Discounts
How introductory offers and promo codes interact and what your customers experience
Commet has two types of discounts: introductory offers (automatic, on the plan) and promo codes (manual, entered at checkout). They never stack.
Two Types of Discounts
| Introductory Offer | Promo Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Who configures it | You, on the plan price | You, as a separate marketing code |
| How it's applied | Automatically at checkout | Customer enters a code |
| Who gets it | New customers only | Anyone with the code |
| Where it lives | Plan configuration | Promo Codes section in dashboard |
When Both Exist
If a plan has an intro offer and the customer enters a promo code, the intro offer wins. The promo code is ignored.
This is intentional. One discount per transaction keeps billing predictable. The intro offer takes priority because it's part of the plan itself — it's the price you designed for new customers. Allowing stacking would create prices you never explicitly set.
What Happens on Plan Change
When a customer changes plans, any active discount is cleared. The new plan's pricing applies at full price (or with the new plan's own intro offer, if the customer qualifies).
The discount was tied to the original plan. A 50% off promo for "Pro" shouldn't carry over to "Enterprise" — that's a different product at a different price point.
How Duration Works
Discounts apply for a set number of billing cycles, then stop automatically.
Customer subscribes to Pro at $99/mo with "50% off for 3 months":
Month 1: $49.50 (discounted)
Month 2: $49.50 (discounted)
Month 3: $49.50 (discounted)
Month 4: $99.00 (full price — discount expired)The cycle count is based on billing periods, not calendar time. If a customer is on yearly billing with a 2-cycle discount, the discount lasts 2 years.
"Forever" Discounts
A promo code with forever duration applies on every billing cycle until the customer changes plans. Changing plans clears the discount.
Customer uses "VIP20" (20% off forever) on Pro at $99/mo:
Month 1: $79.20
Month 2: $79.20
...
Month 24: $79.20
Customer upgrades to Enterprise → discount cleared
Month 25: $199.00 (Enterprise full price)What Gets Discounted
Discounts apply only to the plan base price. Overage charges, add-on charges, and seat overage are always billed at full price.
Example
Plan Pro at $100/mo with 20% intro offer.
Customer uses $50 in overage this month.
Plan base: $100.00
Discount: −$20.00 (20% of $100 base)
Overage: $50.00
Total: $130.00The discount never touches the $50 overage.
Quick Reference
| Scenario | What applies |
|---|---|
| New customer, plan has intro offer | Intro offer |
| New customer, plan has intro offer + promo code entered | Intro offer (promo code ignored) |
| New customer, no intro offer + promo code entered | Promo code |
| Existing customer, promo code entered | Promo code |
| Customer changes plans | Discount cleared, new plan pricing applies |
| Discount duration expires | Full price from next cycle |
| "Forever" promo + plan change | Discount cleared |
| Overage, add-ons, seat overage | Never discounted — always full price |
Intro offers only apply to customers who haven't had a paid subscription before. Returning customers always fall through to promo code eligibility.
Related
- Introductory Offers — Configure automatic discounts on plan prices
- Promo Codes — Create marketing discount codes
- Plan Changes — What happens when customers upgrade or downgrade
- Pricing Changes — What happens when you change your prices
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