If you need to downgrade, you can — without losing your account. This article covers the process and what changes at each step.
How to downgrade
- Dashboard → Settings → Membership
- Click “Change plan”
- Pick a lower tier
- Confirm
The downgrade takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle, not immediately. You keep your current tier’s features until then.
What you keep regardless of tier
- All your profile data — bio, photo, location
- Your account login and history
- All your earnings — Pending, Eligible, Paid commissions
- Your invite link and affiliate program access
- Reader Leaderboard reviews you’ve submitted and received
- Your verified status if granted (badge color may change)
What you lose access to
| Going from | To | You lose |
|---|---|---|
| VIP | Pro | Gold badge → blue, Featured ★, priority grid placement, custom domain, Smile Book PR, sponsored posts, priority speaking slot, intro video card |
| Pro | Starter | Long-form bio (gets truncated), unlimited books (only 1 stays visible), video embeds, booking buttons, One-Sheet PDF, “Available for events” badge |
| Starter | Free | Books on profile, 5 of your 6 social links (1 stays), blue verified badge, monthly event upgrade, 10% Perfect Publishing discount |
If you downgrade from VIP to Pro and you had a custom domain mapped, the domain stops resolving to your profile. Visitors typing your custom URL will get an error. The domain itself remains yours (we don’t take it), but the mapping is removed.
Books over the new limit
If you have 10 books on Pro and downgrade to Starter (1-book limit), the extra 9 don’t get deleted. They become hidden — your public profile only shows the most recent 1. If you upgrade back to Pro, all 10 reappear automatically.
Long bio over the new limit
Same pattern — your full long-form bio is preserved in your account, but only the short bio shows publicly until you upgrade back.
Reverting
You can re-upgrade at any time. There’s no “once you’ve downgraded you can’t come back” rule. Hidden content reappears immediately on upgrade.