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Free plan users can optionally add a payment method so that if they exceed their included usage, they’re billed for the overage rather than blocked. This is done by having two plans: a Free plan (no overages) and a Pay-as-you-go plan (with overage pricing). This is useful when you want to:
  • Avoid blocking engaged free users who exceed limits
  • Convert free users to paying customers through natural usage growth
  • Offer a “soft limit” experience without requiring upfront payment

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Example case

We have a product with the following pricing:
  • Free plan: 1,000 notifications per month included, blocked when exceeded
  • Pay-as-you-go plan: 1,000 notifications per month included, $1 per 1,000 notifications beyond the included amount
If a free user exceeds 1,000 notifications, they get blocked. If they’ve switched to Pay-as-you-go (by adding a card), they’re charged $1 per 1,000 notifications at the end of the billing period.

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Configure Pricing

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Create Feature

Create a metered consumable feature called “notifications”.
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Create Free Plan

Create a free plan with 1,000 notifications included per month. Set auto-enable so new customers automatically start on this plan.
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Create Pay-as-you-go Plan

Create a Pay-as-you-go plan with the same 1,000 notifications included, but with overage pricing:
  • Grant amount: 1,000 notifications
  • Price: $1 per 1,000 notifications per month
  • Billing method: Usage-based
In advanced, toggle off the “Reset usage when enabled” flag. This ensures that when a user switches from Free to Pay-as-you-go, their existing usage carries over instead of resetting to 0.

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Implementation

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Create an Autumn Customer

When your user signs up, create an Autumn customer. This will automatically assign them the Free plan with 1,000 included notifications.
import { useCustomer } from "autumn-js/react";

const App = () => {
  const { customer } = useCustomer();

  console.log("Autumn customer:", customer);

  return <h1>Welcome, {customer?.name || "user"}!</h1>;
};
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Check Access

Before sending a notification, check if the customer has remaining capacity.
import { useCustomer } from "autumn-js/react";

export function SendNotification() {
  const { check } = useCustomer();

  const handleSendNotification = async () => {
    const { data } = await check({ featureId: "notifications" });

    if (!data?.allowed) {
      // User is over limit on Free plan
      // Prompt them to switch to Pay-as-you-go
      alert("You've run out of notifications. Add a payment method to continue.");
      return;
    }

    // Proceed with sending notification
  };
}
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Track Usage

After sending a notification, track the usage.
import { Autumn } from "autumn-js";

const autumn = new Autumn({
  secretKey: 'am_sk_42424242',
});

await autumn.track({
  customer_id: "user_123",
  feature_id: "notifications",
  value: 1,
});
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Switch to Pay-as-you-go

When the user is approaching or has exceeded their limit, prompt them to switch to the Pay-as-you-go plan. Use attach with setup_payment: true to collect their card without charging upfront.
You can retrieve the user’s notification balance from the check or customer method, and use this to conditionally prompt them to add a payment method.
import { useCustomer } from "autumn-js/react";

export default function EnableOveragesButton() {
  const { attach } = useCustomer();

  return (
    <button
      onClick={async () => {
        const { data } = await attach({
          productId: "pay_as_you_go",
          setupPayment: true,
        });

        if (data?.url) {
          window.location.href = data.url;
        }
      }}
    >
      Enable Pay-as-you-go
    </button>
  );
}
Once the user completes the setup, they’ll be switched from the Free plan to the Pay-as-you-go plan. Because “Reset usage when enabled” is off, their existing usage carries over. Any usage beyond 1,000 notifications will be billed at the end of the billing period.
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Overages are Now Enabled

After switching to Pay-as-you-go, the user’s check response will show overage_allowed: true. They can continue using the feature beyond their included limit.

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Summary

PlanOver LimitResult
FreeNo✅ Allowed
FreeYes❌ Blocked
Pay-as-you-goNo✅ Allowed
Pay-as-you-goYes✅ Allowed, billed at end of period