Use case: You sell a Design Subscription and a Design Subscription Pro. You want clients on the standard plan to move up to Pro on their own, and Pro clients to step down if they need to, without being able to switch to unrelated services.
Upgrade and downgrade paths are set on each recurring service. They decide which plans a client sees when they update their subscription. Self-serve plan changes only work for subscriptions paid through Stripe.
Set up the paths for a service
Go to Services > All services, open the menu next to a recurring service and click Edit.
Go to the Pricing details step and scroll down to Upgrade & downgrade paths.
Choose how clients can switch:
Allow billing period changes off: pick the services under Available services. Clients can move to those services, but only on the billing period they already pay (a monthly client sees the monthly price of each plan).
Allow billing period changes on: pick exact prices under Available service variations, grouped by service. This lets a client switch plan and billing period at the same time, for example from monthly to yearly.
Click Next to save the pricing details.
Good to know: Switching Allow billing period changes on or off clears the plans you picked, so select them again before you save.
Paths only go one way. To let Pro clients downgrade to the standard plan, edit Design Subscription Pro and add Design Subscription to its paths as well. Only recurring services appear in the list.
What your clients see
The client goes to Settings > Profile and account > Subscription.
They open the menu on their subscription card and click Update. This option only appears when the subscription is paid through Stripe and its service has at least one path.
On the Update plan page they see their Current plan and the plans you allowed, each with an Upgrade or Downgrade button. If you allowed billing period changes and the plans cover more than one billing period, they're split into one tab per period.
They review the change, can add a Coupon code, and click Confirm upgrade or Confirm downgrade.
When the change takes effect
Upgrades apply right away by default. The client can tick Schedule change at end of billing period (no immediate charge) instead.
Downgrades are always scheduled for the end of the current billing period.
A change to a different billing period is always applied at the end of the current one.
A plan counts as an upgrade when its price is higher than the client's current price; otherwise it counts as a downgrade. Prices are compared as they are, so a yearly price usually shows as an upgrade from a monthly one.
FAQ
Do paths limit what I can do as an admin?
No. Paths only limit clients. Admins can still change a client's subscription to any plan. See How to upgrade or downgrade subscriptions.
A client says they don't see Update. Why?
Check that the subscription is paid through Stripe, that it's active or trialing, and that its service has at least one path.
A client sees No plans available for upgrade. Why?
With billing period changes off, a target service only shows up if it has a price on the client's current billing period. For example, a monthly client can't move to a service that is only sold yearly.
How do I offer the same service monthly and yearly?
Add several billing periods to the service first. See the article How to offer monthly and annual pricing on one service.