Billing
What this is
Section titled “What this is”The Billing page covers your account’s costs and subscription. It shows your active plan, live metered-quota gauges, historical usage charts, downloadable invoices, and the full plan catalogue, where you can upgrade, downgrade, or switch billing cadence.
Your plan is the contract attached to the account (see Account overview & active runs). It controls three things: which capabilities are turned on (entitlements such as private locations, VarioTest, scheduled runs, or dashboard templates), your capacity limits (concurrent runs, virtual users, runners), and whether metered usage bills at a per-unit rate above your included quota. The console always explains why a button is disabled or a higher limit is required, and links to the Plans tab so you can upgrade in place. Plans come in tiers, typically Free, Starter, Growth, and Enterprise. The exact list and limits are on the Pricing page.
Where to find it
Section titled “Where to find it”Click Billing in the left sidebar (account nav group). The page opens on the Overview tab by default. The URL is /billing.
Overview
Section titled “Overview”The Overview tab is the first view of the Billing page. It has two sections:
Plan summary shows your current plan name, cadence (monthly or annual), price, billing status, current period dates, and next billing date. A Switch plan button opens the Plans tab for upgrades or downgrades.
Live enforcement shows real-time gauges for every metered consumable (such as VU-hours) on your account. Each meter shows current usage against the plan quota and updates automatically. Click View usage on a meter to open the Usage tab scoped to that meter.
How to use the Overview tab
Section titled “How to use the Overview tab”- Open Billing from the left sidebar. The Overview tab loads automatically.
- Read the Plan summary card to confirm your plan name, cadence, and next renewal date.
- Check Live enforcement to see how much of each quota you have used in the current period.
- To upgrade or change your plan, click Switch plan in the Plan summary card.
- To see usage history for one meter, click View usage next to it.
The Usage tab is the usage explorer. It has three views for every metered dimension:
- Per-minute chart: a live-tail time-series for the selected meter with selectable granularity (
1m,5m,15m,60m) and range presets (Last hour, Current period, Last 30 days). You can also group the series by dimension (such as workspace or project). - Daily usage chart: a bar chart of daily consumption since the current period’s start date.
- Monthly usage chart: a bar chart of consumption totals by calendar month for the current year.
Use the meter selector at the top of the section to switch between meters (e.g., VU-hours, run count).
How to use the Usage tab
Section titled “How to use the Usage tab”- Click the Usage sub-nav item to open the Usage explorer.
- Use the meter selector to choose the dimension you want to inspect (e.g., VU-hours).
- Set the range preset. Last hour suits live load tests; Current period shows all consumption since the last billing cycle reset; Last 30 days gives a rolling view.
- Adjust granularity to zoom in (
1m,5m) for spiky load tests or zoom out (15m,60m) for long-running campaigns. - Use Group by to split the series by workspace or project and find which test contributed to a spike.
- Scroll down to the Daily and Monthly charts for longer-term trends.
Receipts
Section titled “Receipts”The Receipts tab lists all paid invoices and refunds on your account, newest first.
Each row shows the invoice date, amount, and status. Click PDF on any row to download a printable receipt for accounting or expenses.
How to use the Receipts tab
Section titled “How to use the Receipts tab”- Click the Receipts sub-nav item.
- Find the invoice you need by date or amount.
- Click PDF to download the receipt as a PDF file.
The Plans tab shows the full plan catalogue: every tier with its feature list and pricing. Use it to compare plans or to start an upgrade, downgrade, or cadence change.
- Cadence toggle: switch between Monthly and Annual pricing. Annual billing applies a discount relative to monthly.
- Current plan: your active plan is highlighted. Plans above it show an Upgrade button; plans below show a Downgrade button.
- Scheduled downgrade banner: if a downgrade to Free is already scheduled for the end of the current period, a banner appears at the top of the Billing page. You can cancel the scheduled change from there.
How to switch plans
Section titled “How to switch plans”- Click the Plans sub-nav item.
- Use the cadence toggle at the top to compare monthly vs annual pricing.
- Click Upgrade or Switch plan on the target plan. The plan-switch wizard opens.
- Review the change summary (prorated credit, next billing amount, effective date).
- Complete payment via Stripe or PayPal checkout if required.
- After checkout, the page redirects back to
/billing. The Overview tab shows an “Activating…” banner while the subscription update propagates (typically a few seconds). When the banner clears, Plan summary shows the new plan.
Pay with one-time payments (prepaid credit)
Section titled “Pay with one-time payments (prepaid credit)”When you pick a paid plan, the plan-switch wizard offers two ways to pay:
- Pay monthly with PayPal subscription — the default. PayPal charges you automatically every billing period.
- Pay with one-time payments (prepaid credit) — you pay once for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months of the plan, and no recurring subscription is created. Use it when your card or bank does not support recurring PayPal payments, or when you simply prefer to prepay.
