Licenses & Billing
Administrators only.
Settings → Billing
License types
Section titled “License types”9brains offers three license types that unlock different features:
| License type | Features | Quota |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | Chat with all activated AI models | 1x |
| Business | Everything in Pro + Agents + integrations | 3x |
| Max | Everything in Business + API access + 10 GB RAG | 12x |
| Knowledge Only | Access only to knowledge management (no chat) | – |
Which license for whom?
Section titled “Which license for whom?”- Pro is suitable for users who use the AI chat for general tasks
- Business is for users who additionally want to create their own Agents (including autonomous cron/webhook triggers) or connect external tools (e.g. Microsoft 365, Jira)
- Max is for power users with high AI demand, with 12x quota and API access
- Knowledge Only is for users who only manage knowledge bases or submit knowledge suggestions, but do not chat themselves
Every license includes a monthly usage quota. Higher tiers offer more room. You can find the details under Budget & Quota.
Tip: You can set the license type of individual users in the user management.
You can try 9brains for 7 days free of charge, without providing a payment method.
During the trial period you get:
- The Business license with all available AI models, from the inexpensive ones up to the top-tier models
- All features unlocked: chat, knowledge management, Agents and Integrations
- A daily limit on AI requests that automatically resets every day
If a 9brains partner set up your workspace, the 7 days do not start when the workspace is created. They start the moment the partner invites the first person from your company, so the partner can prepare the workspace without costing you trial days.
The daily limit is set so that you can comprehensively try out the platform during the 7 days. It is intended to give you an honest impression of the feature set, but is not designed for permanent productive use. If you want to use 9brains in your daily work, a regular license is the right choice after the trial period.
What happens after the 7 days?
Section titled “What happens after the 7 days?”After the trial period expires, the account is locked. You can still log in, but new AI requests are no longer possible. Your data (chats, knowledge bases, documents) is fully preserved.
As soon as you purchase a license, all content is immediately available again, without needing to set anything up again.
Subscription status
Section titled “Subscription status”On the billing page you can see the current status of your subscription:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Trial access | Free 7-day trial. The remaining days are displayed |
| Active | Subscription is running |
| Payment issue | A payment could not be processed. Update your payment method |
| Locked | Account is locked. A new subscription must be purchased |
| Cancelled | The subscription has been cancelled and will end at the end of the term |
Manage licenses
Section titled “Manage licenses”Licenses / Seats
Section titled “Licenses / Seats”For Pro and Business you can see the allocation:
- “X of Y assigned” – How many licenses are assigned
- Available seats are highlighted in green
For Knowledge Only the number of licensed users is displayed.
Buy and manage licenses
Section titled “Buy and manage licenses”Click “Buy and manage licenses” to:
- Purchase additional licenses
- Reduce the number of licenses you book
- Adjust the extra storage
- Switch between monthly and annual billing
Every quantity field states the total you book going forward, not the change. It starts at what is booked today: turn 10 into 12 to add two licenses, or into 8 to give two back. Below each field you see what is booked right now, and the summary shows the difference against it.
When upgrading, you pick exactly which users get the higher license. If you reduce a plan’s seat count so far that more users hold that plan than seats remain, 9brains flags it and you decide who gets moved to another plan or removed. 9brains never strips anyone’s license automatically.
You make that pick when ordering, but it only takes effect on the cut-off date. Until then everyone keeps working as before — those seats are paid for. The billing page lists who is affected on which date next to the scheduled change, and taking the change back drops the pick with it.
Storage works through the same field: reduce it below what your data sources and projects already hold and 9brains says so before the order. Existing files stay, but no new ones are added after that.
Setting every quantity to zero is not a reduction, it is a cancellation. There is a separate way to do that, see Term & cancellation.
Before you confirm, you see the amount that falls due immediately and the payment method it is taken from. If nothing is charged because your change only takes effect at the end of the term, that is stated there too. While the amount is still loading, you cannot confirm. If you are working in a workspace that is not your own, 9brains additionally points out whose payment method is charged.
Shrinking takes effect at the end of the term
Section titled “Shrinking takes effect at the end of the term”What counts is your total going forward, not an individual line. Pay the same or more and the change applies immediately, billed pro rata. Pay less and it applies at the end of the term you have paid for.
