> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.estela.co/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.estela.co/getting-started-with-estela/understanding-estela-plans-and-pricing.md).

# Understanding eStela Plans and Pricing

eStela is sold as licences: you pay for what you actually track. Two figures set the price — how many boats transmit on your busiest day, and how many days you race.

### Free Tier and Getting Started

Creating an eStela account is free, and every new account starts on the free tier:

* Up to **5 distinct boats tracked per day**, committee boats included
* **Unlimited races** — there is no monthly quota of tracking sessions
* No time limit; the free tier doesn't expire

The boat limit is a daily figure across everything the club runs that day, not a per-race one: splitting a twenty-boat regatta into four races of five on the same day still counts as twenty. A boat that races several times in a day counts once.

See Free Trial Information for more detail.

### The Two Licences

**Season licence** — for clubs with their own calendar: club series, training and championships all year round. One payment a year, renews automatically, cancel anytime.

**Event licence** — for a one-off regatta or a multi-day championship. A single payment, valid for one month from purchase, with no renewal.

The two combine. If your club holds a season licence and a championship brings more boats or more days than it covers, an event licence tops it up for those dates: its fleet and days are added to the ones you already have. A club can buy a limited number of event licences within one season (currently five); beyond that, a season licence is the better answer and we will work it out with you.

### How the Price Is Worked Out

There are no tiers to fit into. The price is calculated from two variables:

* **Boats per day** — distinct boats transmitting on the same calendar day, committee included. A boat racing several times that day counts once.
* **Days with tracking** — calendar days holding at least one race. Several races on the same day count as one day, and a race occupies every calendar day between its start and its end.

The price grows with both, and each licence has a minimum price. To see what your own club would pay, use the calculator at <https://estela.co/en#pricing>: set the two figures and it quotes the exact price before you buy.

### What the Licence Covers

A licence covers tracking up to the fleet and the days you contracted. Those limits are enforced: once you reach them, eStela will stop you starting another race or adding more boats rather than billing you for the excess. If a regatta is going to go beyond them, add an event licence for those dates.

### Billing, Currency and Tax

* A season licence is one payment per year and renews automatically; cancelling keeps the current year active until it ends.
* An event licence is a single payment and simply ends on its final date.
* Payment is taken upfront and covers the whole period; unused time is included in the price.
* An invoice is issued when you are charged, with the billing name and tax ID you enter at payment.
* Prices are shown before VAT.
* Prices are set in euros. If your club is billed in another currency, the quote is converted at the European Central Bank reference rate and rounded up to a readable amount; the rate and its date are shown with the price. If we cannot convert right now, the price is quoted in euros and says so.

If none of this fits how your club races, get in touch and we will look at it with you.

### Why We Changed the Pricing Model

In September 2026 we replaced the monthly plans with the season and event licences described above. Three things in the old model were not working for the clubs that use eStela:

1. **The tiers had jumps that were too big.** Each plan came with a fixed quota, and the step from one plan to the next was large. Most clubs sat somewhere between two tiers: either they paid for far more than they used, or they fell just short of what they needed. So many clubs ended up on a custom arrangement that the tiers had stopped describing how anyone actually raced. Pricing from boats per day and days with tracking removes the steps: the price follows your real usage, whatever size your fleet is.
2. **The renewal periods did not match how clubs race.** The plans renewed on a monthly cycle, while sailing runs by seasons and by events. A club that signed up for a single regatta would find itself charged again a month later, and we then had to refund a renewal nobody meant to buy. Now an event licence is a single payment that never renews, and the only recurring payment left is the season licence: once a year, for a season you sized yourself.
3. **Clubs need a closed, custom budget for the season.** A club committee has to approve its spending in advance, and a monthly subscription whose total depends on how many months it stays active is hard to put in a budget. A season licence gives you one fixed figure for the whole year, calculated from your own fleet and racing days, and quoted exactly before you buy. Because the contracted limits are enforced rather than billed as extras, that figure is also the most you will pay.

### Clubs on the Older Monthly Plans

Licences replaced the old monthly plans for new purchases. A club already subscribed to one of those plans keeps it, with the same limits and the same billing, for as long as it stays subscribed — nothing changes and there is no deadline to move. If you cancel, your account returns to the free tier, and a licence is how you go beyond it again.