Everyday questions about Quandrel
What can I build in Quandrel?
You can assemble internal dashboards, mobile tools, model-backed workflows, and scheduled jobs. Quandrel wires straight into any warehouse, queue, or HTTP endpoint, so a working tool can sit in front of your operations team the same afternoon you sketch it.
Who is Quandrel built for? How long does it take to learn the basics?
Anyone comfortable writing a SQL query can ship their first tool in an afternoon. Deeper work leans on JavaScript, and most teams feel fluent inside two weeks.
How do web tools and mobile tools differ here? Which should I reach for first?
Web tools suit dense back-office review work. Mobile tools suit field staff with a phone in hand. Most teams start on web and add a mobile companion later.
What separates a builder seat from a viewer seat? How do I pick per person?
Builder seats edit queries, layouts, and permissions. Viewer seats only use what has been published. Give builder seats to the four or five people who maintain tools.
Where does Quandrel run? Can I self-host it?
We run a managed cloud in three regions, and a self-hosted image ships for teams that need every request to stay inside their own network boundary.
How is my data protected, and where does it live?
Credentials are held in an encrypted vault, every query is logged against a named user, and we are audited annually under SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001.
Are there reduced rates for students, educators, or registered charities?
Yes. Verified academic and non-profit teams pay 40% less on every paid tier, and coursework accounts stay free for the length of a term.
Things people ask about Operatives
What exactly is an Operative?
Operatives are model-driven coworkers that read your systems, choose the next step, and finish routine work without anyone having to queue it up first.
Why are Operatives billed by the hour?
An Operative only draws budget while it is actually working, so an hourly meter tracks the value you get far more honestly than a flat monthly seat.
Why does the hourly rate change per model?
Heavier reasoning models cost us more per token, so the rate follows the model you pick. Lighter models run at roughly a third of the price.
Which kinds of work suit an Operative best?
Repetitive, rules-heavy work with a clear finish line: triaging tickets, reconciling records, chasing missing fields, drafting a first-pass summary.
What exactly counts as billable runtime?
The meter starts when an Operative picks up a task and stops the moment it hands back a result. Idle time waiting on a webhook is never charged.
What if I cannot estimate my hours yet?
Start on the smallest bundle. We review the first 30 days with you and move the plan up or down once there is real usage on the meter.
Can I bring my own model provider keys?
Yes. Drop your own keys into the vault and Operatives will route through them, in which case you are billed for orchestration time only.
Is model usage invoiced on a separate line?
On our managed keys, inference is folded into the hourly rate. On your own keys it lands on your provider bill and never touches ours.
How does Operative pricing sit alongside the standard Quandrel plans?
It sits on top. Your seat plan covers the tools your team builds; Operative hours are metered separately and appear as their own line on the invoice.