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Understand Your Omnisend Paid Plan Charges

Understand Omnisend billing cycles, tier upgrades, prorated charges, and what counts as a billable contact

Written by Paulius

Once you upgrade to a paid Omnisend plan (Standard or Pro), your billing cycle runs every 30 days from your upgrade date. You're charged based on your billable contact count (subscribers + non-subscribers) and billed upfront each cycle.

This article explains how billing works, tier upgrades, prorated charges, and what counts as a billable contact.


Billing Period

Omnisend offers monthly subscriptions billed every 30 days. Your credit card is charged automatically every 30 days.

Your billing cycle runs every 30 days from the date you first upgraded, not from the 1st of each month. For example, if you upgraded on the 12th, your next billing date will be the 12th of the following month. Check your next billing date in the Profile menu (top left).

What Counts as a Billable Contact?

You're charged based on billable contacts – this includes:

  • Subscribers – Opted-in for email, SMS, or push notifications

  • Non-subscribers – Customers who provided their email/phone through placing an order, abandoning a cart, etc., but never opted in to marketing.

Only unsubscribed contacts (those who opted out) are excluded from billing.

To check your billable contacts, create a segment. Go to Audience → Segments → Create segment → Create from Scratch → Add filters:

  • Subscription status is subscribed to any of Email, push notifications, and SMS, OR

  • Subscription status is non-subscribed to any of Email, push notifications, and SMS.

You can also see your pricing plan details under Store Settings → Pricing and usage.

Note: If you signed up with a promotional discount (e.g., 30% off for 3 months), your price will increase when the promotion expires. Check Store Settings → Pricing and usage → Billing history to see if a discount was applied and when it ends.

Why Non-Subscribers Count

Non-subscribers can still receive automated transactional messages like order confirmations and cart abandonment reminders. Because they use Omnisend's system for these messages, they count toward your billable contacts.

This is why your billable contact count may be higher than your subscriber count.

SMS Subscriptions (Separate Charge)

SMS subscription is an optional add-on charged separately from your Omnisend plan. SMS access depends on when you subscribed:

Legacy SMS pricing for eligible Free and Standard users

Free and Standard users who already had an active SMS Credits Subscription before May 4, 2026, and have kept their qualifying legacy setup and SMS subscription active since then:

  • You can continue using SMS at the applicable legacy send prices.

  • If you change plans, you move to the current version of the selected plan.

  • If you cancel the legacy SMS Credits Subscription, you cannot re-subscribe while remaining on Free or Standard. To use SMS again, you must upgrade to Pro.

Current SMS pricing

  • Pro plan only: SMS is available through an SMS Credits Subscription with volume-based pricing as low as $0.007/SMS. Rates depend on your monthly SMS spend and the recipient country.

  • Free and Standard: SMS not available

If you subscribe to SMS credits, this appears as an additional charge on your billing history. Your email plan and SMS subscription are billed independently. 

To manage both, go to Store Settings → Pricing and usage.

⚠️ Important: If you have both an Omnisend paid plan and an SMS Credits Subscription, they are billed separately and appear as separate charges in your billing history.

Upgrading Your Plan

Omnisend pricing is based on billing tiers. Your billing tier adjusts automatically as your contact list grows or shrinks.

After your first payment, your tier is based on your current number of subscribers and non-subscribers.

Upgrading Your Billing Tier (Mid-Cycle)

If you import contacts mid-cycle or your list grows, you'll be prompted to upgrade your tier immediately when you try to send a campaign that exceeds your current limit.

For example, if you upgraded your account with a small number of contacts and imported additional contacts before the end of the billing cycle, you'll see a prompt to upgrade when you try to send a campaign to more contacts than your current billing tier allows in the Send step.

You must click Upgrade to confirm the charge before the campaign sends. This prevents campaigns from being blocked due to insufficient tier limits.

How Prorated Charges Work

When you upgrade mid-cycle:

  • The charge is prorated based on the exact number of days remaining in your billing cycle, considering the amount you already paid.

