Subscription & Licensing

Learn about InboxZebra’s pricing, trial, and how to activate your license.

Pricing Tiers

InboxZebra offers 3 plans:

Free Tier

Price: $0/forever

Perfect for:

  • Freelancers just starting out
  • Testing InboxZebra before committing
  • Managing a single client email account

Includes:

  • 1 email account
  • 500 emails per month
  • 9 default + 3 custom categories
  • Basic newsletter management
  • Limited learning (3 examples per category)
  • Database encryption
  • Data export/import

Pro Tier ⭐ Most Popular

Price: $10/month or $96/year (save $24)

Perfect for:

  • Established freelancers with multiple clients
  • Solo founders managing various inboxes
  • Consultants processing high email volume

Includes everything in Free, plus:

  • Unlimited email accounts
  • Unlimited emails per month
  • Unlimited custom categories
  • Global custom rules
  • Per-account custom instructions
  • Custom & secondary labels
  • Full learning system (10+ examples)
  • Advanced newsletter features
  • Priority email support

Business Tier

Price: $25/month or $240/year (save $60)

Perfect for:

  • Startup founders managing team inboxes (support@, hello@)
  • Agencies handling shared client mailboxes
  • Companies with custom AI infrastructure
  • Consultants with on-premise AI requirements

Includes everything in Pro, plus:

  • Unlimited shared mailboxes (support@, sales@, etc.)
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Custom LLM endpoints (use your own AI)
  • Priority support

14-Day Free Trial

What You Get

Every new user gets:

  • 14 days of full access
  • ALL Pro + Business features
  • No credit card required
  • No automatic billing

During your trial, you can:

  • ✅ Connect unlimited accounts
  • ✅ Process unlimited emails
  • ✅ Try shared mailboxes
  • ✅ Test custom LLM endpoints
  • ✅ Use all labels and categories
  • ✅ Evaluate if InboxZebra works for you

Trial Countdown

A banner at the top of InboxZebra shows your trial status:

  • Blue banner: 8-14 days remaining
  • Orange banner: 3-7 days remaining (time to decide)
  • Red banner: 1-2 days remaining (last chance)

You can dismiss the banner by clicking the X. It will reappear the next day as a reminder.

After Trial Expires

You’ll automatically move to the Free tier:

  • Your account stays active
  • Limited to 1 account, 500 emails/month
  • Premium features lock (show lock icon 🔒)

To unlock features again, purchase Pro or Business.

Purchasing a License

How to Buy

Option 1: From the App

  1. Click the “Upgrade” button in the trial banner
  2. Or click a locked feature (🔒 icon)
  3. Choose your plan (Pro or Business)
  4. Choose billing (monthly or yearly)
  5. Click to open checkout in your browser
  6. Complete payment on Paddle’s secure checkout

Option 2: From Website Visit inboxzebra.com/pricing (or wherever you distribute)

What Happens After Purchase

  1. Paddle processes your payment
  2. You receive a license key via email
  3. License key format: Looks like XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
  4. Keep it safe! You’ll need it to activate InboxZebra

Activating Your License

Step 1: Open Subscription Settings

  1. Open InboxZebra
  2. Go to Settings (Cmd+,)
  3. Click Subscription tab

Step 2: Enter Your License

In the “Activate License” section:

  1. License Key field: Paste your license key from the email
  2. Email Address field: Enter the email you used for purchase
  3. Click “Activate License”

Step 3: Features Unlock!

You’ll see:

  • ✅ “License activated successfully!”
  • Your plan changes from Free to Pro (or Business)
  • Lock icons disappear
  • Features are now available

That’s it! Your license is active and will work as long as your subscription is active.

Managing Your License

Checking License Status

In Settings → Subscription:

  • See your current plan (Free, Pro, or Business)
  • View activation status
  • See usage stats (if on Free tier)

Deactivating License

If you want to use your license on a different Mac:

  1. Go to Settings → Subscription
  2. Click “Deactivate License” (in Manage License section)
  3. Your license is removed from this Mac
  4. You can now activate it on another device

Note: Most licenses allow 2-3 activations. Check your purchase email for details.

License Validation

InboxZebra automatically validates your license:

  • Checks daily in the background (you won’t notice)
  • Requires internet (once per day)
  • Offline grace period: 30 days without internet
  • After 30 days offline: Requires internet to revalidate

This ensures your subscription is current and detects cancellations.

Changing Plans

Upgrading (Free → Pro or Pro → Business)

  1. Go to Settings → Subscription
  2. Click “View Pricing & Purchase”
  3. Choose higher tier
  4. Purchase
  5. Enter new license key
  6. Features unlock immediately

Downgrading

To downgrade from Pro to Free or cancel:

  • Email support@inboxzebra.com (or your support channel)
  • Or cancel through Paddle customer portal (link in purchase email)
  • After cancellation, you’ll revert to Free tier at end of billing period

Billing & Payments

Secure Checkout

All payments processed by Paddle (paddle.com):

  • ✅ Secure, PCI-compliant
  • ✅ Supports all major credit cards
  • ✅ PayPal accepted
  • ✅ Automatic VAT/tax handling worldwide

InboxZebra never sees your payment information.

Payment Methods

  • Credit/Debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover)
  • PayPal
  • Apple Pay (where available)

Billing Cycle

Monthly:

  • Billed on the same day each month
  • Cancel anytime
  • Pro-rated refunds available

Yearly:

  • Billed once per year
  • 20% discount vs monthly
  • Cancel anytime, refund for unused time

Receipts

Paddle emails you a receipt after each payment. Keep these for your records!

Troubleshooting

”Invalid License Key”

Possible causes:

  • Typo in license key (copy/paste exactly)
  • Wrong email address
  • License already used on maximum devices
  • Subscription cancelled

Solution: Double-check the license key and email. Contact support if issue persists.

”License Validation Failed”

Causes:

  • No internet connection
  • Paddle servers temporarily down

Solution:

  • Check your internet
  • Try again in a few minutes
  • InboxZebra works offline for 30 days if previously validated

Features Still Locked After Activation

Solution:

  • Restart InboxZebra
  • Check Settings → Subscription shows your plan as active
  • If still locked, deactivate and reactivate license

Free Tier Usage Tracking

Checking Your Usage

On Free tier, see usage in Settings → Subscription:

  • “250 / 500 emails processed this month”
  • Progress bar shows quota usage

Resets monthly on your signup anniversary.

When You Hit the Limit

You’ll see an error when trying to process more emails. Options:

  1. Wait until next month (quota resets)
  2. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited processing

Questions?

Q: Can I try before buying? A: Yes! 14-day trial includes all Pro + Business features.

Q: Do I need a credit card for the trial? A: No! Trial starts immediately, no payment info required.

Q: Can I cancel anytime? A: Yes, cancel through Paddle. You’ll keep access until end of billing period.

Q: Can I use my license on multiple Macs? A: Most licenses allow 2-3 activations. Check your purchase email.

Q: What if I lose my license key? A: Check your purchase confirmation email from Paddle, or contact support.

Q: Are there refunds? A: Yes, contact Paddle support within 30 days for refund requests.

Next Steps