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Subscription upgrades and downgrades

Subscription upgrades and downgrades can result from the following subscription changes:

  • plan changes (for example, changing from plan A to plan B)
  • making changes to subscriptions without changing plans (for example, changing unit quantities)

However, how changes are determined to be upgrades or downgrades can differ.

tip

Developers can configure restrictions to prevent subscription upgrades and downgrades. For more information, see Edition, unit, and contract restrictions.

Upgrade and downgrade definitions​

The definitions of upgrade and downgrade are as follows, except when edition ranking is enabled:

  • an upgrade is an increase in recurring order value
  • a downgrade is a decrease in recurring order value

For this purpose, order value is the sum of recurring flat and per unit prices. Examples are provided in the tables in the next sections.

Edition ranking for plan changes

When edition ranking is enabled for marketplaces, Developers rank editions to create a hierarchy. The hierarchy is used to determine whether a change from one plan to another is an upgrade or downgrade, instead of relative recurring order value.

Marketplace Managers enable edition ranking. For more information, see Configure subscriptions.

Plan change upgrade and downgrade examples​

When edition ranking is enabled, plan changes can result in subscription upgrades and downgrades.

When edition ranking is disabled, plan changes can result in subscription upgrades, downgrades, or neither.

Examples of plan change upgrades and downgrades

Change typeUpgrade or downgrade determination
Change a subscription to a different plan when edition ranking is enabledExample:
The Developer ranks the Gold Plan higher (1) than the Silver Plan (2).
  1. Change from Silver Plan to Gold Plan: Upgrade
  2. Change from Gold Plan to Silver Plan: Downgrade
Change a subscription to a different plan when edition ranking is not enabledExample 1:
Change from Plan A:
[(2 users x $10/user/month)] = $20 per month
to Plan B:
[$40 flat monthly fee + (2 users x $50/user/month)] = $140 per month
The recurring order value of Plan B is higher: Upgrade
Example 2:
Change from Plan A:
[$100 flat monthly fee + (10 users x $15/user/month)] = $250 per month
to Plan B:
[$50 flat monthly fee + (10 users x $10/user/month)] = $150 per month
The recurring order value of Plan B is lower: Downgrade
Example 3:
Change from Plan A:
[$100 flat monthly fee + (10 users x $15/user/month)] = $250 per month
to Plan B: [$150 flat monthly fee + (10 users x $10/user/month)] = $250 per month
The recurring order values are equal: Neither an upgrade nor a downgrade

Subscription change upgrade and downgrade examples​

Subscription changes affect the recurring order value and, therefore, can result in an upgrade or downgrade without a plan change. For example:

  • increasing or decreasing the quantity of one or more unit types, such as user licenses
  • increasing and decreasing the quantity of one or more unit types, such as user licenses and gigabytes of storage

Examples of subscription change upgrades and downgrades

Change typeUpgrade or downgrade determination
Upgrade a subscription for a plan without changing the planIncrease the unit quantity from
[$100 flat monthly fee + (10 users x $15/user/month)] = $250 per month
to
[$100 flat monthly fee + (12 users x $15/user/month)] = $280 per month
The recurring order value increases: Upgrade.
Downgrade a subscription for a plan without changing the planIncrease and decrease the unit quantity from
[(10 users x $15/user/month) + (10 GB x $5/GB/month)] = $200 per month
to
[ (12 users x $15/user/month) + (1 GB x $5/GB/month)] = $185 per month
The recurring order value decreases: Downgrade.
Change, but neither upgrade nor downgrade,
a subscription for a plan without changing the plan		Change from
[(10 users x $15/user/month) + (10 GB x $5/GB/month)] = $200 per month
to
[(8 users x $15/user/month) + (16 GB x $5/GB/month)] = $200 per month
The recurring order values are equal: Neither an upgrade nor a downgrade

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