How billing and trials work

VeloCMS uses Stripe for all billing. Every new subscription starts with a 14-day free trial during which you will not be charged, even though a valid card is required to start it. There is no free plan. When you sign up and verify your email, your site is created with no plan: you can draft, but you cannot publish until the trial starts. The site owner starts the trial from the dashboard (the banner at the top of the admin, or the Billing page), which opens Stripe Checkout where you add your card. Team members are asked to contact the owner. The whole system is straightforward: the trial starts when you add your card, ends on day 14, and the first charge hits on day 15.

Quick start — what the trial actually gives you

The 14-day trial is a full-feature trial — not a limited sandbox. You get access to every feature your chosen plan includes, including custom domains on Pro, the option to hide the 'Powered by VeloCMS' footer attribution on Agency, and AI writing tools on all paid plans. There's no separate 'trial tier' with watered-down functionality. The only thing that changes on day 15 is that your card gets charged. If you cancel before that, it's as if the subscription never started — no invoice, no charge, no awkward customer service call.

Why we collect a card when the trial starts

Collecting a payment method when the trial starts prevents abuse — bot farms spinning up hundreds of throwaway sites — without penalizing real users. You are in the driver's seat: cancel any time before day 15 and zero money moves. Stripe doesn't even create a pending charge; it just stores your payment method in case you decide to stick around.

The trial timeline

Before day 0 — You sign up and verify your email. Your site is created with no plan, so you can draft but not publish.
Day 0 — The site owner starts the trial from the dashboard and enters a card in Stripe Checkout. A Stripe subscription is created in trialing state.
Day 11 — We send a reminder email. The trial ends in 3 days — if you are not loving the product this is the time to cancel.
Day 14 — Last day of the trial. Still free.
Day 15 — First charge. You now have an active paid subscription billed monthly.

Monthly or annual billing

Annual billing saves 20% compared to monthly. Pick it with the toggle on the pricing page before you sign up; the trial is still 14 days and your first yearly charge happens on day 15.

Changing plans during or after the trial

You can upgrade or downgrade at any time from /admin/billing. Upgrades take effect immediately — you get the higher-tier features right away and Stripe prorates the difference. Downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period, which means you keep your current features until the period ends, then drop to the lower tier. During the trial, plan changes are instant and free — a good way to try Business before committing if you started on Pro.

Cancelling

Go to /admin/billing and click Manage Subscription. This opens the secure Stripe Customer Portal where you can cancel, change plans, update your card, or download invoices. Cancellations take effect at the end of the current billing period — you keep access to everything until then. If you're cancelling from within the trial (before day 15), cancellation is immediate and no charge ever hits.

Refunds

If you get charged on day 15 and change your mind, email [email protected] within 14 days of the first payment and we will refund in full — no questions asked. After that window, subscriptions are non-refundable but you can always cancel future renewals. This 14-day post-charge window exists for the case where you forgot to cancel before the trial ended — we're not trying to trap anyone.

Common pitfalls

The most common billing confusion is assuming the trial resets if you switch plans during the trial period. It doesn't — the trial end date is set when the trial starts and stays fixed regardless of plan changes. If you started your trial on March 1st, it ends on March 14th, even if you switched from Pro to Business on March 10th. Another thing: if you added a team member to your blog during the trial, that member's access ends too if you don't convert — so coordinate with your team before deciding to cancel. Finally, business customers often ask about invoices for VAT returns: they're in the Stripe Customer Portal under Payment History, downloadable as PDFs.

Pricing plans compared — feature differences between Pro, Business, and Agency
How to cancel your subscription — step-by-step cancellation flow
Processing refunds — for blog operators who receive payments from readers

Prices are shown in USD. VAT is added automatically at checkout for UK and EU customers — Stripe Tax handles rate calculation and reverse charge for B2B.