Plans and pricing

The plans page lives at https://app.areacacao.com/pricing —titled "Your plan and usage"— and shows your current credit usage alongside the two available plans: Starter and Pro. It requires you to be signed in; without a session, it takes you to the login.

Your current usage

At the top you see your active plan and your credit usage for the month: [n] credits left, [n] used of [n] credits/month, and the Next renewal: [date]. The bar changes color as you consume (green, amber, and red as you approach the limit).

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. Annual is enabled by default and shows the annual saving as a badge: paying for the full year is cheaper than twelve monthly payments.

With Annual enabled (the default), the large figure on each card is the equivalent monthly cost of the annual plan, not the standalone monthly price. Below it appears the line "[amount]/year · save X%" with the annual total. Only when you switch to Monthly does the large figure show the monthly cycle price.

Under each card's annual price you'll see its exact percentage on a "save X%" line, calculated against that plan's own prices: on Starter the year comes out ~42% cheaper than twelve monthly payments, and on Pro ~40%.

The two plans

Starter — $7/mo ($84/year) with Annual

With the Annual cycle (default), the card shows $7/mo as the large figure and the line "$84/year · save 42%". On the Monthly cycle, the large figure changes to $12/mo.

300 AI credits/month. 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 kilo, sales scenarios, and target price.
• 10,000+ ingredients with macros — a professional catalog ready to use.
• Automatic allergens (14 EU) — meet regulations with no manual effort.
• Professional PDF sheets — printable with your logo.
• Multi-currency — EUR, USD, and automatic conversion.
• 300 AI credits/month.

Pro — $15/mo ($180/year) with Annual · Recommended

With the Annual cycle (default), the card shows $15/mo as the large figure and the line "$180/year · save 40%". On the Monthly cycle, the large figure changes to $25/mo.

1,500 AI credits/month. Includes everything in Starter, plus:

• 11 sensory evaluations — ISO tests, 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 — per sample or consolidated by origin.
• Login-free digital mode (QR + offline) — your panel tastes from their phone.
• AreaCacao wheel (79 attributes) — a shared language with your B2B client.
• 1,500 AI credits/month.

How many credits does each AI operation use?

Credits are spent when you use AI-powered features. These amounts are approximate: the real cost depends on the size and complexity of what the AI processes.

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're on Free (no paid plan), 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 at the top: "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.

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.

Questions about your plan?

At the bottom of the plans page you'll read: "Questions about your plan? Email us at support@areacacao.com." You can also check How to manage your payment method or your Invoice history.