Usage-based channels pricing
How much it costs to send Outbound Emails and show Product Tours and Surveys.
Written By Markus Palm
Last updated About 2 hours ago
Overview
You can use Outbound Emails, Product Tours, and Surveys on all paid plans, no add-on required. You only pay for usage beyond the included free allowances.
Each month, your workspace includes 5,000 free Outbound Emails and 500 free Outbound Messages.
Outbound pricing works as follows:
Pricing is tiered (see our Price Breakdown table below)
As you send more messages, you enter higher tiers with lower prices
Your monthly bill is calculated by summing the cost across all tiers you used
Outbound Emails
Outbound Emails are proactive emails you send to your customers, such as onboarding messages and product announcements. This includes Emails created in Outbound and Updates Emails sent to your subscribers.
Both count towards the same monthly email usage. Your first 5,000 Outbound Emails are free each month, with tiered pricing applied beyond that.
What counts as an Outbound Email?
Each email sent to a recipient counts as one Outbound Email. Sending the same email to 1,000 recipients counts as 1,000 emails.
Note: These emails are free of charge and do not count towards Outbound Emails usage:
Support emails and email notifications sent from the Inbox
Preview emails sent from the email editor
Price breakdown
Email pricing example
This month, you are sending 25,000 Updates Emails to inform your customers about a new product launch:
Tier 1 (first 5,000 emails): Free
Tier 2 (next 5,000 emails): 5,000 × $0.00300 = $15.00
Tier 3 (remaining 15,000 emails): 15,000 × $0.00250 = $37.50
Add up the costs from each tier: $52.50
So, it would cost $52.50 to send 25,000 Outbound Emails.
Outbound Messages
Outbound Messages help you guide customers and collect feedback inside your product. This pricing covers Product Tours, which guide users through a task or feature, and in-app Surveys, which ask users questions and collect their answers.
Both count towards the same monthly message usage. Your first 500 Outbound Messages are free each month, shared across Product Tours and Surveys, with tiered pricing applied beyond that. Outbound Emails are counted and billed separately.
What counts as a message?
A message counts when it appears to a user. They do not need to interact with it or complete it.
Note: Builder and Messenger previews, teammate views, test sends, and identified bot traffic do not count. Chats, Banners, and Help Center Surveys are not charged as Outbound Messages.
Price breakdown
Outbound Messages pricing example
This month, you show a Product Tour to 2,000 users and a Survey to 1,000 users. Your total Outbound Messages usage is 3,000:
Tier 1 (first 500 messages): Free
Tier 2 (next 500 messages): 500 × $0.0400 = $20.00
Tier 3 (next 1,000 messages): 1,000 × $0.0250 = $25.00
Tier 4 (remaining 1,000 messages): 1,000 × $0.0140 = $14.00
Add up the costs from each tier: $59.00
So, it would cost $59.00 for 3,000 Outbound Messages.
How we bill
Outbound Emails and Outbound Messages are billed based on your actual usage. We calculate usage continuously, but charges are finalized monthly, whether you pay monthly or annually for your plan.
At the end of each monthly usage period, you are charged for usage beyond the included allowances. Your usage and free allowances reset for the next period.
Note: If your unbilled usage-based charges reach $100, we automatically charge that amount before the period ends. This threshold applies across your subscription's usage-based charges. Any remaining usage is charged at the end of the period.
View your usage and manage limits
You can track your Outbound Emails and Outbound Messages usage at any time by going to Settings → Billing.
This view shows:
Your current Outbound Emails and Outbound Messages usage for the month
An estimate of upcoming usage-based charges
How close you are to your usage caps
Note: If you do not have access to billing pages, you will need Billing access permissions from an admin on your workspace.
Outbound Messages limits
In Settings → Billing → Outbound Messages, click 'Edit usage caps'. Edit your Soft Cap and Hard Cap, then click 'Save Caps'. Enter the number of messages for each cap; the editor shows its estimated cost.
Soft Cap - Shows a notice on the usage card when reached
Hard Cap - Stops further Outbound Messages charges for the period
A hard cap that you set also pauses new Product Tours started from links, the API, or cards for users with verified identities.
FAQ
How many Outbound Messages can I show during a trial?
How many Outbound Messages can I show during a trial?
You can show up to 500 Product Tours and Surveys combined at no charge during your trial. Once you reach the limit, choose a paid plan to keep showing them.
Do messages shown to anonymous visitors count?
Do messages shown to anonymous visitors count?
Yes. Product Tours and Surveys shown to anonymous visitors count towards Outbound Messages usage, just like those shown to signed-in users.
How do I increase my Outbound Emails allowance?
How do I increase my Outbound Emails allowance?
Go to Settings → Workspace → Email sending → Sending status.
If you see editable Soft Cap and Hard Cap fields, enter the amount you need in Hard Cap and select 'Save Caps'.
If the amount needs review, Featurebase shows a request form. Explain what you plan to send, the size of the audience, and why recipients expect those emails. Some workspaces with a temporary sending limit may see 'Request a higher limit' directly.
A higher-cap request is for a workspace that is already approved to send customer-facing email. If your workspace has not been approved yet, request email-sending access instead.
What happens if my Email audience is larger than my available allowance?
What happens if my Email audience is larger than my available allowance?
Before you send, schedule, or set an Email live, Featurebase warns you if the audience is larger than the available allowance.
Featurebase sends the email to as many recipients as the available allowance permits. Remaining recipients are delayed and retried automatically after your allowance resets or your cap is increased.
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