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Billing and Plans

Learn how to manage your Chat Aid subscription, track usage, and access billing features through the Chat Aid dashboard.

Overview​

The Settings → Billing page in Chat Aid helps you:

  • Monitor your current usage (questions, word count, licenses)
  • Track your subscription status and billing cycle
  • Enable or disable overage billing
  • Upgrade or downgrade your plan
  • Access the Stripe Customer Portal for payment management

Accessing the Billing Page​

  1. Log in to the Chat Aid dashboard
  2. Navigate to Settings → Billing
  3. View your plan details and usage statistics

Available Plans​

Chat Aid offers flexible plans for teams of all sizes. For detailed pricing, features, and plan comparisons, visit:

View Pricing and Plans →

Quick Plan Overview:​

  • Individual (Free) - 100 questions/month, 250k words
  • Team - $89/month, 500 questions/month, 5M words
  • Business - $699/month, 5k questions/month, 100M words
  • Enterprise - $2,895/month, 25k questions/month, 2B words
Free Trial

All paid plans include a 30-day free trial with full feature access (limited to 100 questions during trial). No credit card required to start.

Understanding Your Billing Page​

Current Plan Banner​

The banner at the top shows:

  • Your current plan name (e.g., Individual, Team, Business, Enterprise)
  • Trial status if you're on a trial
  • Manage Subscription button - Opens Stripe Customer Portal
  • Buy Licenses button - For legacy Team plans with seat-based licensing

Usage Statistics Cards​

The billing page displays real-time usage across three main areas:

1. Billing Cycle / Trial Days​

For Trial Users:

  • Shows days remaining in your trial period
  • Displays trial end date
  • After trial expires, automatically converts to Individual (Free) plan

For Subscribed Users:

  • Shows progress through current billing cycle
  • Displays next renewal date
  • Helps track when your quota will reset

2. Monthly Questions​

Tracks your question usage:

  • Current usage vs. total allowed (e.g., 324 / 500)
  • Progress bar - Green (normal), yellow (near limit), red (over limit)
  • Reset date - When your quota refreshes
  • Overage billing status - If enabled, shows estimated overage costs

Actions:

  • Click "Enable Overage Billing" to avoid service interruption when limit is reached
  • Click "Disable Overage Billing" to stop overage charges (via Stripe Customer Portal)

3. Word Count​

Tracks your indexed training data:

  • Current word count vs. plan limit (e.g., 2.4M / 5M)
  • Includes both document content and metadata
  • Progress bar - Shows how close you are to your limit
  • Overage billing status - If enabled, shows estimated overage costs

What Counts:

  • All indexed data from connected sources
  • Document content + metadata (titles, authors, timestamps)
  • A single-word document may count as 15-20 words due to metadata

Actions:

  • Click "Enable Overage Billing" to continue training data when limit is reached
  • Click "Disable Overage Billing" to stop overage charges (via Stripe Customer Portal)
Why Metadata Counts

Chat Aid indexes metadata (document titles, authors, dates, etc.) because this information improves answer quality. For example, knowing when a document was created helps Chat Aid prioritize recent information.

Managing Your Subscription​

Accessing the Stripe Customer Portal​

Most subscription management happens through Stripe's secure Customer Portal:

  1. Go to Settings → Billing
  2. Click "Manage Subscription"
  3. You'll be redirected to the Stripe Customer Portal

In the Stripe Portal you can:

  • Update payment method
  • View invoices and receipts
  • Download invoices for accounting
  • Update billing information
  • Cancel or modify your subscription
  • Manage overage billing settings

Upgrading Your Plan​

From the Billing Page:

  1. Scroll to the "Choose Your Plan" section
  2. Select Monthly or Yearly billing (yearly saves 20%)
  3. Click "Select Plan" under your desired tier
  4. Complete checkout or confirm upgrade
  5. New limits apply immediately

What Happens:

  • Prorated credit for unused time on current plan
  • Immediate access to new features and limits
  • Card charged the difference

From Trial:

  1. Click "Select Plan" before trial expires
  2. Enter payment information
  3. Activate subscription
  4. Keep all your data and settings
Avoid Service Interruption

Upgrade from your trial at least 24 hours before expiration for a smooth transition.

