Esri Software Access for ASU

The ASU Library Map and Geospatial Hub administers ASU's organizational instance of ArcGIS Online. This platform is available to ASU students, faculty, and staff for non-commercial educational and research purposes.

                        

What are credits?

In Esri’s ArcGIS ecosystem, credits serve as the unit of measurement (or “currency”) for certain online operations—such as data storage, spatial analysis, and access to premium datasets and services.

Credits are shared across the ASU organizational account and are required when using specific tools in ArcGIS Online or related applications, including ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Insights, and ArcGIS Enterprise.

Learn more from Esri: ArcGIS Online Credits.

When are credits used?

Most common activities — such as viewing and exploring maps — do not use credits. Credits are consumed only when performing certain operations, including:

• Feature storage (e.g., storing hosted data layers)

• Analysis tools (e.g., geocoding, routing, geoenrichment, spatial analysis)

• Premium data (e.g., demographic or lifestyle datasets)

The number of credits consumed depends on the volume of data processed or attributes generated. Esri provides a credit usage table to help estimate costs for specific operations before running them.

How many credits do I get?

Credits are allocated strictly for non-commercial educational and research use only within the ASU ArcGIS Online environment.

Standard Users

All ASU ArcGIS Online members automatically receive 1,000 credits. This allocation is sufficient for most instructional and light research activities.

Power Users

Designated “power users” may receive up to 10,000 credits. This category is intended for individuals or groups that rely heavily on ArcGIS Online for coursework or research, such as:

• Students and faculty in the MAS-GIS program (School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning)

• Students and faculty in the MRED program (W. P. Carey School of Business)

To request power-user status for an ASU-affiliated individual or group, submit a service request to the Map and Geospatial Hub.

How do I get more credits?

ASU affiliates may request additional credits — in increments of 500, 1,000, or 5,000 — by submitting a service request. Requests are typically processed within two business days.

Requests exceeding the standard or power-user limits may be approved under exceptional circumstances following staff review.

How can I manage my credit usage?

To use your credits efficiently:

• Monitor your balance: Check your remaining credits through your ArcGIS Online user profile.
• Estimate before running tools: Many analysis tools include an “Estimate Credits” option to preview expected consumption.
• Limit bulk geocoding: Avoid using the ArcGIS World Geocoding Service for large datasets. Instead, consider creating your own locator — see the ArcGIS Pro Locator Guide.

By managing credits responsibly, the ASU ArcGIS Online community can ensure equitable and sustainable access for all users.