AI usage and limits

Every Plank plan includes a monthly allowance of AI work — the thinking, writing, and file work your assistant does for you. This page explains how that allowance works, where to check it, and what happens if you use it all up.

Your monthly allowance

Each plan includes a set amount of AI usage per month, and the amount grows with the plan:

• Starter — the baseline monthly allowance
• Plus — about 2.5× Starter's allowance
• Pro — about 5× Starter's allowance

If you're on a free trial, you get a smaller allowance sized to cover the whole trial, rather than a fresh amount kicking in partway through.

The app shows your usage as a simple percentage, not a running total — that percentage is the one number worth keeping an eye on.

Generated images draw on this same allowance, and they are the one thing that moves it noticeably: a single image costs roughly a hundred times what a page of writing does. That's why image generation is switched off until you turn it on — see Generating images.

When it resets

Your allowance resets every month on your billing day — not on the 1st of the calendar month. If your billing day is the 12th, your allowance refreshes on the 12th of every month.

This is true however you pay. If you're on an annual plan, you still get a fresh monthly allowance on your billing day each month, rather than one large yearly pot to spend at whatever pace you like. Same for a plan that was set up for you directly: it refreshes monthly, on the same day each month.

If you upgrade partway through the month, it takes effect straight away — your new, larger allowance applies immediately, and the usage you've already recorded this period still counts toward it. Your renewal date does not change.

Where to check it

Open Settings → Billing. You'll see how much of your monthly allowance you've used, and when it resets next.

Changing your plan

If you're already subscribed, you can move between Starter, Plus and Pro from inside Plank: Settings → Billing, pick the plan you want, then Change plan. Your current plan is marked, so you can see what you're moving from.

Before anything is charged, Plank shows you exactly what the change costs today. Moving up, you pay only the difference for the rest of the current period — not a full month on top of what you've already paid. Moving down, you're credited for the part of the period you won't use. Your renewal date doesn't change, and no second subscription is created.

The larger allowance is available the moment the change goes through, so if you were paused you can carry straight on.

Moving to a smaller plan applies immediately too, and that's worth a moment's thought: the smaller allowance takes effect at once and the usage you've already recorded this period still counts. If you're already past the smaller plan's limit, you'll be paused until your next billing day. Plank warns you about this before you confirm.

Two cases go through Manage Subscription instead — cancelling, and updating your card. If a payment is outstanding or you've already scheduled a cancellation, fix that there first; plan changes are unavailable until it's sorted.

What happens at 100%

If your account reaches its full allowance, Plank pauses new chat turns until either:

• your allowance resets on your next billing date, or
• you upgrade to a plan with a larger allowance.

When this happens, you'll see a message explaining that your AI allowance is used up for the current period, with an option to upgrade right there. There isn't a one-off way to buy extra usage in this release — upgrading to the next plan is the way to keep going right away.

There are no warnings earlier in the chat as you approach the limit — the percentage in Settings → Billing is the place to keep an eye on it if you're close.

One honest detail: the limit means no new chat turns start once you're at 100% — it doesn't guarantee your usage will land at exactly 100% and no further. Usage for a turn is counted once that turn finishes, so a turn that was already running when you crossed the line can carry your total slightly past it before the pause takes effect.

Working in a shared workspace

If you're a member of a workspace someone else owns, your work there counts against that workspace's owner's allowance — not your own. Plank tells you when this is the case, so you always know whose plan is paying for the work you're doing.

The reverse is also true: any work you do in your own workspaces counts against your own allowance, regardless of who else might be working alongside you elsewhere.