Downgrading Your Plan​

To downgrade:

  1. Click "Manage Subscription" to open Stripe Customer Portal
  2. Select "Update Plan"
  3. Choose lower-tier plan
  4. Confirm changes

What Happens:

  • Takes effect at end of current billing period
  • Keep access to current features until then
  • No refunds for unused time
  • Usage limits adjust on next billing cycle
Before Downgrading
  • Review feature differences on the pricing page
  • Remove unused data sources if needed to fit new limits
  • Export any critical data

Overage Billing​

Overage billing prevents service interruption when you exceed plan limits.

How Overage Billing Works​

Without Overage Billing:

  • For question overages:
    • Chat Aid stops answering questions
    • Users see "quota exceeded" message
    • Service resumes next billing cycle
  • For word count overages, Chat Aid stops training on additional data

With Overage Billing:

  • Chat Aid continues responding after limit
  • Additional usage charged at overage rate
  • Billed at end of billing cycle
  • No service interruption

Overage Rates​

Per the pricing page:

  • Questions: $10 per additional 100 questions
  • Training Data (Word Count): $5 per additional 1 million words

Overage charges are billed monthly, regardless of your base subscription length (monthly or annual).

Enabling Overage Billing​

For Questions:

  1. Go to Settings → Billing
  2. Find the "Monthly Questions" card
  3. Click "Enable Overage Billing" (if approaching or past limit)
  4. Complete checkout in Stripe
  5. Overage billing is now active

For Word Count:

  1. Go to Settings → Billing
  2. Find the "Word Count" card
  3. Click "Enable Overage Billing"
  4. Complete checkout in Stripe
  5. Overage billing is now active
Availability

Overage billing is not available on the Individual (Free) plan or legacy Team plans. Consider upgrading to access this feature.

Monitoring Overage Costs​

When overage billing is enabled and you exceed your limit:

In the Billing Page:

  • The stat card shows current overage amount
  • Displays estimated cost (e.g., "Overage cost: $30.00")
  • Shows breakdown of usage and rate
  • Updates in real-time as you use more

Example Message:

Overage cost: $30.00 (300 x $10/100 questions)

Disabling Overage Billing​

To stop overage charges:

  1. Go to Settings → Billing
  2. Click "Disable Overage Billing" on the relevant stat card
  3. Opens Stripe Customer Portal
  4. Confirm cancellation of overage subscription

What Happens:

  • Scheduled to cancel at end of current billing period
  • Card shows "Cancelling on [date]"
  • You won't be charged for new overages after cancellation date
  • Service will stop when you hit limit after cancellation

Payment Management​

Updating Payment Method​

  1. Go to Settings → Billing
  2. Click "Manage Subscription"
  3. In Stripe Portal, click "Update Payment Method"
  4. Enter new card details
  5. Click "Save"

Accepted Payments:

  • Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover)
  • Debit cards
  • ACH (for annual Enterprise plans)

Viewing Invoices​

To Access Invoices:

  1. Go to Stripe Portal (via Manage Subscription)
  2. Click "Invoices" or "Billing History"
  3. Download or email any invoice

Invoice Details Include:

  • Invoice number
  • Billing period
  • Itemized charges (base subscription + overages)
  • Payment date
  • Tax information (if applicable)

Failed Payments​

If a payment fails:

  1. Initial failure - Email notification sent
  2. Retry after 3 days - Automatic retry
  3. Retry after 7 days - Final automatic retry
  4. All retries fail - Subscription suspended

While Suspended:

  • No new questions accepted
  • Read-only access to dashboard
  • Account remains active (not deleted)

To Resolve:

  1. Update payment method in Stripe Portal
  2. Or contact support@chataid.com to manually retry payment
  3. Subscription reactivates upon successful payment

Canceling Your Subscription​

How to Cancel​

  1. Go to Settings → Billing
  2. Click "Manage Subscription"
  3. In Stripe Portal, click "Cancel Subscription"
  4. Provide feedback (optional)
  5. Confirm cancellation

After Cancellation:

  • Access continues until end of current billing period
  • No further charges
  • Automatically converted to Individual (Free) plan
  • All data retained - you remain an active customer
  • Can upgrade to a paid plan anytime

What Happens After Cancellation​

When you cancel a paid subscription or your trial expires:

You are NOT deleted. Instead:

  • ✅ Your account remains active
  • ✅ All data is preserved
  • ✅ Automatically moved to Individual (Free) plan
  • ✅ Get 100 questions/month and 250k word limit
  • ✅ Can upgrade to a paid plan anytime

Free Plan Includes:

  • 100 questions per month
  • 250,000 word count limit
  • All standard integrations
  • Self-service support
  • Limited auto-answer
You're Still a Customer

Chat Aid treats cancelled subscriptions as active customers on the Free plan. Your data is safe and you can continue using Chat Aid with Free plan limits.

