This article explains what happens when a member upgrades or downgrades their membership plan on Steady:
Upgrades take effect immediately, with a fair price adjustment based on the remaining (already paid for) time in the current billing cycle.
Downgrades take effect at the end of the current payment cycle (month or year), so supporters keep the benefits they already paid for.
An upgrade is when you switch to a higher-priced membership plan. We also consider a switch from a monthly to an annual membership plan an upgrade.
When you change to a higher-priced plan or from a monthly to annual plan, the change is activated immediately. You will immediately gain access to the new plan’s benefits.
When upgrading, you will pay the difference between the old plan and the new plan, for the remainder of the billing cycle.
Example
You purchased an annual membership of the "Basic Plan" on January 1, which costs €60 / year (equivalent to €5 / month). The membership term is from January 1, 2025 until January 1, 2026.
On July 1, 2025, you decide to upgrade to the "Premium Plan" costing €120 / year (equivalent to €10 / month).
Since we keep your membership billing period from January 1, 2025 until January 1, 2026 fixed, you are only charged half of the cost of the "Premium Plan" (60€).
Since you have used only half of your "Basic Plan" membership, we will allocate the remaining half (30€) as credits towards your new invoice.
Therefore, the amount due on the day of the upgrade is reduced to 30€.
The membership's billing period will not change. In the example above, the membership will continue until January 1, 2026 and then renew at the full price of
€120 / year.
A downgrade is when you switch to a cheaper membership plan. For example switching from one higher-priced to a lower-priced monthly or annual membership.
When a member downgrades, the change takes effect at the end of their current billing period. Until then, they keep their current benefits.
No immediate adjustment or refund is made.
You continue with their current plan until the end of the term.
At renewal, you are charged the new lower price.
You will see the scheduled plan change (downgrade) on your membership card in the Steady backend.
You are a member of "Premium Plan" for €10/month. The billing period is from July 1 to August 1, 2025.
On July 15, you choose to downgrade to the "Basic Plan" for €5/month plan.
You will keep your Premium Plan benefits until August 1.
On August 1, we switch you to the Basic Plan and will charge your payment method €5/month for August 1 to September 1 membership period.
Action | Effective date | Immediate cost | Renewal price |
Upgrade | Immediately | Pay the difference for the remaining cycle | Full new (higher) price |
Downgrade | End of current cycle | No change now | Full new (lower) price |
Guest memberships: Switching plans only works if you have not assigned guest memberships. Revoke your guest memberships first, and re-assign them with the new plan if it includes guest access.
Getting an error message when switching? The plan you are trying to switch to is probably not available anymore (for example, because the publisher archived or hid it).
Purchased an annual plan by accident? Contact us right away at [email protected] – you can then cancel and purchase a monthly plan instead.
