Typical expert rate $300–500/hr (rarely up to $500) |
| Third Bridge | Transaction + markup | No credits; direct per-hour expert rate, network adds markup | Expert sets hourly rate; network keeps markup |
| Inex One | Currency-only | No credits—$950/hr standard, $1,150/hr for premium experts |
