Upgrading Your Plan
Save $11.89 per year by upgrading from Premium Monthly to Premium Annual. This guide explains the upgrade process and billing.
Why Upgrade to Annual?
Cost Savings
Premium Monthly:
- $5.99/month
- $71.88/year
Premium Annual:
- $4.99/month
- $59.99/year
Savings: $11.89/year (17% discount)
Other Benefits
- One payment per year (not 12)
- Locked-in rate for the year
- Less billing overhead
- Best value plan
How to Upgrade
Important: Cancel First
If you currently have a Monthly subscription, you must cancel it first before subscribing to Annual. Otherwise, you’ll have two active subscriptions.
Step-by-Step Process
- Open Balance app
- Go to Settings (tap profile icon) > Plan & Subscription
- This opens Stripe Customer Portal
- Cancel your current Monthly subscription (it will remain active until the end of your billing period)
- Return to Balance app
- Go to Pricing page or tap “Subscribe” button
- Select “Premium Annual”
- Enter payment information
- Complete checkout
- Done!
Important: Your Monthly subscription will remain active until it expires, then your Annual subscription will begin. You won’t be charged twice, but you may have overlapping subscriptions briefly.
Billing After Upgrade
Immediate Changes
Upon upgrade:
- Monthly subscription ends
- Annual subscription begins
- New anniversary date set
- Charged full annual amount ($59.99)
New Billing Date
Your new anniversary:
Upgrade date: January 15, 2024
↓
Next annual charge: January 15, 2025
One year from upgrade date.
Future Charges
Going forward:
- Charged once per year
- Same anniversary date
- $59.99 annually
- Until canceled
When to Upgrade
Ideal Timing
Anytime is fine, but consider:
After 1-2 Months:
Pros:
- Verified you love Balance
- Comfortable with long-term commitment
- Still get most of year's savings
Cons:
- Paid a few monthly charges first
Immediately After Trial:
Pros:
- Maximum savings from day 1
- Lock in annual rate
- Fewer billing transactions
Cons:
- Higher upfront cost ($59.99 vs $5.99)
Mid-Subscription:
Pros:
- Start saving immediately
- Any time is good
Cons:
- Pay full $59.99 (no credit for unused monthly time)
- Previous monthly payments are not credited
Our Recommendation
Wait 1-2 months on Monthly to:
- Confirm you’ll use Balance long-term
- Verify partner uses it too
- Then upgrade to Annual for savings
Or jump straight to Annual after trial if confident!
Upgrade vs. New Subscription
If Currently Subscribed (Monthly)
To upgrade:
- Cancel your Monthly subscription first
- Then subscribe to Annual plan
- Pay full $59.99 (no credit for unused monthly time)
- Seamless transition
- No service interruption
If Not Currently Subscribed
This is a new subscription, not an upgrade:
- Start fresh with Annual
- No credit (nothing to credit)
- Pay full $59.99
What Stays the Same
After Upgrading
No changes to:
- Your data
- Your categories
- Your budgets
- Bank connections
- Features available
- App functionality
- Partner access
Only billing changes!
What if I Change My Mind?
Cannot Downgrade Mid-Year
Once on Annual:
- Committed for the year
- Cannot switch back to Monthly mid-year
- Can cancel (revert to Free)
- Or wait until anniversary to switch to Monthly
At Renewal
When Annual renews:
Option 1: Let it renew (stay on Annual)
Option 2: Cancel before renewal
- Subscription expires
- Revert to Free plan
- Re-subscribe to Monthly
FAQs
“Will I save money if I’m 10 months into Monthly?”
It depends:
Months remaining in year: 2
Monthly cost for 2 months: $11.98
Annual cost: $59.99
You'll pay $59.99 now, which is more than the $11.98 remaining.
However, you'll save $11.89 over the next full year.
Best to upgrade at the start of a new billing cycle for maximum savings.
“Can I upgrade in the middle of my trial?”
You can subscribe to Annual during trial:
- But this ends trial (you’re now paying)
- Trial lets you test free for 30 days
- Recommend finishing trial first
- Then subscribe to Annual
“What if my payment fails?”
Same as any failed payment:
- Stripe retries automatically
- You get email notification
- Update payment method
- Or subscription cancels after retries
Learn more about billing issues →
“Can couples each have Annual subscriptions?”
No need! One subscription covers:
- Both partners
- Multiple profiles
- Shared budget
- All devices
One Annual subscription = whole household
Troubleshooting
“Don’t see how to upgrade”
To upgrade from Monthly to Annual:
- Cancel your Monthly subscription first (via Plan & Subscription in settings menu)
- Then go to Pricing page or Subscribe button
- Choose Annual plan
- Complete checkout
Note: There is no direct “upgrade” button. You must cancel Monthly first, then subscribe to Annual.
“Getting error when upgrading”
Try:
- Check internet connection
- Update payment method
- Try again in a few minutes
- Different browser
- Contact support if persists
“Charged wrong amount”
Check:
- Look at invoice in Stripe portal
- Should be $59.99 for Annual plan
- Contact support with invoice if wrong
Next Steps
Ready to save $11.89/year?
- Managing Your Subscription - Access subscription settings
- Canceling Your Subscription - If you need to cancel
- Billing Issues - Troubleshoot payment problems
- Plans Comparison - Review plan details
Questions? Contact our support team - we’re here to help!