Every IndieStand creator begins with a 14-day free trial — no credit card required. This gives you time to set up your store, publish products, upload files, and even start making sales before choosing a paid plan.
Once your trial ends, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan to keep using IndieStand without interruption. Your store remains fully functional during the trial.
1. Free Trial (No Credit Card Required)
When you sign up, your store enters a 14-day trial that unlocks almost all IndieStand features. You will be able to:
- Customize your store
- Upload files and publish releases
- Make real sales through Stripe
- Install themes
- Explore paid-plan features safely
What happens when the trial ends?
If the trial expires before you upgrade to a paid plan, your store becomes locked. This means:
- No new product publishing
- No new file uploads
- No new sales
- No theme editing
- Existing uploaded files marked for deletion after a 30-day retention period
Your storefront is not deleted, but becomes inaccessible, until you upgrade to a paid plan.
2. How IndieStand Billing Works
IndieStand subscriptions are processed through Stripe via Stripe Managed Payments, our official merchant-of-record partner.
Stripe handles:
- Your IndieStand subscription billing
- VAT & tax collection
- Invoices & compliance
- Proration & plan change calculations
- Refund requests and disputes for your IndieStand subscription (not your customer sales) go through Stripe
Your IndieStand subscription is separate from your Stripe Connect sales, which go directly to your Stripe account.
3. Changing Your Plan (Upgrades & Downgrades)
You can change your plan at any time. IndieStand uses a creator-friendly, fair-billing system powered by Stripe (via Stripe Managed Payments).
All plan changes take effect immediately using Stripe's prorated charge model.
Upgrades (e.g., Starter → Pro)
When you upgrade:
- Your new plan's features unlock instantly
- You are charged a prorated cost difference, based on how much time is left in your current billing cycle
- The charge happens immediately
- Your billing period continues as normal
This ensures you get access right away and pay only for the remaining portion of the current cycle at the new plan's rate.
Downgrades (e.g., Pro → Starter)
When you downgrade:
- Your new plan takes effect immediately
- You are credited a prorated refund for the unused portion of your previous plan
- The credit is automatically applied by Stripe (typically as a deduction to your payment method or credit toward your next invoice)
- Your new plan's limits and features apply right away
This gives you immediate cost savings while ensuring you receive fair value for the time already paid on your previous plan.
4. Storage Limits When Downgrading
If you downgrade to a plan with a lower storage allowance, you may immediately be above the new plan's limit.
To keep things safe and predictable, IndieStand provides a 7-day grace period starting from the moment your downgrade takes effect.
During this grace period:
- Your store continues working normally
- No files are deleted
- You can remove large unused files to fit within your new limit
- Buyers keep full access to everything they purchased
After the 7-day grace period
If you still exceed the storage limit:
- IndieStand begins automatic cleanup
- We remove older or unused files first
- Buyer-critical files are preserved whenever possible
- Cleanup continues until you fit within the new plan's limit
We do everything possible to make this transition painless.
5. Cancelling Your Subscription
You can cancel your subscription anytime.
When you cancel through the Stripe customer portal:
- Your plan remains active until the end of the current billing period
- Your store becomes locked afterward
- All your files are retained for 30 days
- Buyers keep access to files during this entire period
- You can renew at any time before deletion occurs
6. File Retention After Your Plan Ends
After cancellation, there is a 30-day retention window.
During these 30 days:
- All files remain intact
- Product download links for existing buyers continue to work
- No new uploads or edits are allowed
- Your storefront is inactive, but your content is safe
After the 30-day retention period
If the subscription isn't renewed:
- All files are permanently deleted
- Buyer download links stop working
- Your store remains locked
This ensures abandoned stores don't incur ongoing storage costs for IndieStand.
7. What Buyers Experience
IndieStand is designed to protect your customers.
If you cancel:
- Buyers who purchased before cancellation keep access during the entire 30-day retention window
- After that, file access is no longer possible and download links expire automatically
If you downgrade:
- Buyers keep access to all files associated with their past purchases
- If your storage is above the new plan limit after the 7-day grace period, some files may be removed
- We try to preserve buyer-critical files first
Your customers' experience remains stable and predictable.
8. Need a Custom Plan?
If your store exceeds the limits of our Business plan—whether through product size, catalog volume, or traffic—we offer custom plans tailored to your needs.
Contact us:
We'll work with you to build something that fits your scale.
9. Summary
Here's the quick overview:
- Free trial: 14 days, full access, no credit card
- Billing provider: Stripe (via Stripe Managed Payments)
- Upgrades: Immediate, with prorated charge for the cost difference
- Downgrades: Immediate, with prorated credit/refund applied
- Storage downgrades: 7-day grace period before automatic cleanup
- Cancellation: Access continues until period end
- Retention: 30-day file retention after cancellation
- Buyer access: Guaranteed during active + retention periods
IndieStand aims to make billing predictable, creator-friendly, and transparent.
You can manage your plan at any time in: App → Settings → Subscription Plan