Challenges Upgrading from Starter to Explorer License: Seeking Solutions

Hey, I've been trying to get to the bottom of this for a few weeks now, but I'm stumped. We purchased an annual Starter license a couple of months back (great, but limited). Now I'd like to purchase an 'upgrade' to the Explorer license. The gotcha seems to be that I'm blocked from doing this on a monthly subscription... it won't allow that until June 2026! The business can't afford another annual bulk purchase (until I've demonstrated the value of Clay) so I appear to be stuck! Any suggestions? Do I really need to cancel my current subscription (not even sure that's possible on an annual license) and then start completely afresh?!?

18 comments

Clay
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You can upgrade from your annual Starter plan to Explorer at any time through Settings > Plans & billing > Change plan. When you upgrade, your billing cycle resets immediately and the new credit allotment is added on top of your current credit balance. You can select either monthly or annual billing for the Explorer plan during the upgrade process. No need to cancel your current subscription - the upgrade process handles the transition automatically.
Sources: Workspace administration documentation | Documentation | Clay University Plans & billing | Documentation | Clay University How can I change my plan? - FAQ | Clay.com FAQ | Clay.com Change Your Plan, Cancel Your Plan, Restart Your Trial
Marc P.
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This is exactly what I tried! It shows as 'Downgrade' though... and indicates it won't be applied until June 2026!
Clay
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The system is showing "Downgrade" because Explorer has fewer credits than your annual Starter plan. When you downgrade, changes apply at your next billing cycle (June 2026). However, you can select monthly billing for Explorer during the plan change process, which should allow the upgrade to take effect immediately. Try selecting "Monthly" at the top of the plan selection page before choosing Explorer. If you're still seeing the June 2026 date after selecting monthly billing, you may need human assistance to resolve this billing cycle issue.
Sources: How can I change my plan? - FAQ | Clay.com FAQ | Clay.com Change Your Plan, Cancel Your Plan, Restart Your Trial
Marc P.
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Yeah, I've tried selecting Monthly... still showing June 2026. How do I get human assistance with this?
Marc P.
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Yes, please connect me to a human agent. Keen to proceed with this today.
Marc P.
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Anyone available to help yet?
Marc P.
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Hello?
Munnawar H.
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Hi Marc, Thank you for reaching out to the support team. Let me look into your account and see what we can do!
Munnawar H.
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I appreciate your patience on this.
Munnawar H.
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Here's what I can do: I'll go ahead and cancel your current plan and issue a pro-rated credit of $1,366.32 (from the original $1,609.00) to your account. That credit will automatically be applied when you purchase your next plan, so you'll only be charged the difference. As soon as I cancel the plan, you'll be able to select and activate a new one right away. Let me know if that works and I’ll take care of it!
Marc P.
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Thanks! So, will I retain the tables I've already created? Keen not to lose too much work we've done so far.
Munnawar H.
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Yup, exactly, no work or tables will be lost.
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Marc P.
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Legend, thanks!
Munnawar H.
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Ok, I've gone ahead and cancelled your plan. I've also added $1,366.28 as balance to your account that you can use towards your next plan! Let me know if you need anything else or have any issues, cheers!
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Marc P.
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Superb, thanks! I've managed to go ahead and purchase the Explorer monthly license. I can see this was initially $0.00, but the billing page implies there's a cost next month. How does the credit work - don't see that on the account?
Marc P.
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Nicole G.
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Hi Marc, Thanks for reaching out to support. I would recommend checking out our billing and pricing page for more information, https://www.clay.com/pricing. You will be billed on August 31. Let me know if you have any additional questions.
Channeled
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Challenges Upgrading from Starter to Explorer License: Seeking Solutions | Clay