Support Start > Billing and Account Management > Changing Your Service > Choosing Monthly Or Annual Billing

Our Web hosting service offers the choice of monthly or annual billing.

With monthly billing, you're billed at the end of each calendar month. For example, you'd be charged for your February service on March 1.

With annual billing, you're billed for a year's standard service in advance. Because this simplifies our billing operations, you get a significant discount of at least $12.00 per year. And there's no extra risk — the unused portion will be refunded if you cancel before the end of the year.

To choose between annual prepayment and monthly billing:

1. Login to the “My Account” control panel (having trouble?)
2. Click Billing and Contact Information
3. Click Choose Annual Prepayment or Monthly Billing
4. Click the new method and save the changes.

You can switch billing types at any time. If you switch from monthly to annual billing, you'll be billed for a full year's service (with a discount) when you make the change. If you switch from annual to monthly billing, you'll no longer receive the discount, and we'll start charging your credit card monthly when your current prepayment balance reaches zero.

A note about how our "annual payment" system actually works

A common question is “What happens if I've paid for a year in advance and I get a referral reward?”, or “What happens if I add new sites to my account halfway through the year?”

The answer is that although we call it an “annual prepayment”, all the tracking is actually done using the dollar value of your account balance. Any credits make your payment last longer than a year, and any added fees make it last less than a year.

When you choose annual prepayment, we charge you in advance for an amount equal to a year's standard service with a discount, which gives you a prepaid credit balance (shown at the bottom of your billing history). We then deduct the discounted monthly fee from the credit balance each month. When your credit balance reaches zero — which usually happens twelve months later — we charge you for another 12 months of service at the discounted monthly rate. (We send an email reminder of the upcoming charge about 30 days before it happens.)

If you switch to a less expensive plan during the year, or if you receive a credit such as a referral reward, the prepaid amount will actually cover more than 12 months of service, and you won't be charged again until your prepaid balance reaches zero.

Similarly, if you sign up for new accounts during the year, or if you switch to a larger plan with a higher price, or if you incur overage fees for using more resources than your plan includes, your prepaid balance will reach zero more quickly, and another prepayment will be due before 12 months has elapsed.

Finally, if you choose annual prepayment and cancel your service before the end of the year, you'll receive a refund of the unused balance. That's because, unlike most Web hosting companies, we don't lock you into a long-term contract when you prepay.