# AX Check: increase.com Checked 2026-09-18. Increase's docs and pricing are readable without logging in. API overview gives curl examples, auth, and OpenAPI links in one page; fees page states exact per-transaction prices with no gating. ## Onboarding needs a login ## Coding sessions All three independent coding sessions (DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3, Qwen 3.8 Max) completed and pulled the same itemized per-transaction pricing straight from increase.com/pricing, noting usage-based costs with custom volume pricing available on request. ### DeepSeek V4 Pro [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/c17ada12-c1bb-4759-957e-3422e9e657cc) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/increase.com/sessions/deepseek.json) Final output lists concrete per-transaction fees (ACH $2/$0.50, wires $15, cards $0.25, etc.) pulled from increase.com/pricing (seq 6/13/22) and notes platform fee varies by use case/contact sales, naming the basis for each figure. #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: Agent built a working example script against the hosted Increase API using the official SDK, but never obtained real credentials. It only had a placeholder API key ('sandbox_dummy') and hit an authenticated 401 from the live API, confirming the call reached the real product but was rejected for lack of a valid key. No self-service signup flow was attempted or available in-session; the agent explicitly says a human must sign up at dashboard.increase.com to get a sandbox key. Event 184: ```text INCREASE_API_KEY=sandbox_dummy timeout 60 node example.mjs 2>&1 | head -20; echo "exit=${PIPESTATUS[0]}" ``` Event 185: ```text 401 {"status":401,"type":"invalid_api_key_error","title":"Invalid API key.","detail":"Invalid API key: Invalid token.","reason":"no_credential"} ``` Event 187: ```text I can't run the example end-to-end: I have **no Increase API key**, and getting even a sandbox key requires a human to sign up at dashboard.increase.com (real-account onboarding is business underwriting). That's the only blocker — everything else worked. ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No self-service way to get an Increase API key**: Increase requires signing up through a hosted dashboard (business underwriting) to obtain any API key, including for sandbox. This is a normal product/account-security requirement, not a bug — but it fully blocked the agent from running its example against real data or verifying authenticated behavior beyond a 401 rejection. Event 187: ```text getting even a sandbox key requires a human to sign up at dashboard.increase.com (real-account onboarding is business underwriting) ``` #### Suggested Changes - **Link directly to the SDK quickstart from the pricing and docs landing pages**: While pulling the fees page and docs homepage, the agent had to hop through /documentation/software-development-kits and /documentation/api/overview separately to piece together install commands and a usable code example; there was no single quickstart page combining SDK install + first API call + sandbox key instructions. Adding a one-page 'Quickstart' linked from the docs homepage nav (alongside Guides/API Reference) would shorten this path. Verify by checking that a fresh visitor can go from increase.com/documentation to a runnable code sample in one click. Event 57: ```text curl -sSL --max-time 20 https://increase.com/documentation/software-development-kits -o /tmp/sdk.html ``` Event 89: ```text curl -sSL --max-time 20 https://increase.com/documentation/api/overview -o /tmp/apioverview.html ``` ### Kimi K3 [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/adf053fa-5ae2-49cc-9edb-855133b64e7a) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/increase.com/sessions/kimi.json) Final output gives itemized pricing (ACH $0.50/txn, wires $15/txn, RTP $2.50/txn, etc.) sourced from increase.com/pricing (fetched at seq 16/23) and notes it's usage-based with custom volume pricing and free sandbox — assumptions are named, not just a bare number. #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: Agent never obtained real Increase API credentials. It hit the sandbox API with a placeholder key ('sandbox_key_placeholder') and got InvalidAPIKeyError. It explicitly stated signup requires a human to create an account at dashboard.increase.com, and no anonymous/public key exists. No authenticated operation against the hosted product was ever demonstrated. Event 36: ```text increase.InvalidAPIKeyError: Invalid API key. ``` Event 43: ```text I can't execute it against the real sandbox. Increase issues API keys (one sandbox, one production) only when you **sign up for an account at dashboard.increase.com** — there's no anonymous/public test key, and the placeholder key returns `InvalidAPIKeyError`. ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No self-serve API key available without human signup**: Increase requires creating an account through their dashboard (a human action) to get sandbox or production API keys; there is no public/anonymous test key. This is normal product behavior (a security gate), not a defect, but it stopped the agent from running its script against the live sandbox. Event 36: ```text increase.InvalidAPIKeyError: Invalid API key. ``` Event 43: ```text Increase issues API keys (one sandbox, one production) only when you **sign up for an account at dashboard.increase.com** — there's no anonymous/public test key, and the placeholder key returns `InvalidAPIKeyError`. ``` #### Suggested Changes None identified in this transcript. ### Qwen 3.8 Max [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/cc8e57da-0989-4be6-a1ad-423158a12322) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/increase.com/sessions/qwen.json) Pricing section lists concrete per-workload fees (ACH $2.00/$0.50, wires $15, RTP/FedNow $2.50, checks $3, cards $0.25) fetched live from increase.com/pricing (seq 14-15) and explicitly flags that monthly/platform fees are workload- and plan-dependent ('varies by use case — Contact Sales', 'custom pricing if you're a platform moving funds'). #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: Agent never obtained a real Increase API key. It tried a self-generated bogus sandbox key (sk_sandbox_bogus) purely to test error handling, which correctly returned InvalidAPIKeyError. It explicitly states no INCREASE_API_KEY is set in the environment and there is no self-serve way to mint one, so no authenticated operation against the real hosted product was ever completed. Event 26: ```text base_url: https://sandbox.increase.com Auth failed (bad/invalid API key or wrong environment): Invalid API key. ``` Event 30: ```text INCREASE_API_KEY is not set. Create one in the Increase dashboard (Developers -> API Keys); sandbox keys work against the sandbox environment. ``` Event 38: ```text Partially blocked on credentials.** There's no `INCREASE_API_KEY` in this environment and no self-serve endpoint to mint one, so I can't execute a real read or write. Set a sandbox key and re-run — everything up to auth is already verified. ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No API key available, so no authenticated call could be made**: The sandbox has no INCREASE_API_KEY and Increase provides no self-serve way to generate one (keys require dashboard access, which is presumably gated behind account/KYC onboarding). This is a credentials gap in the test environment combined with the product's normal security model, not a product defect — API keys are expected to require a human-created account. The agent correctly stopped short of claiming a real authenticated success and used a deliberately invalid key only to confirm error handling. Event 30: ```text INCREASE_API_KEY is not set. Create one in the Increase dashboard (Developers -> API Keys); sandbox keys work against the sandbox environment. ``` Event 38: ```text There's no `INCREASE_API_KEY` in this environment and no self-serve endpoint to mint one, so I can't execute a real read or write. ``` - **Most pricing is 'Contact Sales' rather than published rates**: When scraping the public pricing page, most fee categories list actual dollar amounts, but several major categories (platform/monthly fees, large-platform custom pricing, third-party check fulfillment, remote deposit capture, additional card services, request-for-payments) resolve to 'Contact Sales' rather than a number. This is product/business behavior (deliberately gated pricing) rather than an agent or environment error, but it prevented the agent from fully answering the pricing question with concrete figures. Event 15: ```text Monthly fees for users building on Increase vary by use case Contact Sales ``` Event 15: ```text Additional card services Contact Sales ``` #### Suggested Changes - **Publish concrete monthly platform fee ranges on the pricing page**: On increase.com/pricing, the monthly platform fee and several other line items (large-platform custom pricing, additional card services, remote deposit capture) show only 'Contact Sales' with no indicative range. Adding at least a representative starting price or range for the standard monthly fee would let a developer estimate cost without leaving the docs flow; verify by checking that a developer can compute an approximate total monthly cost from the pricing page alone for a simple use case. Event 15: ```text Monthly fees for users building on Increase vary by use case Contact Sales ``` ### Task given to each agent Help me build a simple example using Increase. Tell me how pricing works, and briefly tell me whether this product will be easy for you to manage. Let me know if you get blocked. If this product has no developer workflow you can act on, say so plainly and stop. Stay light: use the hosted product through its SDK or API. Do not start local service stacks or wait for long-running commands; if the quickstart requires either, say so plainly and stop. No product credentials were supplied and no purchases were authorized. ## Score: A · 100/100 (provisional) Grades come from completed site checks. Coding sessions and skipped checks do not affect the score. ### Clarity - **Pass** — Homepage answers Markdown requests ```text Homepage returned text/markdown with 200 when requested with Accept: text/markdown. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides an actionable documentation index ```text llms.txt links Documentation, Updates, feature guides, and getting-started signup/pricing. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides navigation guidance ```text llms.txt organizes resources, features, customers, getting started, and solutions sections. ``` - **Skipped** — llms.txt mentions offered API, MCP, and skills ```text llms.txt mentions API docs but not MCP or skills; those surfaces not shown offered. ``` - **Pass** — A compact guide representation exists ```text llms.txt and documentation pages serve text/markdown; /documentation/api/overview.md returns Markdown. ``` - **Pass** — A focused guide is directly retrievable ```text API overview .md gives auth, curl examples, OpenAPI links, SDKs and idempotency in one page. ``` - **Pass** — Equivalent instructions fit a token budget ```text API overview Markdown is 1747 tokens, well under the 8000-token budget. ``` - **Pass** — Product-docs links survive format changes ```text Homepage Markdown keeps Documentation, API reference, signup and product links intact. ``` - **Pass** — The compact guide is independently actionable ```text API overview gives auth, endpoints, curl examples, SDKs, OpenAPI links for first steps. ``` - **Pass** — Install and next-step links resolve ```text Signup, docs, API reference, and OpenAPI links all fetched successfully. ``` ### Onboarding - **Pass** — Docs lead to a relevant quickstart ```text llms.txt links Documentation and feature guides; API overview gives concrete curl first steps. ``` - **Pass** — Installation commands are extractable ```text API overview shows extractable curl commands and env var setup for sandbox and production. ``` - **Pass** — Code examples are available without interaction ```text API overview includes inline curl POST/GET examples and JSON responses without interaction. ``` - **Pass** — Prerequisites and auth boundaries are explicit ```text Bearer auth, API key dashboard link, sandbox vs production URLs, and signup are explicit. ``` ### Pricing - **Pass** — Pricing is readable without interaction ```text Fees page lists per-transaction prices in plain text tables, no interaction needed. ``` - **Pass** — Prices are stated, not gated ```text Concrete prices stated: ACH $0.50–$2.00, wires $15, checks $3, RTP/FedNow $2.50. ``` - **Pass** — Pricing units and limits are explicit ```text Units explicit per transaction/check/card/month; some custom items marked Contact Sales. ``` - **Pass** — Agents identify pricing and its assumptions ```text 3 of 3 sessions were judged on pricing; 0 fell short. DeepSeek V4 Pro: Final output lists concrete per-transaction fees (ACH $2/$0.50, wires $15, cards $0.25, etc.) pulled from increase.com/pricing (seq 6/13/22) and notes platform fee varies by use case/contact sales, naming the basis for each figure. Kimi K3: Final output gives itemized pricing (ACH $0.50/txn, wires $15/txn, RTP $2.50/txn, etc.) sourced from increase.com/pricing (fetched at seq 16/23) and notes it's usage-based with custom volume pricing and free sandbox — assumptions are named, not just a bare number. Qwen 3.8 Max: Pricing section lists concrete per-workload fees (ACH $2.00/$0.50, wires $15, RTP/FedNow $2.50, checks $3, cards $0.25) fetched live from increase.com/pricing (seq 14-15) and explicitly flags that monthly/platform fees are workload- and plan-dependent ('varies by use case — Contact Sales', 'custom pricing if you're a platform moving funds'). This behavioural item does not affect the fast grade. ``` ### Activation - **Pass** — An API reference or OpenAPI spec is reachable ```text API overview links OpenAPI 3.1 and 3.0 specs; both fetched successfully. ``` - **Skipped** — An MCP server is documented and well-formed ```text No MCP server documentation found in fetched pages. ``` - **Skipped** — A CLI install path is documented ```text No CLI install path documented in fetched pages. ``` - **Skipped** — SDK packages resolve on their registries ```text SDKs mentioned but no registry lookup result supplied. ``` - **Skipped** — Agent skills are published ```text No agent skills published in fetched evidence. ``` [Full report data](https://www.ax-check.com/increase.com/report.json)