Upgrading After Cancellation​

To upgrade from Free back to a paid plan:

  1. Go to Settings → Billing
  2. Click "Select Plan" or "Upgrade Plan"
  3. Choose your desired plan tier
  4. Enter payment information
  5. Immediate access to paid plan features

Deleting Your Account Permanently​

Important: Canceling your subscription does NOT delete your account. You'll be moved to the Free plan with all data retained.

If you want to permanently delete your Chat Aid account and all associated data:

  1. Go to Settings → General
  2. Scroll to the Danger Zone section
  3. Click "Delete Company"
  4. Read the warning carefully
  5. Confirm deletion

What gets permanently deleted:

  • All users and their accounts
  • All teams and data sources
  • All trained documents and knowledge
  • All conversation history
  • All settings and configurations
  • All integrations and connections
Permanent and Irreversible

Deleting your company is permanent and cannot be undone. All data will be permanently lost. This is different from canceling your subscription, which moves you to the Free plan.

For detailed instructions and what to consider before deleting, see: Delete Your Company Account

Billing Cycles​

Monthly Billing​

  • Charged on the same day each month
  • Usage resets monthly
  • Cancel anytime (no long-term commitment)

Annual Billing​

  • Charged once per year
  • Save 20% compared to monthly billing
  • Usage quotas reset monthly
  • Full year commitment

Changing Billing Frequency​

To switch from monthly to annual (or vice versa):

  1. Go to Settings → Billing
  2. Select "Update Plan"
  3. Choose annual or monthly billing
  4. Confirm change

What Happens:

  • Prorated credit for current period
  • New billing frequency starts immediately
  • Next charge date adjusts accordingly

Usage Tracking​

Monitoring Your Usage​

The billing page provides real-time visibility:

Monthly Questions:

  • Total asked this billing cycle
  • Questions remaining before limit
  • Reset date
  • Historical trends (if available)

Word Count:

  • Total words across all indexed data
  • Breakdown by data source (in Integrations page)
  • Remaining capacity

User Licenses (legacy Team plans):

  • Assigned licenses / Total purchased
  • Manage in Settings → User Management

Understanding Language-Based Question Credits​

Chat Aid charges different question credits based on language:

  • English and all languages except Chinese: 1 question credit per question
  • Chinese (Simplified and Traditional): 4 question credits per question

This reflects the additional computational resources required for certain languages.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Can I change from monthly to annual billing?​

Yes. Go to Stripe Customer Portal, select "Update Plan", and choose annual billing. You'll receive a prorated credit for your current monthly period.

What happens if I go over my question limit without overage billing enabled?​

Chat Aid will stop responding to new questions. Users will see a "quota exceeded" message. Service resumes on your next billing cycle reset date.

Do deleted questions free up my quota?​

No. Once a question is asked and counted, it cannot be uncounted even if the conversation is deleted.

What happens to my data when I cancel my subscription?​

Your account is automatically converted to the Individual (Free) plan. All your data remains intact and accessible. You are not deleted - you remain an active customer with Free plan limits (100 questions/month, 250k words).

Can I get a refund if I cancel mid-cycle?​

Generally no. Subscriptions are non-refundable, but you retain access through the end of your billing period. After that, you'll continue on the Free plan.

Do trial questions count toward my paid plan?​

No. Trial and paid plans have separate quotas. Your question count resets when you convert from trial to paid.

How do I see which sources use the most word count?​

Go to Integrations → select a connector → view individual source word counts. This helps identify your largest data sources.

What happens to my data when I downgrade?​

All data sources remain intact, but some features may be disabled depending on your new plan. Question and word count limits adjust on your next billing cycle.

How do I permanently delete my Chat Aid account?​

Canceling your subscription does NOT delete your account. To permanently delete your account and all data, go to Settings → General → scroll to Danger Zone → click "Delete Company". This action is permanent and cannot be undone. All data will be permanently deleted.

See detailed instructions: Delete Your Company Account

What's the difference between canceling and deleting?​

  • Canceling subscription: Moves you to the Free plan. All data retained. You remain an active customer.
  • Deleting account: Permanently removes your organization and ALL data from Chat Aid. Cannot be undone.

Need Help?

Our support team is here to help you get the most out of Chat Aid.