# Billing & Plans

Three plans (Starter, Growth, Scale), 14-day free trial, monthly or annual billing.

Three plans (Starter, Growth, Scale), a 14-day full-feature trial with no card required, monthly or annual billing — all managed through a secure billing portal.

Plans differ by how many projects (websites) you can create. Every plan includes unlimited tests, unlimited visitors, every test type, every goal type, every integration, and every analytics feature. We don't price by visitor count, MTU, or feature gates — the only knob is project count and the supporting API rate limit.

New accounts start with 14 days of full access. You can install the SDK, run real tests, and invite teammates without giving a card. When the trial ends, pick a plan and add payment to keep using Otter; your data stays intact regardless.

## The three plans

| Plan | Price | Projects | API limit | Includes | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | $39/mo · $31/mo billed annually | 1 project | 100 requests/min | Unlimited tests, unlimited visitors, every feature | Solo founders and single-site teams running their first experiments. |
| Growth | $79/mo · $63/mo billed annually | 5 projects | 500 requests/min | Unlimited tests, unlimited visitors, every feature | Teams running tests across several brands, regions, or staging environments. |
| Scale | $149/mo · $119/mo billed annually | Unlimited projects | 2000 requests/min | Unlimited tests, unlimited visitors, every feature | Agencies, portfolios, and platforms running experiments across many properties at once. |

Compare plans side-by-side on the [pricing page](https://www.otterab.com/pricing).

## Subscription states

Every account is in one of these states. The state controls what your dashboard shows and whether tests can keep collecting data.

- **`trialing`** — First 14 days. Full feature access, no card required. Account shows trial days remaining in the sidebar.
- **`active`** — Paid subscription in good standing. Tests run normally and the dashboard shows no billing warnings.
- **`past_due`** — A recent payment failed and is being retried automatically. Tests still run, but the dashboard surfaces a persistent prompt to update payment. If retries keep failing, the subscription eventually ends.
- **`unsubscribed`** — Trial ended or paid subscription ended without renewal. Tests stop assigning new visitors. Data is preserved; resubscribe at any time to resume.
- **`suspended`** — Access frozen manually by Otter staff (billing disputes, terms-of-service issues). Distinct from past_due. Only Otter can lift suspension after the underlying issue is resolved.

## Managing your subscription

1. **Open Account → Billing.** The Billing tab in Account Settings shows your current plan, billing interval, trial status if applicable, and a link to manage everything else in the secure billing portal.
2. **Click Manage Subscription.** This opens the secure billing portal in a new tab. From there you can change plans, switch monthly ↔ annual, update your card, change billing address, and download every invoice.
3. **Make the change in the portal, return to Otter.** The change is processed immediately, any cost difference is prorated, and your account updates within seconds. Refresh the dashboard if the old plan is still showing.

> **Billing tips**
>
> **Switch to annual once you're committed.** Annual billing is roughly 20% cheaper — if you're past the trial and confident you'll keep using Otter A/B for the year, the switch pays for itself immediately.
>
> **Update your card before it expires.** Failed payments move the account to past_due and surface a banner everyone on the team sees. Updating proactively from the portal avoids the alert noise.
>
> **Clean up projects before downgrading.** Otter won't auto-delete projects to fit a smaller plan. Archive or delete extras first, then downgrade.
>
> **Keep ownership separate from the billing contact only if you must.** The account owner is also the billing contact by default. Splitting them complicates support escalations — keep them on the same person unless you have a finance-team reason not to.

## Frequently asked questions

### What's included in the free trial?

Every new account gets 14 days of full access — no credit card required up front. During the trial you can install the SDK, create projects, run tests, invite teammates, and use every feature on every plan. When the trial ends, you'll be prompted to pick a plan and add a payment method to keep using Otter.

### What happens when my trial ends and I haven't subscribed?

The account moves to an unsubscribed state — existing tests stop assigning new visitors, and you'll see a prompt to choose a plan when you sign in. Your data isn't deleted; you can subscribe at any time and pick up where you left off.

### How do the three plans differ?

The functional difference is the number of projects you can create. Starter allows 1 project, Growth allows 5, Scale is unlimited. All three include unlimited tests, unlimited visitors, every test type, every goal type, every integration, and every analytics feature. We don't price by visitor count — your traffic can grow without your bill growing.

### What's the API rate limit on each plan?

Starter: 100 requests per minute. Growth: 500 per minute. Scale: 2000 per minute. These limits cover server-side REST API usage; the in-browser SDK isn't subject to per-minute rate limits because it talks to a separately-scaled edge.

### Can I save by paying annually?

Yes. Annual billing is roughly 20% cheaper than monthly across all three plans. You pay one year upfront and the per-month effective rate drops. You can switch between monthly and annual any time from the customer portal.

### How do I upgrade or downgrade?

From Account Settings → Billing, click Manage Subscription. You'll land in the secure billing portal where you can change plans, switch billing intervals, update payment methods, and view invoices. Plan changes are prorated automatically.

### What happens if I downgrade past my project count?

Otter doesn't auto-delete projects to fit you into a smaller plan. If you have 4 projects on Growth and try to downgrade to Starter (1 project max), you'll need to delete or archive projects first to fit. The downgrade prompt surfaces the conflict explicitly.

### What happens if my payment fails?

Our payment system attempts a few automatic retries over a couple of weeks. During this window the account is marked past_due — the dashboard shows a warning and tests continue running, but you'll see persistent reminders to update your card. If retries keep failing, the subscription ends and the account moves to an unsubscribed state. Update the card from the billing portal to resume.

### What does suspended mean and how do I unsuspend?

Suspended accounts have manually had access frozen — usually due to a billing dispute, an unresolved support escalation, or terms-of-service issues. It's distinct from past_due (which is automatic and tied to failed payments). Suspension can only be lifted by Otter staff after the underlying issue is resolved.

### Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. From the customer portal, cancel the subscription. You keep full access through the end of the current billing period (you're not charged for the next period). After that the account moves to an unsubscribed state — same as a lapsed trial — but the data stays intact in case you come back.

### Where do I find invoices and receipts?

In the secure billing portal. Click Manage Subscription from Account Settings → Billing, then the Invoices tab. You can download PDFs of every invoice for your accounting. Email receipts are also sent to the billing contact on each charge.

### What are the welcome emails I'm getting from Mike?

When you sign up, Otter sends a short series of emails over your trial — from “Mike from Otter” — to help you get to your first test and your first result. The emails branch based on what you've already done: if you've installed the snippet, they push you toward launching a test; if you've launched a test, they encourage you to watch the first results come in. They're meant to be useful, not noisy.

### How do I stop the welcome emails?

Every email has an Unsubscribe link in the footer — one click and you're off the list. Upgrading to a paid plan also stops the series automatically, so paying customers don't keep getting trial nudges. Note that unsubscribing here only stops the onboarding series; transactional emails (invoices, password resets, team invitations) keep going regardless.

### Do you offer refunds?

If you're not happy in your first 30 days of paid subscription, email us and we'll refund the most recent charge. After 30 days we don't issue refunds for already-elapsed billing periods, but you can cancel any time to stop future charges.

### What tax handling do you support?

VAT, GST, and US sales tax are handled automatically based on the billing address you enter at checkout. EU customers can supply a valid VAT ID to be invoiced without VAT (B2B reverse charge). All taxes show up on the invoice as separate line items.

---

Canonical page: https://www.otterab.com/docs/getting-started/billing-and-plans