Billing, Payments, & Refunds | FAQ


Learn how you'll be charged and how you can change your account's billing or payment setup.

Note: The plans, prices, and autoscaling examples outlined in this resource reflect the most recent (February 27, 2023) changes to Privy's product offerings. Please see your account's My Plan & Billing or Plans pages for more information on your current plan and available options. 

Billing Overview

Privy currently offers a selection of plans and add-ons to address different needs. They are:

  • Trial: The trial allows users to use Privy's Convert (list growth) and Email tools with limited restrictions for a 15-day period.
  • Convert: A conversion-only plan allows users to use Privy's Convert tool to grow their subscriber list, make on-site announcements, and increase sales via displays (e.g., popups). 
  • Starter: A Starter plan allows users to access the full functionality of Privy's Convert and Email products with pricing based on the account's mailable contacts. 
  • Growth: A Growth plan allows users to access the full functionality of Privy's Convert, Email, and Text products with pricing based on the account's mailable and textable contacts. 

Each of these plans is managed separately. To add, remove, or change the limits of one of the plans outlined below, please review the Account Management | FAQ guide. 

Privy will maintain a pricing page here. By using the Privy Service, you agree to pay Privy the amount set forth on the pricing page for the particular Privy Service to which you are subscribing. Privy will provide you with fourteen (14) days advance notice of any pricing changes via email, and your continued use of the Privy Service following such notice period will constitute your acceptance of these changes.

Privy's Free Trial

You can start a free trial by creating an account or adding the Privy app to your BigCommerce, Shopify, or Wix store. The trial provides access to:

  • Privy Convert has no features or traffic limitations for 15 days. 
  • Privy Email has some email type restrictions and a 100-send limit per day for 15 days. 

That means you can install Privy, launch targeted displays with automated after signup messages, capture as much contact information as you want, and start nurturing those relationships via email. 

Note: Trials only provide access to Convert and Email features with some restrictions. A paid upgrade is required to access Privy's email tools without feature limits or send text messages via Privy Text (SMS). Either upgrade ends the free trial experience at this time. Additionally, once an account is on a paid Privy plan, you can not go back to the trial experience. 

What happens when the trial ends? 

Privy Convert: After 15 days, trial accounts will need to move to a paid plan to continue using Privy's Convert product. Check out the My Plan & Billing page in your account to keep track of this metric following the trial period. Should you choose not to upgrade, your active Privy displays will be paused and will not be shown to any of your website visitors. A subsequent upgrade will automatically re-enable the paused displays.

Note: As of February 14th, 2024, the free plan is no longer available for merchants who end their trial or cancel their accounts. The following section applies only to those merchants who ended their trial or canceled their accounts before February 14th, 2024.

Privy Email: After 15 days, trials will need to move to a paid plan to continue using Privy Email. This upgrade also removes the trial's feature limitations, allowing you to send more than 100 emails per day, schedule emails, and enable welcome series for your displays. 

Privy Convert

Note: To purchase a Convert-only plan, you must connect with an e-commerce coach. This plan is not available for purchase in-app. 

Privy Convert uses a tiered pricing model based on the average pageviews per month that your website receives. The base plan is $24/month and includes up to 10,000 pageviews. If you are interested in this plan, please reach out to our team at billing@privy.com. 

Privy Starter

The Privy Starter Plan is a scaling plan and will scale based on the number of mailable contacts in the account. Our first tier for this bundle is $30/month for up to 1,500 mailable contacts, 1,501-2,000 mailable contacts would be $45/month, then the price would scale as follows:

  • 2,000-25,000 mailable contacts: scales $15/month for every 1,000 mailable contacts.
  • 25,000-100,000 mailable contacts: scales $30/month for every 5,000 mailable contacts.
  • 100,000 mailable contacts or more: scales $60/month for every 10,000 mailable contacts.

Check out the My Plan & Billing page in your account to track these metrics and review the pricing page for more details on each plan's cost. 

Note: Privy Text (SMS) is not included in the Starter plan and requires an additional fee.

Privy Growth

The Privy Growth Plan is a scaling plan and will scale based on the number of mailable contacts in the account. Our first tier for the Growth Plan bundle is $45/month for up to 2,000 mailable contacts and 75 textable contacts with 450 sends. Should you go over these limits, the plan would scale as follows:

Email scaling:

  • 2,000-25,000 mailable contacts: scales $15/month for every 1,000 mailable contacts.
  • 25,000-100,000 mailable contacts: scales $30/month for every 5,000 mailable contacts. 
  • 100,000 mailable contacts or more: scales $60/month for every 10,000 mailable contacts.

Text scaling:

  • 75 - 200 textable contacts: scales by $15/month
  • 200-500 textable contacts: $5/month increase for every 100
  • 500-1,250 textable contacts: $5/month increase for every 250
  • 1,250-5,000 textable contacts: $15/month price increase for every 250
  • 5,000 and up textable contacts: $50/month price increase for every 1,000

Additionally, there is a cap on the number of texts you can send or receive per month that is equal to 6X your billable contact tier. For example, if you have 200 textable contacts, you can send 1,200 text messages a month.

Check out the My Plan & Billing page in your account to track these metrics, and review the pricing page for more details on each plan's cost. 


Billing FAQ

Find answers to common questions about the billing process for your account. 