That covers anything making your booking smaller: fewer licenses, a lower plan, less storage, and switching from yearly to monthly payment. Your booking continues at the current price until the cut-off date, with neither a credit note nor a partial refund.
An example: moving a user from Pro up to Business increases your total, so it applies immediately, including the Pro seat that frees up. The other way round, Business down to Pro, you pay less, so it applies at the end of the term.
One order, one date. If you add a Pro license and give up a Business license in the same order, you pay less overall, so the whole order takes effect at the cut-off date — the new Pro license included. If you need it today, order it on its own first and give up the Business license in a second order afterwards. Mind the order of the two: adding something while a change is scheduled discards that scheduled change.
9brains names the date the reduction takes effect before you place the order. The billing page then states what is booked from which date. As long as that date has not arrived, you can cancel the change with one click.
If you add something in the meantime, a scheduled change is dropped. Otherwise you would land on a state at the cut-off date that no longer matches your current booking. If you still want to shrink afterwards, simply schedule it again.
Moving a user down to a smaller plan is not offered. Do it the other way round: remove their license and assign it to someone else. That is immediate and free, the seat stays paid for until the end of the term and can be reassigned right away. It is also how you reshuffle licenses without waiting for a cut-off date.
Moving a user up is still immediate at any time.
A subscription you have already cancelled cannot be shrunk on top of that; it ends at the end of the term anyway.
Payment details
Section titled “Payment details”Billing information
Section titled “Billing information”On the billing page you can see:
- Payment method – Monthly or annual
- Next renewal – Date of the next billing
- Next amount – The amount of the next payment
Invoice email
Section titled “Invoice email”You can set an invoice email. All invoices and payment notifications are sent to this address.
Invoices and payment method
Section titled “Invoices and payment method”Click “Payment details & invoices” to open the payment portal. There you can:
- Manage payment methods
- Download previous invoices
- Change billing address
Term & cancellation
Section titled “Term & cancellation”You can cancel your subscription at any time, it simply runs until the end of the current billing period.
| Payment method | Term | Cancellation possible until |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | 1 month | At any time, to month-end |
| Annual | 1 year | At any time, to year-end |
How to cancel
Section titled “How to cancel”- Go to Settings → Billing
- Click on “Cancel subscription”
- The subscription stays active until the end of the term
No phone call, no form. The cancellation can be reversed at any time until the end of the term.
Extraordinary right of cancellation
Section titled “Extraordinary right of cancellation”In case of price increases above 10 %, you have an extraordinary right of cancellation with a notice period of two weeks. You can find the details in our Terms of Service.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”How long am I bound?
Section titled “How long am I bound?”The monthly subscription has a minimum term of one month, the annual subscription one year. After that, the subscription renews automatically, but you can cancel at any time to the end of the term.
Can I change license types later?
Section titled “Can I change license types later?”Yes. You can change the license type of individual users at any time in the user management.
What happens in case of a payment issue?
Section titled “What happens in case of a payment issue?”If you have already paid at least one invoice, your access stays open for now: the workspace moves to “Payment issue” and you have 14 days to add a different payment method. If the issue is not resolved within those 14 days, the workspace is locked and the subscription ends.
You are told by email: once on the day the charge failed, and again once a week of the grace period has passed. Both mails go to the administrators whose home workspace this is, and link straight to the billing page, where the payment portal is one click away. The notice also appears in the app as soon as you open it.
For a workspace that has never had a payment come through, there is no grace period: access is locked as soon as the first charge fails. A mail goes out in that case too, simply without a deadline in it.
Your data is kept either way. As soon as you subscribe again, everything is there unchanged.
What happens to my data after cancellation?
Section titled “What happens to my data after cancellation?”Your account remains fully usable until the end of the term. After that, access is locked, but your data (chats, knowledge bases, documents) is initially preserved.
How long is my data kept after a workspace is locked?
Section titled “How long is my data kept after a workspace is locked?”90 days. A workspace still locked after that is deleted for good, with everything in it: chats, knowledge bases, uploaded documents and the user accounts belonging to it. This cannot be undone, and there is no separate reminder beforehand.
Within those 90 days, simply subscribing again brings everything back unchanged. If you want a copy of your data, export it while you still have access.