Plans and Billing
Build and test your award program free, then subscribe when you take a program live. One flat $1,995/year per organization, unlimited programs, zero commission on entry fees.
AwardKit billing is organization-level and there is exactly one plan: $1,995 per year, billed annually, covering unlimited programs, entries, and judges in your organization. There is no per-program billing, no per-seat pricing, nothing metered, and no commission on entry fees.
Build free, pay when you go live
Building is free and unlimited. Create programs, categories, entry forms, judging rounds, and test entries for as long as you like; nothing is capped and nothing expires. The only paid step is taking a program live so real entrants can submit.
Until your organization subscribes, the Billing page shows Free Plan with a "Go live with Pro to open submissions and publish your program." note and the plan card:
- Unlimited programs, entries, and judges
- Zero commission on entry fees
- Email announcements
Every program starts in Test mode; see Test mode and going live. When you click Go live on a program without a subscription, the button reads Subscribe and go live and the confirmation states the price ("Flat $1,995/year, unlimited programs.") along with how many entries at your fee cover it. Subscribing there or from the Billing page is the same subscription.
Subscribing
From Settings > Billing, click Subscribe. Checkout runs on Stripe: enter a card and your billing address, confirm, and you return to the Billing page with the plan active. The change is immediate, so you can take programs live right after.
The subscription is billed to your organization, not to the person who clicks Subscribe. Checkout asks for your Business name (the legal name you want on invoices; it can differ from the organization name shown on your program pages) and your billing address. For billing addresses in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and other countries with a business tax ID, an I'm purchasing as a business option lets you enter your VAT or tax ID. Stripe prints the business name, address, and tax ID on every invoice, starting with the first one. You can update them later from the Billing Portal; renaming your organization in AwardKit does not change the name on your invoices.
Only organization owners and admins can manage billing. Members see "Only organization admins can manage billing." in place of the actions.
Managing the subscription
With an active subscription, the plan card shows the status, the Current Billing Cycle with days remaining, and these actions:
- Cancel plan: the status becomes Canceling and the subscription runs to the end of the paid year ("Your subscription will be canceled at the end of the billing cycle."). Live programs stay live until then.
- Reactivate plan: undoes a pending cancellation before the cycle ends.
- Update payment method: shown when a payment needs attention.
There is no lower tier: the organization either has the plan or it does not.
Invoices
The Invoices card lists every invoice. Each row's menu offers View invoice and receipt, which opens Stripe's invoice page with the paid status and both the invoice and the receipt PDF, and Download invoice PDF. Open Billing Portal opens Stripe's portal for the payment method on file and billing details. Until the first payment it reads "No invoices received yet."
Subscription emails
AwardKit emails the billing contact at each step: "Welcome to AwardKit Pro!" on subscribing, "Your AwardKit Pro subscription has been renewed", "Your AwardKit Pro subscription is scheduled to end" on cancellation, "Your AwardKit Pro subscription has been reactivated", and "Your AwardKit Pro subscription has ended".
Payment problems
If a renewal fails, the status shows Past Due with "Action required: Your payment failed. Please update your payment method..." Stripe retries the card on its own schedule, and you keep full access during those retries, so a busy program is never interrupted by a card expiry. If the retries run out, the subscription becomes Unpaid or Canceled and you need to subscribe again before taking another program live.
Other statuses you may see on the card: Trial, Incomplete (payment started but not yet confirmed by Stripe), and Paused. A Checkout you closed without paying leaves no trace: the card offers Subscribe again.
Why no commission on entry fees
Most platforms in this space take a cut of every entry fee on top of the subscription. AwardKit does not. Entry fees are collected through Stripe Connect and land directly in your Stripe account; AwardKit never touches the money. Stripe's standard processing fees apply, and that is all.
A program with 400 entries at $250 per entry collects $100,000. A 5% platform commission would cost $5,000. On AwardKit the whole organization costs $1,995 a year and the commission is zero. See Payments.
Refunds
Your first year is covered by the first-cycle guarantee. If AwardKit fails you during your first cycle, at entries, judging or results, tell us within 30 days of your judging closing and we refund the year. It covers AwardKit failing to do its job at one of those steps, whether you announce winners on AwardKit or at your ceremony. There is also a 14-day money-back window from the day you pay, no questions asked.
Questions about a subscription refund go to support@awardkit.io.
Organizations
Your organization holds your programs, your team, your public handle, and your branding. Invite teammates, manage roles, set your handle and brand, and duplicate, archive, or delete programs.
Account and security
Your personal AwardKit account: sign-in methods, profile and email changes, password, two-factor authentication, connected accounts, sessions, notification preferences, and account deletion.