What currency does Privy use for billing?

Privy bills customers in United States Dollars (USD). 

How can I pay for Privy?

Privy's Starter and Growth plans can be paid for through your Shopify account or via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover). Privy Text (SMS) and Conversion-only plans can only be paid for via credit card. 

Credit card payments are processed using Stripe. For more information about the strict security measures that Stripe uses, please see the Stripe Security Page

How can I update my payment information?

In your Privy account, click your account name in the top right corner, select the Plans and Pricing option from the dropdown menu, and scroll down to Payment method.

How do I access my invoices?

In your Privy account, click your account name in the top right corner, select the Plans and Pricing option from the dropdown menu, and scroll down to Invoices. Here you'll find your last 12 invoices with credit card billing. If you need older invoices, please email billing@privy.com and request them. 

Note: If you are billed via Shopify, your invoices will be on the Shopify platform. 

When will I be charged?

Shopify: Payments processed via Shopify will be included in your next Shopify bill. 

Credit Card: Payments processed via credit card will be charged immediately for the first invoice, any plan changes thereafter will be reflected on your next billing date.

For example, if your first payment was on March 1st, your next payment will be on April 1st and the 1st of every month going forward. This billing cycle will continue until the plan is canceled. Once you make the change to your upgraded plan, you will have access to those features immediately, regardless of a mid-cycle change. 

Note: These guidelines do not apply to accounts on annual or bundled plans. The payment schedule for those plans will be specified in your agreement. 

How does contact autoscaling work?

Privy bills you based on the highest number of mailable/textable contacts in your account for each billing cycle. If an account reaches the contact limit of one of its Privy plans, you'll automatically be upgraded to the next tier, which will be reflected in your next billing cycle. 

Conversely, if the account drops below a previous contact limit, you'll automatically be moved to a lower tier. No notification is sent, and no action is required from the account owner. 

Check out this resource to make changes to your Privy plans. If you choose to cancel a plan mid-cycle, you will lose access to any paid features associated with that plan immediately.

My Shopify bill has two charges. Why?

Shopify separates a plan's base charge from the additional pricing associated with your particular usage tier. For example, if your Starter plan moves from $30 to $45, the charges reflected in Shopify Billing would be $15 for the base charge and $30 for the additional usage charges. 

Failed Payment Banner

In the event that Privy is unable to process your most recent payment, an account status banner will be placed within your account, directing you to take action in the My Plans and Pricing section. The banner will remain in place on the account until the failed payment has been successfully reconciled.

Refund policy

The billing team reviews all refund requests on a case-by-case basis. A transaction is refund-eligible for ten (10) days, with the review period starting on the initial charge date. Please note that exceptions to this policy are made on a case-by-case basis. If you believe your situation warrants special consideration, please contact our customer support team, and we will do our best to assist you.

Specific instances where a refund is not required or will not be issued include: 

Upgrades or Downgrades

If you decide to switch plans mid-cycle, a refund is not required. Should you need to change plans midcycle, simply reach out to us at billing@privy.com, and we will help ensure you are not double billed. 

Account Inactivity

Privy is not automatically canceled if the account isn't being used or is uninstalled from your website/storefront, the store is closed, or there is any instance where the account is not going to be used for a period of time. If Privy no longer meets your business needs, or you are not planning to use Privy for some time, please cancel the desired individual plan or close the account entirely to avoid additional charges. Failure to close your account or account properly or lack of usage will not result in a refund. 

Annual Billing

Annual billing provides customers with a discount by requiring an upfront payment. Due to the nature of this discount, Privy cannot extend refunds to subscriptions on annual billing. Any annual plan cannot be canceled or closed until the next annual renewal date.

Promotional Rates

Privy does not offer refunds on plans that are receiving a promotional discount. Additionally, the discounted rate only applies to the plan that is currently active. If the plan is upgraded to a more expensive plan, the promotion will no longer apply. 

Accidental Upgrades

Privy has designed the upgrade path to include several steps, where a plan's pricing is clearly listed and where multiple actions must be taken to confirm the purchase decision. With this in mind, Privy does not offer a refund for a plan that was upgraded by following these steps. Please cancel the desired individual subscription or close the account entirely to avoid additional charges.  

Acceptable Use Policy

If you engage in any of the activities listed in the Acceptable Use Policy, Privy reserves the right to terminate your access to or use of the Privy service, disable your Privy account or access to the Privy Service, and remove all or a portion of your content, in each case at any time, with or without notice and without refund. Privy may also report your activity to the applicable legal authorities or third parties for abuse or fraud prevention.

Refund FAQ

I'm Shopify billed. Can you refund me?

If you have a Shopify billed account, the Privy Team is happy to assist you with a refund request, but ultimately, this will need to be processed by Shopify's Financial Team. If approved by Privy, a Privy representative will gladly reach out to Shopify on your behalf. 

How long until I see my refund?

Approved refunds can take 5-10 business days to reflect on your bank statement or Shopify account.

Additional Questions

Billing support is available via email between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST (excluding weekends and holidays) at billing@privy.com. You may also leave a voicemail at (240) 453-4282, and the team will return your call during regular business hours. Please note that this phone number is only for billing purposes. All other inquiries should be directed to Privy's Support team at support@privy.com or via live chat.

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