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In this example we’ll create the pricing for a premium AI chatbot. We’re going to have:
  • A Free plan that gives users 5 chat messages per month for free
  • A Pro plan that gives users 100 chat messages per month for $20 per month.

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1. Create your pricing plans

Create a plan for each tier that your app offers. In our example we’ll create a “Free” and “Pro” plan.
  • Dashboard
  • CLI
Create your Autumn account, and the Free and Pro plans in the Plans tab.
  • On the Plans page, click Create Plan.
  • Name the plan (eg, “Free”) and select plan type Free
  • Toggle the auto-enable flag, so that the plan is assigned whenever customers are created
  • In the plan editor, click Add Feature to Plan, and create a Metered, Consumable feature for “messages”
  • Configure the plan to grant 5 messages, and set the interval to per month
  • Click Save

Your Free plan should look like this

  • On the Plans page, click Create Plan.
  • Name the plan (eg, “Pro”) and select plan type Paid, Recurring, and set the price to $20 per month
  • In the plan editor, click Add Feature to Plan, and add the messages feature that you created in the Free plan
  • Configure the plan to grant 100 messages, and set the interval to per month
  • Click Save

Your Pro plan should look like this

Browse our Cookbooks for guides on setting up credit systems, top ups and other common pricing models.

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2. Installation

Create an Autumn Secret key, and paste it in your .env variables. Then, install the Autumn SDK.
.env
AUTUMN_SECRET_KEY=am_sk_test_42424242...

bun add autumn-js

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3. Create an Autumn customer

When the customer signs up, create an Autumn customer for them. Autumn will automatically enable the Free plan, since you marked it with the auto-enable flag. 
import { Autumn } from "autumn-js";

const autumn = new Autumn({
	secretKey: process.env.AUTUMN_SECRET_KEY,
});

const { data, error } = await autumn.customers.create({
	id: "user_or_org_id_from_auth",
	name: "John Doe",
	email: "[email protected]",
});
Autumn’s customer ID is the same as your internal user or org ID generated from your auth provider, so you can use the same ID for everything.
In the Autumn dashboard, you will see your user under the customers page.

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4. Stripe Payment Flow

Handling payments and enabling plans is a 2-step process:
  • checkout to get “checkout” information (either a Checkout URL, or purchase confirmation data)
  • attach to enable the product for the customer and charge a saved payment method.

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Checkout

Call the checkout function to get Stripe checkout page when the customer wants to purchase the Pro plan, and pass it to your frontend. If their payment details are already on file, a Checkout URL will not be returned. Instead, checkout preview data (eg, prices) will be returned, which you can use to display to the user. This lets them confirm their upgrade, downgrade or new purchase. 
import { Autumn } from "autumn-js";

const autumn = new Autumn({ 
  secretKey: process.env.AUTUMN_SECRET_KEY 
});

const { data } = await autumn.checkout({
  customer_id: "user_or_org_id_from_auth",
  product_id: "pro",
});

if (data.url) {
  // Return Stripe checkout URL to frontend
} else {
  // Return upgrade preview data to frontend
}
Use Stripe’s test card 4242 4242 4242 4242 to make a purchase in sandbox. You can enter any Expiry and CVV.

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Attach

If the payment details are on file and the customer has confirmed their upgrade, use the attach function to charge their card and enable the plan. This call is only needed if there was no URL returned from the checkout step. 
import { Autumn } from "autumn-js";

const autumn = new Autumn({ 
  secretKey: process.env.AUTUMN_SECRET_KEY 
});

const { data } = await autumn.attach({
  customer_id: "user_or_org_id_from_auth",
  product_id: "pro",
});
No matter what scenario: new subscriptions, upgrades, downgrades, renewals, one-off payments, always follow this 2 step process.Upgrades will happen immediately, and downgrades will be scheduled for the next billing cycle.
Next steps Now that the plan is enabled and you’ve handled payments, you can now make sure that customers have the correct access and limits based on their plan.

Gating Features

Enforce usage limits and feature permissions using Autumn’s check and track functions