Storage add-ons and pay-as-you-go

When you outgrow the storage included in your plan, you can add fixed monthly storage packs or—on eligible plans—turn on pay-as-you-go so uploads can continue above your limit and overage is billed later. To see how full you are today, start with Storage usage and upgrades.

A note on storage integrity and fairness

To maintain fast delivery and keep platform costs sustainable for everyone, we apply standard asset storage guardrails on every plan. ArtInStack is built for active websites, client galleries, and digital commerce—not as a passive backup archive for files you never publish or deliver through the product. By capping runaway raw storage—and offering paid packs or metered overage for legitimate high-volume work—we help ensure that a few archive-style power users do not drive up infrastructure overhead or dictate pricing for our core community of creative professionals.

Prerequisites

Dashboard → Storage → Configuration tab

Dashboard → Settings → Subscription (plan and Manage billing)

How your storage limit is calculated

Plan included storage (e.g. 25 GB)
        +
Storage packs you bought (e.g. +100 GB @ $5/mo)
        =
Your capacity limit
        |
        |  if you go over (and pay-as-you-go is on)
        v
Overage billed monthly (metered), e.g. $0.10 per GB

Included storage comes from your subscription tier. Packs add a fixed amount every month until you remove them. Overage applies only to GB used above that total limit—and only when your plan allows pay-as-you-go.

Two ways to get more space

Option	Best for	How it bills	Where to set it up
Storage pack (add-on)	Steady, predictable extra space	Fixed monthly fee (e.g. +100 GB for $5/mo)	Storage → Configuration → Increase your storage capacity
Pay-as-you-go (overage)	Occasional spikes, busy shoot days	Metered: charged for GB over limit each billing period ($0.10/GB)	Storage → Configuration → Pay as you go → Enable Pay-as-you-go

You can use both on hybrid plans: buy a pack for everyday headroom, and let pay-as-you-go cover small overruns instead of blocking uploads.

What you'll see on Storage → Configuration

Current Plan — plan name, included GB, any active packs, and Total effective limit.

Increase your storage capacity — purchasable packs (sizes and prices depend on your plan). Adding a pack increases your limit; the charge appears on your next Stripe invoice as a recurring subscription line.

Pay as you go — rate (typically $0.10 per GB), enable button when your tier supports it, or a message that strict cap applies on your plan.

Overview tab may show Strict Cap Enabled, Hybrid Mode Active, or Pay-as-you-go active so you know how over-limit behavior works.

Plan behavior (plain language)

What you see	What happens when you hit the limit
Strict Cap Enabled	New uploads block until you delete files or buy a storage pack.
Pay-as-you-go active	Uploads can continue above the limit; overage is metered and billed monthly.
Hybrid Mode Active	Packs are the main upgrade path; small overage is allowed and billed instead of blocking uploads.

Pay-as-you-go and hybrid overage require an active subscription payment. If a payment fails, uploads may block even when pay-as-you-go was previously enabled—fix billing under Manage billing first.

Implementation steps — buy a storage pack

1. Open Storage → Configuration.
2. Under Increase your storage capacity, choose a pack (e.g. +100 GB).
3. Complete checkout or confirm in Settings → Subscription / Stripe when prompted.
4. Confirm Total GB increased on Configuration.
5. Retry uploads in Media.

Packs stay on your subscription until you remove them in the Stripe billing portal (Manage billing).

Implementation steps — enable pay-as-you-go

1. Open Storage → Configuration.
2. Read the Pay as you go card (rate and terms).
3. Click Enable Pay-as-you-go if your plan supports it.
4. Confirm the status changes to pay-as-you-go or hybrid active.
5. Monitor usage on Storage → Overview—you are not charged overage until you actually use space above your limit.

Disabling pay-as-you-go (when available) returns you to strict cap behavior for future uploads above the limit.

What appears on your bill

Download itemized invoices from Settings → Subscription → Manage billing.

Example A — pack only

• Starter Plan — $X/mo
• +100 GB storage — $5/mo
• No overage line (usage stayed under 125 GB)

Example B — pack + overage

• Plan includes 25 GB; you added +100 GB ($5/mo) → limit 125 GB
• Month-end usage: 132 GB → 7 GB over limit
• Overage on invoice: 7 GB × $0.10 = $0.70 (in addition to plan + pack)
• Overage is billed in whole GB, rounded up (e.g. 4.2 GB over counts as 5 GB)

Example C — pay-as-you-go without a pack

• Plan includes 25 GB; pay-as-you-go enabled; no pack purchased
• Usage 30 GB → 5 GB over → $0.50 overage on the next invoice

Proration may appear when you add or change a pack mid-cycle. Plan tier changes are separate—see Upgrade or downgrade your plan.

After you upgrade storage

Action	What changes
Add storage pack	Effective limit increases immediately; retry failed uploads.
Enable pay-as-you-go	No pack fee until you buy one; overage charges only when usage exceeds limit.
Upgrade plan tier	Included GB may increase; existing packs usually remain until removed.
Failed payment fixed	Uploads resume when subscription payment is active again.

Verifying your setup

• You know your Total limit on Storage → Configuration.
• You chose packs, pay-as-you-go, or cleanup intentionally before a large upload.
• A test upload succeeds—or you understand why strict cap blocked it.
• Latest Stripe invoice matches your expectations (plan, packs, any overage line).