Billing and Subscriptions

Simple, Transparent Pricing for Modern Teams

We believe infrastructure automation should be accessible to everyone—from solo developers to large enterprises. That's why our pricing is straightforward: pay per developer seat, get generous automation minutes included, and scale as you grow.

The Pricing Promise: No hidden fees, no surprise bills, no complex calculators. Just honest pricing that scales with your team.

How Billing Works

Planton Cloud uses a hybrid pricing model that's both predictable and fair:

graph LR
    A[Subscription] --> B[Per Seat Cost]
    A --> C[Included Minutes]
    
    D[Usage] --> E[Automation Minutes]
    E --> F[Overage Charges]
    
    B --> G[Monthly Bill]
    C --> G
    F --> G
    
    style A fill:#4CAF50,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style D fill:#2196F3,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

Two components:

1. Subscription Fee: Based on number of seats (team members)
2. Usage Charges: Based on automation minutes used

Subscription Tiers

Free Tier

Perfect for: Individual developers, small projects, evaluation

What's included:

• Full platform access
• All cloud providers
• Basic integrations
• Community support

Limitations:

• Stops at 100 minutes (upgrade required)
• No priority support
• Basic SLA

Plus Tier

Perfect for: Growing teams, production workloads

What's included:

• Everything in Free
• 3x more automation minutes
• Overage billing (no hard stops)
• Priority email support
• Better SLA

Best for:

• Teams of 2-20 developers
• Regular deployments
• Production environments

Pro Tier

Perfect for: Large teams, heavy automation users

What's included:

• Everything in Plus
• Unlimited developer seats
• 10x more automation minutes
• Dedicated support
• Custom contracts
• Enterprise SLA

Best for:

• Large engineering organizations
• Heavy CI/CD users
• Enterprise requirements

Understanding Automation Minutes

What Are Automation Minutes?

Automation minutes track the compute time used by:

• Build Minutes: Creating container images in pipelines
• Deployment Minutes: Running Stack Jobs for infrastructure

They measure actual execution time, not wall clock time.

What Counts as Minutes

Build Minutes (ServiceHub)

Git Push → Pipeline Starts → Timer Starts
  │
  ├─ Clone Repository (0.5 min)
  ├─ Build Container (3 min)
  ├─ Push to Registry (0.5 min)
  │
  └─ Timer Stops = 4 minutes used

Deployment Minutes (InfraHub)

Deploy Resource → Stack Job Starts → Timer Starts
  │
  ├─ Terraform Init (0.2 min)
  ├─ Terraform Plan (0.5 min)
  ├─ Terraform Apply (2.3 min)
  │
  └─ Timer Stops = 3 minutes used

What Doesn't Count

• Viewing the console
• Managing team members
• Creating configurations
• Waiting for approvals
• Reading logs
• Platform overhead

Tracking Usage

Monitor your usage in real-time:

1. Go to Billing in sidebar
2. See current month usage
3. View historical trends
4. Set up usage alerts

Screenshot Placeholder: Billing dashboard showing usage graph

Billing Cycles and Payment

Monthly Billing

• Billing Period: Calendar month
• Payment Date: 1st of each month
• Usage Reset: Monthly
• Proration: Yes, for mid-month changes

How Charges Are Calculated

Monthly Bill = Subscription + Overage

Where:
- Subscription = Number of Seats × Tier Price
- Overage = Max(0, Used Minutes - Included Minutes) × $0.06

Example (Plus Tier, 5 developers, 400 minutes used):

Subscription: 5 seats × $19 = $95
Included: 300 minutes
Overage: 400 - 300 = 100 minutes × $0.06 = $6
Total: $95 + $6 = $101

Payment Methods

Accepted:

• Credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Amex)
• ACH/Wire (Enterprise only)
• Annual prepayment (discount available)

Not accepted:

• PayPal
• Cryptocurrency
• Purchase orders (except Enterprise)

Managing Your Subscription

Viewing Current Plan

1. Navigate to Billing section
2. See current subscription:
   • Tier (Free/Plus/Pro)
   • Number of seats
   • Included minutes
   • Current usage

Screenshot Placeholder: Billing overview showing current plan

Upgrading Your Plan

From Free to Plus:

1. Click "Upgrade" in billing section
2. Enter payment information
3. Confirm number of seats
4. Immediate access to Plus features

To Pro Tier:

1. Contact sales team
2. Discuss requirements
3. Get custom quote
4. Sign enterprise agreement

Managing Seats

Seats are counted as:

