Glossary · Billing
What are upgrades, downgrades and crossgrades?
Upgrade, downgrade and crossgrade
An upgrade moves a subscriber to a higher-level plan, a downgrade to a lower-level plan, and a crossgrade to a plan at the same level. On the App Store an upgrade starts immediately with a prorated refund, and a downgrade starts at the next renewal. A crossgrade starts immediately only if the duration is the same. Google Play uses replacement modes instead.
Apple ranks the plans in a subscription group by level. The server notification DID_CHANGE_RENEWAL_PREF carries the result: subtype UPGRADE means the customer upgraded or crossgraded to a plan with the same duration, and it takes effect immediately, starting a new billing period with a prorated refund of the unused time. Subtype DOWNGRADE means a downgrade or a crossgrade to a different duration, and it takes effect at the next renewal date. An empty subtype means the customer went back to the current plan, which cancels a pending downgrade.
Google Play lets you pick the effect with a replacement mode, described in the proration entry. You can also let customers switch tiers, switch from monthly to annual billing, or move between auto-renewing and prepaid plans, and you can attach an offer to encourage the change.
RevenueDot records an upgrade that applies now, or a change scheduled for the next renewal, as a PRODUCT_CHANGE event with the new product ID. For revenue charts, a change from one paid plan to another ends one subscription and starts another.
Example
A customer on a $5 monthly plan taps a $10 monthly plan one level higher. On the App Store the new plan starts immediately and the unused part of the $5 month is refunded in proportion. If the customer instead moves from the $10 plan down to the $5 plan, the $10 plan runs until its renewal date and the $5 plan starts then.
Sources: Apple: notificationType · Apple: subtype · Apple: Auto-renewable subscriptions · Android Developers: Subscriptions
FAQ
Upgrade, downgrade and crossgrade: questions people ask
When does an App Store downgrade take effect?
At the next renewal date. The current plan keeps working until then and does not change.
What is a crossgrade?
A move between two plans at the same level in a subscription group, such as a monthly plan and a yearly plan. If the duration is the same it starts now. If the duration differs, it starts at the next renewal date.
How do I control proration on Google Play?
Set a replacement mode when you launch the billing flow, or set a default in Play Console. The modes are time proration, charge prorated price, charge full price, without proration and deferred.
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