How Billing & Features Work
The core model behind Blox — who controls billing, how feature access is granted, and what happens when plans change.
This is the single most important concept to understand about Blox. Billing, feature availability, and usage limits are not set per individual user — they are controlled at the workspace level by the workspace Owner, and everyone else in the workspace inherits access from the plan the Owner has chosen.
If you've ever wondered "why is this feature locked for me?" or "who can change our plan?", this page answers it.
The Three Layers of Control
Three parties shape what you can and cannot do. Understanding which layer controls what removes almost all confusion.
| Layer | Who | What they control |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Blox (the provider) | Defines the plan catalog — which plans exist, their prices, which features each plan unlocks, and the quota limits attached to each plan. |
| Workspace Owner | The admin who created or owns the workspace | Chooses and pays for the plan. Their choice sets the feature access and limits for the entire workspace. |
| Members | Editors, Viewers, and site collaborators | Receive access automatically, based on the workspace's active plan and their assigned role. They cannot change billing. |
Think of it as a building. The platform decides which floors exist and what's on each floor. The Owner buys the keycard that unlocks certain floors — and because it's their keycard, it opens the same floors in every building (workspace) they own. Members use that same keycard; their role decides which doors on the unlocked floors they're allowed to open.
How Billing Works
Plans are owned and paid for by the Owner
Every workspace has exactly one active plan at a time, inherited from its Owner's personal subscription. Only the Owner can:
- Choose a plan or change to a different one.
- Enter and update payment details.
- Upgrade, change, or cancel the subscription.
- View invoices and payment history.
Editors and Viewers never see billing controls. If they try to use a feature that isn't on the current plan, they're shown a prompt to ask an Owner to upgrade — they cannot upgrade themselves.
Because billing belongs to a single person, transferring a workspace's ownership also transfers billing responsibility for it — the in-app confirmation is explicit: "You will lose owner privileges. Billing and plan management will transfer to the new owner." Make sure the new Owner has a valid payment method before confirming.
The plan determines feature access for everyone in the workspace
When the Owner's plan changes, its capabilities apply to every workspace that Owner has at once — there's no per-workspace or per-member purchasing. If the plan includes custom domains, every eligible member of every one of that Owner's workspaces can configure custom domains. If it doesn't, no one can — including the Owner — until the plan is upgraded.
Usage limits, credits, and quotas are plan-based
Beyond on/off feature access, each plan sets quotas — numeric ceilings such as the number of sites, pages per site, storage, or monthly form submissions. Most quotas (like sites) are tracked separately per workspace against the plan's shared limit; a few (like total workspaces and AI credits) are tracked across every workspace the Owner has, since they draw from the same subscription. See Usage Limits & Quotas for the full list.
Subscription status gates access in real time
Access depends not only on which plan is active but on whether the subscription is in good standing. A subscription whose payment has failed (status Past Due) keeps working during a grace period, but if it lapses, paid features become unavailable until billing is restored. See the subscription lifecycle.
How Features Work
Features are not globally available by default
A new workspace, or one that has changed to a lower plan, does not automatically have every capability. Features are unlocked by the plan — nothing more, nothing less. This is why two users on the same platform can have very different experiences: their subscriptions are on different plans.
Feature access is inherited, then scoped by role
Access flows down in two steps:
- The plan unlocks the feature for the workspace. This is the gate. If the plan doesn't include a feature, it's locked for everyone in that workspace.
- The member's role decides what they can do with it. Once a feature is unlocked, a member's role determines whether they can use it fully, partially, or only view it.
Platform defines plans
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Owner's subscription ──► unlocks features + sets quotas (applies to every workspace they own)
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Member's role ──► scopes what each member can do with the unlocked features
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What you can actually doBoth gates must pass. A feature is usable only if (1) the plan includes it and (2) your role permits it. A Viewer on the highest-tier plan still cannot publish pages — the plan unlocks publishing, but the Viewer role doesn't grant it.
Locked vs. limited features
There are two different ways a feature can be unavailable, and the distinction matters:
| State | Meaning | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Locked | The feature isn't part of your plan at all. | A "feature locked" overlay (e.g. Custom Domain Locked, App Marketplace Locked) with an upgrade prompt — or, for features without a dedicated overlay, the action is blocked with an error when you try it. |
| Limited | The feature is included, but capped by a quota you've reached. | The feature works, but the relevant Create / Add action shows a "Limit reached" notice. |
Locked features need a plan upgrade. Limited features need either a higher plan (bigger quota) or for you to free up usage (e.g. delete an unused site). See Feature Access for the full breakdown.
