An Emergent Labs charge on your credit card is a subscription fee for Emergent, an AI-powered platform at emergent.sh that lets people build web and mobile apps by describing them in plain English. The company behind the charge is Emergent Labs Inc., based in San Francisco. If you weren’t expecting it, the charge almost always traces back to a paid plan someone on the account signed up for, a free trial that converted, or an automatic monthly or annual renewal.
What You’re Being Billed For
Emergent runs on a credit system. Each paid plan comes with a monthly credit allotment that resets each billing cycle, and the subscription renews on its own until you cancel.
- Standard: $20 per month, or $17 per month billed annually, with 100 monthly credits.
- Pro: $200 per month, or $167 per month billed annually, with 750 monthly credits.
- Enterprise: custom pricing.
A free tier with 10 credits per month also exists, so a charge on your statement means someone moved the account to a paid plan at some point. Standard subscribers can also buy one-time credit top-ups, which would show up as separate charges rather than the usual recurring amount.
One useful thing to know: Emergent does not auto-charge you when your credits run out. Development just pauses until the next cycle, or until the user buys a top-up. So a recurring charge is a plan renewal, not an overage.
How To Cancel the Subscription
Canceling stops future renewals. It does not refund the current period, and any unused credits expire when the paid period ends. Access continues until that date.
- Log into your account at emergent.sh.
- Click the Credits button.
- Click Manage your Subscriptions.
- Click Edit billing.
- Click Cancel Subscription.
Emergent’s terms state that subscribing authorizes the company to charge the payment method on file for all fees due, and that subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled before the renewal date. If you don’t cancel, charges continue.
Asking Emergent for a Refund
Emergent’s stated policy is that all payments are non-refundable. The company says it may still consider refunds for billing errors, duplicate charges, or other circumstances at its sole discretion. Approved refunds are processed within 14 days. No refunds are given for unused portions of a billing period or when an account is terminated.
Refund requests and billing questions go to support@emergent.sh.
Disputing the Charge With Your Bank
If you don’t recognize the charge, believe it’s unauthorized, or can’t get a refund you think you’re owed, federal law gives you the right to dispute it with your credit card issuer. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you must send a written dispute to the card company’s billing-inquiries address within 60 days of the statement date on which the charge first appeared. The issuer must acknowledge the dispute within 30 days and resolve it within 90 days.
While the dispute is open, you can withhold payment on the disputed amount without being reported as delinquent, though you remain responsible for the rest of the bill. If the issuer finds the charge was an error, it must remove the charge along with any related fees or interest. If it finds the charge valid, it must explain why in writing and tell you what you owe.
Federal law caps your liability for genuinely unauthorized credit card charges at $50, and many issuers set it at zero. Before filing a formal dispute, call your card company to flag the charge, and check whether anyone else with access to your card or email, such as a family member or coworker, signed up for the service.
Why the Charge May Not Look Familiar
Emergent processes payments through Stripe. Because Stripe handles billing on Emergent’s behalf, the descriptor on your statement may read “Emergent Labs” or a variation rather than “emergent.sh,” which can make a renewal hard to place months after signup. The subscription you’re seeing was authorized once and has been quietly renewing since. Canceling in the account is what stops it; a dispute with your bank is what addresses charges you never authorized or can’t resolve directly.