How the balance works
Section titled “How the balance works”- Months become balance. A top-up costs the number of months × the plan’s monthly price, in USD — for example, 3 months of a $29 plan is $87.00. The whole amount is added to your credit balance.
- The plan is charged from the balance. The first month is charged as soon as the payment is confirmed, and each following month is charged from the balance at the start of that month. The one-time option is billed monthly; the annual discount does not apply to it.
- The Prepaid credit panel on the Overview tab shows your balance, the date it covers you until, and every top-up and monthly charge. Click Top up there to add more months of your current plan at any time.
- Changing plans is settled from the balance straight away: the unused part of your current month goes back to your balance and the first month of the new plan is charged from it. If the balance cannot cover that, the wizard tells you how much is missing — top up first, then switch.
When the balance runs short
Section titled “When the balance runs short”If the balance cannot cover the next month, the plan stays active for a 3-day grace period. A banner at the top of the Billing page shows the date the grace period ends, with a Top up credit button, and we send a warning email. A top-up during the grace period is applied at the next daily billing check, which charges the month and keeps the plan. A top-up that already covers the month shows as Top-up received until that check runs. If the grace period ends without one, the account moves to the Free plan at the next daily billing check after the date shown; your data and any remaining balance are kept.
Never expires, not refundable
Section titled “Never expires, not refundable”Prepaid credit never expires — a balance left after you move to Free stays on the account. If the balance already covers a month of a plan, Start plan using balance in the Prepaid credit panel starts that plan straight away and takes its first month from the balance, with no PayPal payment. Otherwise, Re-subscribe using your balance in the Prepaid credit panel opens a top-up for your last plan: the balance is used first, so the plan starts with it and the rest of the new payment stays as credit. Prepaid credit is non-refundable if you cancel, downgrade or close your account. Refund rights in our Terms of Service (for example, if we breach them) still apply to an unspent balance in the same way as to any other prepaid fee.
If a top-up payment is refunded or charged back in PayPal, the refunded amount is taken back off your balance and shows in the panel as PayPal refund/chargeback. When that credit was already spent, the balance goes below zero and the panel shows the amount owed; your next top-up covers it first, and a credit-funded plan that the balance no longer covers follows the usual grace period above.
How to pay with one-time payments
Section titled “How to pay with one-time payments”- Open Billing → Plans and click Upgrade or Switch plan on the plan you want.
- In the wizard, choose Pay with one-time payments (prepaid credit).
- Pick 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. The wizard shows the amount and the non-refundable, never-expiring statement before you confirm.
- Click Pay … with PayPal and approve the payment in PayPal.
- PayPal returns you to Billing. Once the payment is confirmed you see Payment received with your new balance, and the plan is active. If PayPal is still reviewing the payment, you see Payment pending instead — the credit is added automatically when PayPal confirms, and nothing is shown as paid before that.
Annual cadence and downgrade refunds
Section titled “Annual cadence and downgrade refunds”On an annual cadence, you get the full year’s included quota (12× the monthly figure) immediately, as a single pool for the entire 365-day term. Unlike a monthly plan, it is not reset every month. This matches paying for the whole year up front. The allowance scales with the commitment, but you can also use up the pool early and hit the hard cap for the rest of the term. For predictable monthly pacing, aim for roughly 1/12 of the annual pool per month and track it on the Usage tab’s monthly chart.
If you downgrade from an annual plan (to another annual tier or to a monthly plan) before the year is up, any refund is calculated against your original annual payment, prorated by both the quota remaining in the pool and the time remaining in the annual term, whichever is smaller. Your refund never exceeds what you are owed based on the original annual price.
Tips & gotchas
Section titled “Tips & gotchas”- Live enforcement lags slightly. The gauges on the Overview tab update every 30 seconds (and poll every 2 seconds right after a plan switch). For the absolute latest figures, refresh the page.
- Annual saves money. Switching cadence to Annual on the Plans tab applies a discount. The cadence preference persists in the URL (
?cadence=annual) so you can link directly to the annual view. - Annual quota is up front, not monthly. When you subscribe on an annual cadence, you get the full year’s VU-hour allowance (12× the monthly figure) immediately, as a single pool for the 365-day term. It does not reset each month. Monitor the Live enforcement gauges to track your annual pool.
- No receipt after PayPal checkout? Receipts appear after the billing provider posts the payment webhook. Wait a few minutes and refresh the Receipts tab.
- Hard-cap quota exceeded? An over-quota banner appears at the top of every Billing tab. New runs are blocked until you upgrade or the period resets. Click Upgrade in the banner to go straight to Plans.
Related docs
Section titled “Related docs”- Upgrade or cancel your plan: step-by-step guide to changing plans, including cancellation.
- Account overview and active runs: account-level run metrics that show usage in real time.
- Workspaces: workspace-level secrets and settings that affect how runs consume quota.