Why This Matters
Pay As You Go is the simplest paid plan 9Pic offers — no annual fee, no commitment, just credits. But because it sits between the trial and Pro, a lot of new PAYG customers come in expecting features that aren’t included. This page exists so the rest of the guide doesn’t surprise you.What Just Happened to Your Account
You got to Pay As You Go in one of two ways:- Upgraded from the trial
- Onboarded straight into PAYG
You were on the Trial plan, you opened Credits → Purchase Credits, and you kept Pay as you go selected instead of choosing the Pro Subscription. The moment that purchase finalised:
- Your plan badge in the sidebar flipped from Trial to Pay As You Go.
- Your default event subdomain changed from
trial.9pic.aitoapp.9pic.ai. - Existing trial events stayed exactly where they were — same data, same team, same settings.
- Your trial-era free credits combined with the credits you just bought into one balance.
Where Pay As You Go Sits Between Trial and Pro
| Trial | Pay As You Go | Pro | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual subscription fee | None | None | $200 / year | Custom |
| Pay per credit | n/a (free credits only) | Yes | Yes (after included credits) | Custom |
| Public events allowed | No (forced private) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Default event domain | trial.9pic.ai | app.9pic.ai | Custom or app.9pic.ai | Custom |
| Photos product (FaceFind, BibTrack) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Creative tools (Certify, Flow, Select, Buzz, Motion) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sell event photos online (Checkout) | No | No | No | Yes |
Custom domain (photos.yourbrand.com) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Setup Wizard for branding | No | No | Yes | Yes |
app.9pic.ai and process as many photos as your credit balance covers. The creative tools, custom domain, and Setup Wizard stay locked behind the Pro subscription.
What’s the Same as the Trial
- The Photos product is identical. Upload, sync, process, brand, and search photos exactly as you did on the trial.
- 9Pic FaceFind (selfie search) and 9Pic BibTrack (BIB number search) work on every event you run.
- Team invites work. Add admins and operators from Account & Team → Teams.
- Support is the same. PAYG customers get the same email response as Pro and Enterprise.
- The Upgrade button stays in the sidebar. Your sidebar still shows a highlighted Upgrade button. The dashboard treats Pay As You Go as upgradable to Pro — see When to Upgrade before you click it.
What’s Different from the Trial
- You’re paying per processed photo now. No free credits cushion. Every photo you sync with AI search enabled draws against your balance.
- Events can be public. The Platform Visibility setting on Create New Event is no longer locked to Private — you can make any new event public and share the link.
- Default domain is
app.9pic.ai. Old trial events pointing attrial.9pic.aiare migrated automatically; new events default toapp.9pic.ai. - There’s no expiry on your plan. Pay As You Go doesn’t expire. Only the credit balance moves up and down.
What’s Different from Pro
- No Pro creative tools. Certify, Flow, Select, Buzz, and Motion stay greyed out in the event navigation. Photo product only.
- No custom domain. You stay on
app.9pic.ai. To usephotos.yourbrand.com, you need Pro. - No Setup Wizard. The website-customisation Setup Guide (logo, theme color, favicon, footer, contact form, header CTA) is for Pro and Enterprise. PAYG has the Settings page, but no guided wizard.
- No annual fee. That’s the whole point. You pay only for the credits you use.
Pay As You Go is intentionally a “small operator” plan — perfect for someone running a handful of events a year and unwilling to commit to an annual subscription. If you start running larger, more frequent events, the per-credit math eventually flips in favour of Pro. See When to Upgrade for the honest comparison.
What to Expect Day One
Your credit balance is visible everywhere
Open Credits in the sidebar. The big number at the top is your starting balance from the credit pack you just bought.
Your sidebar shows an Upgrade button
The sidebar shows a highlighted Upgrade button — clicking it goes to the Pro upgrade flow, not “upgrade to Pay As You Go” (you’re already on it).
Common Questions
Did I lose my trial credits when I went to Pay As You Go?
Did I lose my trial credits when I went to Pay As You Go?
No. Any unused trial credits stay in your balance and combine with the credits you bought.
Will my old trial events disappear?
Will my old trial events disappear?
No. Trial event data, team members, and settings carry over. The only thing that changes is the default domain —
trial.9pic.ai events are migrated automatically.Why does the sidebar still have an Upgrade button if I'm already a paying customer?
Why does the sidebar still have an Upgrade button if I'm already a paying customer?
Can I switch back to the trial?
Can I switch back to the trial?
No. Once your account is on a paid plan, the trial restrictions don’t apply anymore. There’s nothing to switch back to.
Can I switch to Pro later?
Can I switch to Pro later?
Yes, anytime. Open Credits → Purchase Credits and pick Pro Subscription. Your existing credit balance carries over. See Upgrade to Pro.
Next Steps
What's Included
The full list of what Pay As You Go gives you and what’s gated.
Run an Event
The end-to-end event flow on Pay As You Go, with credit costs.
Manage Credits
Watch your balance, top up, and download invoices.
When to Upgrade
The honest comparison with Pro.