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Subscriptions

Plucky Wire uses subscriptions to manage how many stories Outlets can upload and download each month. Understanding how subscriptions work helps you choose the right plan for your newsroom and make the most of the platform.

How Subscriptions Work

Every Outlet on Plucky Wire has a subscription that determines their monthly usage limits. Subscriptions are tied to Outlets, not individual Users. This means that everyone at your news organization shares the same pool of uploads and downloads.

Info

If you're not sure what Outlets are or how they relate to Users and Groups, see Users, Outlets, and Groups first.

When you first create an Outlet, you start on the free plan. The free plan lets you try out the platform with limited uploads and downloads. When you're ready for more capacity, you can upgrade to a paid subscription.

What Subscriptions Control

Your subscription determines two key limits:

Monthly Downloads
How many stories your Outlet can download from the platform each month. Each time someone at your Outlet downloads a story, it counts against your monthly limit. If you accidentally download the same story multiple times, it only counts as a single download.
Monthly Uploads
How many stories your Outlet can contribute to the wire each month. Each story your Outlet uploads counts against this limit. If you edit an existing story, it does not count against your upload limit.

Both limits reset at the start of each billing period. For paid plans, this aligns with your payment date. For free plans, this resets monthly based on when your Outlet was verified.

Note

Some Groups may be exempt from download limits, allowing Outlets to download stories without running into download limits. If you'd like to offer this for your Group, please email us at support@pluckyworks.org

Free vs. Paid Plans

The free plan gives you 10 uploads and 10 downloads per month. This is enough to explore the platform and see how content sharing works, but once an editorial team feels the benefits of sharing stories with peers, the Outlet will want more capacity.

Paid plans offer higher limits that scale with your needs. Higher-tier plans provide more uploads and downloads, and some plans offer unlimited usage for newsrooms with heavy content-sharing workflows.

Note

If you are interested in unlimited upload or download plans, please email us at hello@pluckyworks.org

Managing Your Subscription

Outlet Owners and Moderators can manage their subscription from the Outlet settings page. From there, you can:

  • View your current plan and usage
  • Upgrade to a plan with higher limits
  • Downgrade to a lower-cost plan

Upgrading

When you upgrade to a higher plan, the change takes effect immediately. You'll be charged a prorated amount for the remainder of your current billing period, and then the full amount starting with your next billing cycle.

Your new, higher limits are available right away after the upgrade is complete.

Downgrading

When you downgrade to a lower plan, the change is scheduled for the end of your current billing period. You keep your current limits until then, so you don't lose downloads you've already paid for but haven't used.

At the start of your next billing period, your new plan with its lower limits takes effect.

Cancelling

If you cancel your subscription, it remains active until the end of your current billing period. After that, your Outlet returns to the free plan with its default limits.

Downgrading or cancelling your subscription doesn't affect your access to stories you already downloaded or uploaded. You can resubscribe at any time to regain higher limits.

Checking Your Usage

You can see your current usage at any time while browsing stories. At the top of your screen next to your Outlet's name, the platform shows:

  • Your remaining downloads for the month
  • Your remaining uploads for the month

If you're running low on downloads or uploads, consider upgrading your plan or waiting until your billing period resets.

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