Plans and pricing

The plans page, titled "Your plan and usage", lives at https://app.areacacao.com/pricing and shows your current credit usage alongside the two available plans: Starter and Pro. You need to be signed in; if you aren't, it takes you to the sign-in screen.

Your current usage

At the top, the Current usage block shows your plan ([name] plan) and your credit usage for the month: [n] credits left, [n] used of [n] credits/month, and the Next renewal: [date]. Below it, a line tells you how many filling formulations your balance covers ("Enough for about [n] filling formulations…"). The bar changes color as you use credits: amber at 60% and red at 80%.

Currency

All prices are in US dollars (USD). There is no currency selector: the application charges in a single currency, so what you see on the card is exactly what appears on your card statement.

Monthly / Annual toggle

The plan cards have a billing cycle selector: Monthly and Annual. Monthly is selected by default. The Annual button carries the "2 months free with annual billing" badge: the year costs the same as ten monthly payments.

With Monthly, the large figure on each card is the monthly price. When you switch to Annual, the large figure becomes the equivalent monthly cost of the annual plan, and the line "[amount]/year · save X%" appears below it with the annual total. The percentage is calculated against each plan's own prices: 17% on Starter and 20% on Pro.

Under the price, each card states what is charged at renewal: "It renews automatically every month at [amount] until you cancel." (or "every year" on the Annual cycle).

The two plans

Starter — $12/mo

On the Monthly cycle (the default), the card shows $12/mo. With Annual, the large figure becomes $10/mo with the line "$120/year · save 17%".

300 credits/month, enough for about 25 filling formulations a month (validating, estimating water activity, costing, and saving use no credits). Includes:

• Unlimited recipes — create and save with no cap.
• Full formulator (5 chocolate types) — dark, milk, white, and vegan variants.
• Technical validation + risk alerts — catch inconsistencies before you produce.
• Cost and margin dashboard — cost per kg, sales scenarios, and target price.
• 10,000+ ingredients with macros — a professional catalog ready to use.
• Automatic allergens (14 EU) — calculates the 14 EU allergens from your ingredients; you verify the final label.
• Professional PDF sheets — ready to print and hand over.
• Costs in your working currency — your purchase prices as you pay them, no automatic conversion.
• 300 credits/month.

Pro — $25/mo · Recommended

On the Monthly cycle (the default), the card shows $25/mo. With Annual, the large figure becomes $20/mo with the line "$240/year · save 20%".

1,500 credits/month, enough for about 125 filling formulations a month. Includes everything in Starter, plus:

• 10 sensory test types — 9 follow the method of an ISO or ASTM standard, plus ISO 8586 panel training and statistical analysis.
• Shelf life with 95% CI — regression on your real tastings.
• Batches with bean-to-bar traceability — from pod to finished product.
• Technical PDF dossiers — consolidated by batch, supplier, client, or period.
• Login-free digital mode (QR, nothing to install) — your panel tastes from their phone.
• AreaCacao wheel (93 attributes) — a shared language with your B2B client.
• 1,500 credits/month.

How many credits does each AI operation use?

The "How many credits does each operation use?" block lists the operations that spend credits. The rate is flat per operation: it does not depend on the size of what you process. Formula validation, water activity, cost breakdowns, and sensory analysis use none.

Switch or activate a plan

On each card, the button shows Activate [plan] if you don't have a plan yet, or Switch to [plan] if you already have one. Your current plan is marked with the Current plan badge and a disabled Your current plan button.

What happens when you click depends on whether you already have an active subscription:

• If you don't have a paid plan (a legacy free account or a subscription that has ended), the app opens secure checkout (Stripe) to complete the subscription.
• If you already have a paid plan, you don't go to Stripe: a plan change confirmation modal opens with the charge details. See Switch plans to learn how the change works (upgrading or downgrading).

Scheduled change banner

If you have a scheduled downgrade, the plans page shows a banner above the cards: "You'll move to [plan] on [date]. Until then, you keep your current plan." with a Cancel change button to undo the change before its effective date. More detail in Switch plans.

Tasting packs

Below the credits table is the Add-on tasting packs section, for running one-off tastings without moving to Pro. See Tasting packs.

Sensory module demo

At the bottom of the plans page there's a highlighted block, "AreaCacao Sensory — See the sensory module →", that opens a public demo of the sensory module. The subtitle sums up what it includes (sensory wheel, professional tasting, shelf life with 95% CI, B2B technical dossier) and reminds you that it's included in the Pro plan, with its price for the selected cycle.

Questions about your plan?

The footer of the plans page reads: "Questions about your plan? Email us at support@areacacao.com." You can also check Manage your payment method or your Invoice history.