What Happens When the Plan Changes
Plan changes are designed so you never lose paid work unexpectedly. The timing differs depending on the direction of the change.
When you upgrade
Upgrades on an existing paid subscription can apply immediately or be scheduled for your next renewal — you choose at the time you upgrade. Newly included features unlock right away (for an immediate upgrade) and quotas increase. Any content that was blocked by the old plan's limits becomes editable again. Billing is pro-rated for an immediate upgrade. See Upgrading.
When you change to a lower plan
Plan changes to a lower plan are deferred to the renewal date so you keep your features for the rest of the billing period you already paid for. On the renewal date the lower plan takes effect, and any features it no longer includes become locked.
A plan change does not delete your data. If the new plan's quota is smaller than what you currently use (for example, you have 5 sites but the new plan allows 3), your existing content is preserved and remains viewable, but you can't create new items in that category until you're back under the limit. Locked-feature content (such as a custom domain) stops being served until you upgrade again.
When auto-renew is turned off (cancellation)
There's no separate "Cancel subscription" action — cancelling means turning auto-renew off. The plan remains fully active until the end of the current paid period; after that, the workspace(s) fall back to the most limited tier — paid features lock and quotas drop to the free baseline. Your sites, pages, and data are retained. Turning auto-renew back on before the period ends reverses this instantly.
When the subscription expires (payment fails)
If a renewal payment fails, the subscription enters a Past Due grace period. A banner warns the Owner to update payment, with a Retry payment link. During the grace period the workspace(s) keep working. If payment isn't restored before the grace period ends, paid features are suspended exactly as with auto-renew ending — and resume the moment a successful payment is made.
| Event | Timing | Effect on features | Effect on data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upgrade | Immediate or scheduled | More features unlock; quotas increase | Unchanged; blocked content becomes editable |
| Plan Change | At renewal | Some features may lock; quotas decrease | Preserved; creation blocked above new limits |
| Auto-renew off | At period end | Paid features lock | Preserved (read-only for paid features) |
| Payment fails / expires | After grace period | Paid features suspended until paid | Preserved; resumes on payment |
Real-World Scenarios
Scenario 1 — A contractor can't connect a domain. Maria (an Editor) is asked to point a client's custom domain at their new site, but the Domains tab shows a Custom Domain Locked overlay. The workspace's plan doesn't include custom domains. Maria can't fix this herself — the workspace Owner must upgrade to a plan that includes the feature. Once they do, the Domains tab unlocks for Maria automatically.
Scenario 2 — Hitting a site limit mid-project. An agency on a mid-tier plan (which allows, say, 10 sites — just an example) tries to spin up an 11th client site. Submitting the + New Site dialog fails with a "Limit reached" notice. This is a limit, not a lock — they can either upgrade to a higher tier for a bigger cap, or archive/delete an old site to free a slot.
Scenario 3 — Changing plans without losing work. A business changes from a higher tier to a lower one to cut costs. The change is scheduled for their renewal date, so they keep the higher-tier features until then. After the switch, a capability that only the higher tier offered (for example, a larger AI-generation quota) is reduced, but every site, page, and form they built remains intact and online.
Scenario 4 — A failed card. A workspace Owner's saved card expires and the monthly renewal fails. The subscription goes Past Due and a banner asks them to retry payment. The team keeps working during the grace window. The Owner adds a new card, the charge succeeds, and the subscription returns to Active with no interruption.
Quick Reference
- Who pays? The workspace's Owner — billing belongs to their personal account, shared across every workspace they own.
- Who can change the plan? Only the Owner.
- What unlocks a feature? The active plan (the gate), then your role (the scope).
- Why is something locked? It's not on the current plan — ask an Owner to upgrade.
- Why did a create action fail with "Limit reached"? You've hit a usage limit — upgrade or free up usage.
- Will I lose data if we change plans or stop auto-renew? No. Data is preserved; paid features pause until you upgrade or renew.
Related
- Feature Access — Exactly which features are plan-gated and how locks behave.
- Usage Limits & Quotas — The quotas every plan sets and what happens at the cap.
- Subscription Management — Upgrades, plan changes, and the full lifecycle.