AblyDocs

Billing

With a Pro or Business package you pay for your package and MAU allowance in advance, and for any additional MAUs in arrears. Invoices are issued on the 1st of each month. How this works differs slightly depending on whether you're on monthly or annual billing.

Monthly billing

On the 1st of each month you pay for the month ahead, covering your package and your MAU allowance.

If you used more MAUs than your allowance in the previous month, the additional MAUs are included on the same invoice.

Annual billing

You pay for 12 months upfront at a discounted rate. Your 12-month term starts on the 1st of a month.

Any additional MAUs you use above your allowance are still invoiced monthly, on the 1st of the following month.

At the end of your term your package renews for another 12 months, on your current package and MAU allowance, unless you have scheduled a change.

Changing your package

You can change your package, your MAU allowance and your billing frequency at any time from the Packages page of your account. What happens next depends on whether the change gives you more or less.

Increases

Moving to a higher package, or increasing your MAU allowance, applies immediately and you pay the difference today:

  • An increase to your MAU allowance is charged as the difference between your old and new allowance for the whole of the current month. Your allowance always covers a whole month, so any additional MAUs you've already used this month are recalculated against your larger allowance.
  • A move to a higher package, such as from Pro to Business, is charged pro-rata for the remainder of the current month.

If you're moving from Free to monthly billing, your first month is charged pro-rata from today.

If you're on annual billing, you choose whether the increase applies now or when your term renews. If it applies now, you pay the difference for the remainder of your 12-month term today. If it applies at renewal, there is nothing to pay today.

Decreases

Moving to a lower package, or decreasing your MAU allowance, takes effect at the end of your current month, or at the end of your 12-month term if you're on annual billing. You keep your current package and allowance until then.

If a single change gives you more in one way and less in another, such as a higher package with a smaller allowance, the increase applies now and the decrease is scheduled. You can only have one scheduled change at a time, and making a new change replaces it.

Changing your billing frequency

Moving from monthly to annual billing starts your 12-month term on the 1st of the following month. If you also move to a higher package or increase your MAU allowance at the same time, your new package and allowance apply immediately and you pay for the full year today. Otherwise there is nothing to pay today, and the annual price is invoiced on the 1st.

Moving from annual to monthly billing takes effect at the end of your 12-month term.

Moving to Free

Moving to the Free package takes effect at the end of your current month, or at the end of your 12-month term if you're on annual billing. Your final invoice includes any additional MAUs you used in your last month.

Billing details and invoices

The following details will appear on your credit card or bank statement when payments are processed by Ably:

  • Name: Ably Realtime Ltd London
  • Processor: Stripe
  • Currency: $USD

To update your billing details:

  1. Ensure you are the account owner or have the billing role.
  2. Log in to your account and select Payment from the Billing section of the account sidebar.

You can update your payment details on this screen.

To view your invoices, select Invoices from the Billing section of the account sidebar.

It's also possible to have your invoices sent to an accounts department by filling in the Billing email field.

Billing alerts

Billing alerts notify you by email when your MAUs for the month, or your spend on additional MAUs, pass a threshold that you set. They are available on Pro and Business packages.

The following steps guide you through setting up billing alerts:

  • Log in to your Ably account.
  • Navigate to the Billing alerts page under the Billing section in the sidebar.
  • Click Create alert to open the alert form.
  • If you are an account owner, select the recipient from the Recipient dropdown. You can create alerts for yourself or any billing user associated with the account. If you are a billing user, alerts are created for yourself automatically.
  • Enter the number of MAUs, or the dollar value, that you wish to be alerted at.
  • Click Create alert to save.