• Active organization members
• Excluding viewers (in some plans)
• Auto-adjusted monthly

Adding seats:

• Automatic when inviting members
• Prorated for partial months
• Reflected in next bill

Removing seats:

• Remove members from organization
• Credits applied to next bill

Cost Optimization

Monitor Usage Patterns

High Usage Areas:
  - Large Docker builds
  - Complex Terraform deployments
  - Frequent rebuilds
  - Multiple environments

Optimization Strategies

1. Optimize Build Times

• Use build caching
• Minimize Docker layers
• Use efficient base images
• Enable incremental builds

2. Reduce Deployment Frequency

• Batch changes together
• Use preview environments wisely
• Implement good testing
• Avoid unnecessary refreshes

3. Right-Size Resources

• Don't over-provision
• Use auto-scaling
• Clean up unused resources
• Consolidate similar resources

Usage Alerts

Set up notifications:

Alert Thresholds:
  - 50% of included minutes
  - 80% of included minutes
  - 100% of included minutes
  - Every 100 overage minutes

Common Billing Scenarios

Scenario 1: Startup Growth

Month 1: Free tier, 2 developers, 80 minutes used

• Cost: $0
• Status: Within limits

Month 3: Hit 100 minute cap

• Action: Upgrade to Plus
• Cost: 2 × $19 = $38/month

Month 6: 5 developers, 350 minutes

• Cost: 5 × $19 + 50 × $0.06 = $98

Scenario 2: Enterprise Migration

Initial: 50 developers, heavy automation

• Tier: Pro (custom pricing)
• Included: 2,000 minutes
• Typical usage: 1,500 minutes
• Predictable costs

Scenario 3: Seasonal Business

Regular months: 10 developers, 200 minutes

• Tier: Plus
• Cost: 10 × $19 = $190

Peak season: Same team, 500 minutes

• Cost: $190 + 200 × $0.06 = $202
• Only pay more when you use more

Billing FAQ

General Questions

Q: When do I get charged? A: On the 1st of each month for the previous month's usage.

Q: Can I prepay annually? A: Yes, contact sales for annual discounts (typically 10-20%).

Q: What happens if my card fails? A: 7-day grace period, then account suspension (data preserved).

Free Tier Questions

Q: What happens at 100 minutes? A: Automation stops. Upgrade to continue. Running resources are not affected.

Q: Can I reset my free minutes? A: Minutes reset monthly on the 1st.

Q: Is Free tier really free? A: Yes, no credit card required to start.

Plus/Pro Questions

Q: How is overage calculated? A: Simple: (Used - Included) × $0.06 per minute.

Q: Can I set spending limits? A: Yes, configure alerts and optional hard caps.

Q: Do viewers count as seats? A: Depends on plan. Check with sales.

Billing Best Practices

1. Start Small

• Begin with Free tier
• Understand usage patterns
• Upgrade when needed

2. Monitor Regularly

• Check usage weekly
• Set up alerts
• Review bills monthly

3. Optimize Continuously

• Track high-usage operations
• Optimize build/deploy times
• Clean up unused resources

4. Plan for Growth

• Budget for team expansion
• Anticipate usage increases
• Consider annual plans

Special Programs

Startup Program

• 50% discount for qualified startups
• Up to $1,000 in credits
• 12-month duration
• Apply through website

Open Source

• Free Pro tier for qualifying projects
• Unlimited seats and minutes
• Public projects only
• Annual renewal

Education

• Free Plus tier for students
• Discounted team plans
• Teaching resources
• No time limit

Getting Help with Billing

Billing Support

Free Tier:

• Help documentation
• Community forum

Plus Tier:

• Email: billing@planton.cloud
• Response time: 24 hours

Pro Tier:

• Dedicated account manager
• Phone support
• Priority resolution

Common Billing Tasks

Update payment method:

1. Billing → Payment Methods
2. Add new card
3. Set as default
4. Remove old card

Download invoices:

1. Billing → Invoices
2. Select month
3. Download PDF

View usage details:

1. Billing → Usage
2. Filter by service
3. Export CSV

What's Next?

With billing understood:

• Getting Started - Make the most of your minutes
• Teams & Access - Manage your seats
• Platform Tour - Explore all features
• Cost Optimization Guide - Save money

Remember: Our pricing is designed to grow with you. Start free, upgrade when ready, and only pay for what you use. No surprises, just simple, fair pricing for modern teams.