Billing FAQ

Common questions about billing, payments, and subscriptions

Payment & Billing

How are payments processed? All payments are handled by Paddle, our Merchant of Record. Paddle manages billing, tax collection, and payment processing on our behalf.

What payment methods are accepted? Paddle supports major credit/debit cards and regional payment methods. Available options may vary by country.

Are prices shown with tax included? Prices may or may not include tax depending on your region. Paddle calculates applicable taxes at checkout based on your location.

What currencies are supported? Pricing is available in USD, GBP, and EUR. Your payment is processed in the currency shown at checkout.

Token Credits

Do unused tokens roll over? Yes — but with a cap. Your monthly credits roll into the next month, up to one extra month's worth of allowance. That applies to both Pro and Creator. If you're already at the cap when your renewal hits, the new monthly grant is silently absorbed up to the cap — we never reduce your existing balance. Top-up credits (Creator only) sit outside this cap and never expire.

What happens if I run out of tokens? It depends on your tier:

  • Free: Generation pauses and you're prompted to upgrade. Existing scribes, highlights, and notes stay accessible.
  • Pro: Coffeescribe gives you extra tokens to finish your work — once per billing cycle. After that, further generation is paused until you upgrade to Creator (the increase covers the rest of the cycle) or your renewal arrives.
  • Creator: Same goodwill safety net as Pro — once per billing cycle, if you empty out we give you extra tokens to finish your current work. After that, buy a top-up any time — your balance refills immediately and the top-up never expires.

Can I buy more tokens? Top-ups are Creator-only. Free and Pro users see an upgrade-to-Creator prompt rather than a top-up purchase. On the Creator tier, you can buy a top-up from your Settings or billing page; the new tokens are added to your balance immediately and never expire.

Why aren't top-ups available on Pro? Top-ups create an "always pay-as-you-go" path that competes with simply moving to Creator. We chose to keep the tier story clean: Free is the trial, Pro is a fixed monthly bucket, Creator is the unlimited-flexibility tier with the model picker and top-ups. Both Pro and Creator get a one-cycle goodwill grant safety net so a mid-scribe empty-out doesn't interrupt your work. If you regularly run out before your renewal on Pro, Creator is almost always the better fit.

How do I check my token balance? Your token balance shows up as a meter in the navbar, your Library, and the Workspace. The meter has four states — Plenty / Getting low / Very low / Empty — that tell you what you actually need to know without exposing a raw token count. Free, Pro, and Creator all see the same meter. The exact token quantity for a top-up purchase is shown once at the moment of purchase (Creator only).

What's the carry-over cap, exactly? Both Pro and Creator cap their carry-over at one extra month's worth of allowance. If you used nothing this month, you'd start next month with twice your normal monthly allowance — this month's untouched balance plus the new month's grant. If you're already at or above the cap when renewal hits, the renewal grant is absorbed up to the cap silently — no email, no warning, no reduction of your existing balance. Top-ups (Creator only) can push above the cap because they're purchased separately and never expire.

Models & Generation

Why can't Pro pick the model? Pro is locked to the CoffeeScribe Model — the curated default that Free also uses. We chose this so the experience is predictable and the cost is stable: model choice is a power-user decision that creates support load without adding value for most readers. Pro's Pro-ness comes from elsewhere — bigger token bucket, audiobooks, private scribes, Verify Validity, AI Chat in Notebooks, unlimited PDF exports. See What is the CoffeeScribe Model? for the full reasoning.

What happens if I want to pick my own model? Upgrade to Creator. Creator unlocks the model picker — but the CoffeeScribe Model still shows up at the top, pre-selected and recommended. The picker offers alternatives, not a switch. The full 350+ catalogue is one click away in a collapsed "advanced" disclosure with an at-your-own-risk warning (smaller models may produce lower-quality output). See What is the CoffeeScribe Model? for the picker structure.

Subscription Changes

Can I change my plan at any time? Yes. Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades and cancellations take effect at the end of your current billing period.

Is upgrading prorated? Yes. When upgrading from Pro to Creator, you only pay the difference for the remainder of your current billing cycle.

What happens to my scribes if I downgrade? All your existing scribes remain accessible regardless of your tier. You just lose access to tier-specific creation and editing features.

Can I cancel and keep my tokens? Yes. Your existing token balance is preserved when you change or cancel a tier. New tier rules apply going forward — for example, a downgraded user uses the locked CoffeeScribe Model instead of the picker. Your books, exports, and saved work are always yours regardless of tier.

Can I pause my subscription? Yes. Pausing takes effect at the end of your billing period. You can undo the pause or resume at any time.

Refunds & Cancellation

Can I get a refund? Subscriptions are non-refundable. When you cancel, you retain access to paid features until the end of your current billing period.

What happens when I cancel? Your account reverts to the Free tier at the end of your billing period. All existing scribes remain accessible. You can resubscribe at any time.

Can I undo a cancellation? Yes, as long as your billing period hasn't ended. Go to your Settings page and click "Undo Cancellation."

Free Tier

Is the Free tier really free? Yes. No credit card required. You receive a welcome credit on signup and can access the full app — all creation modes, Workspace, Research Cafes, web search, and all export formats.

What's the catch with the Free tier? Free is locked to the CoffeeScribe Model — the curated default we maintain so you don't need to think about it. All scribes are public, audiobook generation isn't available, and PDF exports are limited to 3 lifetime (Word, EPUB, StoryBook, Markdown stay unlimited). When your welcome credit runs out, you'll need to upgrade to continue creating.

What happens when my free tokens run out? Any action that costs tokens (creating scribes, research, AI analysis) shows an upgrade prompt. Your existing scribes, highlights, notes, and exports remain accessible — you just can't generate new content. Upgrade to Pro or Creator for monthly token credits.

Can I delete scribes on the Free tier? Yes. All users (Free, Pro, and Creator) can delete any of their scribes, including completed ones.