  • Your invoice is generated immediately and available under Store Settings → Pricing and usage → Billing history.

  • You receive a prorated number of email credits (not the full tier amount) because you're paying a prorated price.

Note: Tier upgrades are based on the increased number of contacts, not email credit limits.

FAQ

Why am I being charged twice in one month?

You may see separate charges if you have both an Omnisend paid plan and an SMS Credits Subscription. These subscriptions are billed separately. Check Store Settings → Pricing and usage to see both subscriptions. You can cancel your SMS subscription anytime if you don't need it. Learn how to Manage Your Omnisend SMS Credits & Subscription

Why did my monthly price suddenly increase?

Price increases usually happen for two reasons:

  1. Promotional discount expired – If you signed up with a discount (e.g., 30% off), your price returns to standard rates when the promotion ends. Check Store Settings → Pricing and usage → Billing history to see if a discount was applied.

  2. Contact list grew – Omnisend pricing is based on your billable contact count (subscribers + non-subscribers). If your list grew, you may have moved to a higher tier automatically at the start of your new billing cycle. Learn more: Omnisend Pricing Plans.

  3. Separate SMS charge after Legacy Pro retirement – Legacy Pro was retired on October 26, 2026, and remaining Legacy Pro brands were moved to the current Pro plan. SMS is no longer included with Pro and is billed separately through an SMS Credits Subscription. If your recent SMS usage indicated that you needed a subscription, one may have been added automatically based on your last 30 days of SMS usage. Your underlying Pro plan price was not recalculated as part of the migration.

    • If your account was identified as having a migration-related cost increase of more than 20%, temporary migration pricing protection may apply for six months. Contact our Support team for account-specific details.

Why am I charged for more contacts than my subscriber count?

You're billed for both subscribers (opted-in for marketing) and non-subscribers (customers who placed orders, abandoned carts, or created accounts without opting in). Non-subscribers can still receive automated messages like order confirmations and cart reminders, so they count toward your billable contacts.

To check your exact breakdown, create a segment: Audience → Segments with filters for subscribed and non-subscribed statuses. Learn more: Understand Contact Statuses by Channel

What does "upgrade your billing tier immediately" mean?

If you try to send a campaign to more contacts than your current tier allows, you'll see a prompt to upgrade immediately. This happens when you import contacts mid-cycle or your list grows.

You must click Upgrade to confirm the charge. The amount is prorated based on the days remaining in your cycle. Your invoice is generated immediately and can be accessed under Store Settings → Pricing and usage → Billing history.

Why can't I send a campaign even though I have enough contacts in my plan?

You may have exceeded your monthly contact reach limit. This is the total number of unique contacts you can reach across all campaigns and automations during your billing cycle. It's separate from your email credit balance.

For example, if your tier allows 11.5K contacts per month, but you've already reached 12.3K contacts through earlier campaigns, you'll need to upgrade or wait until your cycle resets.

Check Store Settings → Pricing and usage for your next billing date and current contact reach.

How do I calculate my prorated charge when upgrading mid-cycle?

Prorated charges are based on the number of days left in your billing cycle.

Formula: 
Divide your current payment by 30 days, then multiply by the remaining days to find your unused credit. Subtract that from your new plan's price.

Example:
You paid $70 for Standard 15 days ago (30-day cycle). You have ~$35 credit left. Upgrading to Pro ($105) will cost you ~$70 ($105 - $35).

You can always check your next billing date in your Profile menu (top left).

Why am I seeing international transaction fees on my invoice?

If your bank or credit card is issued outside the United States, you may see international transaction fees added by your financial institution. These fees are not charged by Omnisend – they're applied by your bank for processing foreign currency transactions. To avoid these fees, consider using a payment method that doesn't charge international transaction fees, or contact your bank to understand its fee structure.


Need a hand? Chat with our Support Team directly in the app or email [email protected].

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