Traffic Chart is free to try. Event plans are not billed. Traffic plans start on a free tier; when you need more capacity you unlock **that plan** with a credit or a card payment — or you draw inside a participating municipality. Participating municipalities currently exist only in the Netherlands.

Prices always appear in the app at checkout. They can depend on country and currency. This page does not list amounts.

The payment **dialog** (every branch, **Payment status**, guests): [Pay or spend a credit](/hc/test/articles/paying-for-a-traffic-plan-us). The organization **Billing** page (packages, GmbH vs B.V., portal): [Organization billing](/hc/test/articles/organization-billing-us).

## What is free

**Creating** a traffic plan is free. Payment is asked when you **place signs** past the free allowance, not when you click **Start planning**.

**Event plans** do not use credits. They can still be turned off for a workspace. The **Event plans** tab then reads **Not enabled for Personal.** (or **Not enabled for Acme Events.**). [Workspace unavailable](/hc/test/articles/workspace-unavailable-us).

![Unpaid free-tier traffic plan in the editor (map loaded; no Paid badge)](https://hel1.your-objectstorage.com/traffic-chart-tutorials/helpcenter/en_US/account-and-billing/billing/02-unpaid-plan-editor.png)

A public **share link** is view-only. Viewers are not asked to pay.

## Participating municipalities

Some municipalities license Traffic Chart so organizers can draw freely there.

- Placement looks up the municipality under the pin.
- If the area is participating, eligible **personal** accounts can place unlimited signs there without paying for that placement.
- If not, the free sign limit applies until the plan is unlocked.

You can also create a traffic plan outside participating municipalities. The personal payment dialog is titled **Continue drawing with 1 credit**. It shows the number of participating municipalities, explains the free sign allowance for the municipality under the pin, and offers one credit for unlimited signs **in this plan**.

Organization credit-pool workspaces use their shared balance instead. The title can be **Spend 1 credit to create new plan?**, with **Spend credit** and **Cancel**. [Pay or spend a credit](/hc/test/articles/paying-for-a-traffic-plan-us).

## Free sign limit (the 5-sign rule)

Outside participating areas, unpaid traffic plans allow a limited number of signs that **count toward the cap**. That number is currently **5**.

Count every plate. A stack of three plates is three toward the five, not one pin. **Bulk signs** can use the whole allowance in one line.

The sixth counting sign is when the payment dialog appears. Until then, keep drawing.

Organization credit-pool workspaces often have **no** personal-style free allowance: you **Spend credit** (or you already have **Unlimited sign placement** on a subscription) before extra signs stay on the plan.

Duplicating a paid plan starts a **new unpaid** plan. **Demo traffic plan** with a **Paid** badge, duplicated, is a new plan that must be unlocked again.

## Unlocking a traffic plan (Paid vs organization funding)

Paying or spending a credit sets **this** traffic plan to unlimited signs. Other unpaid plans keep their own limits. A credit unlocks one traffic plan, not every plan on the account.

### Personal / legacy: the Paid badge

In the personal and older flows you will see a **Paid** badge on that plan on **Home** and **Plans**. That badge means **Demo traffic plan** has unlimited signs. It is not a Pro license. It is not organization membership.

![Home with Paid and Free badges on continue-plan cards](https://hel1.your-objectstorage.com/traffic-chart-tutorials/helpcenter/en_US/account-and-billing/billing/01-plans-with-paid-badge.png)

### Native organization funding: often no Paid badge

On **Acme Events**, native organization billing does **not** always show the old **Paid** badge. The plan can still be funded from the organization account. The test is whether the next sign stays on the map, not whether the pill appeared.

Do not start a second payment because the badge is missing.

## Personal workspace

When placement is blocked you see the payment dialog. Full walkthrough: [Pay or spend a credit](/hc/test/articles/paying-for-a-traffic-plan-us).

In short:

1. If you have credits — **Spend credit**. The plan is saved and unlocked. Toast **Credit spent**.
2. If you have none — **Select a country**, then **Billing postal / ZIP code**, then **Checkout** / **Pay now** (or **Log in & Pay** / **Register & Pay** if you were a guest).
3. Complete Stripe. **Payment status** confirms the credit and unlocks the plan.

Personal credits also appear under **Settings** → **Credits**, except for some organization-role accounts that hide that block on purpose.

## Organization workspace

Credits shown in the dialog are the **workspace pool**, not your personal **Settings** → **Credits**.

- If the pool has credits and you can edit the plan: **Spend 1 credit to create new plan?** / **Spend credit**.
- If billing is not set up: **Billing is not configured for this organization. Ask an organization administrator or Traffic Chart support to configure it.**
- If you cannot purchase: **Only an organization owner, administrator, or billing account holder can purchase credits. Ask them to add credits to this workspace.**

Owners and admins who are **not** the assigned editor cannot start checkout on a colleague’s **Demo traffic plan**. Reassign the editor first, or buy from a plan you can edit.

Buying a **package** for Acme Events is not this map dialog. When the organization shows **Billing**, owners use **Choose a package** and **Continue to checkout** (hosted Stripe). Members never see that page. [Organization billing](/hc/test/articles/organization-billing-us).

If you do **not** see **Billing**, credits may still be handled the older way by Traffic Chart for your team. There is nothing to “turn on” from **Settings**.

## After you pay

| Screen | Meaning | What to do |
|--------|---------|------------|
| **Confirming your payment** | Payment succeeded; unlock is applying | Wait; keep the tab open |
| **Payment successful** | Plan ready | **Open traffic plan** |
| **Payment received, confirmation pending** | Safe; confirmation is slow | Wait; do not pay again; **Check again** |
| **Payment failed** | No credit used | Return to the plan and retry |
| Plan unavailable | Plan missing; credit may remain | Check **Credits** / org **Billing**; contact support |
| Could not apply automatically | Payment OK, unlock failed | Contact support **before** paying again |

See [Payment status after checkout](/hc/test/articles/payment-status-after-checkout-us), [Payment succeeded but plan not unlocked](/hc/test/articles/payment-succeeded-plan-not-unlocked-us), and the outcome-by-outcome table in [Pay or spend a credit](/hc/test/articles/paying-for-a-traffic-plan-us).

## Paying does not unlock every tool

Unlimited signs on one plan is not the same as organization/PRO tools:

- **Bulk signs**
- **Displace sign stack**
- **XL** export maps
- Materials **Excel**
- **PDF preview**

Those show **Pro feature** (or similar) when your account cannot use them. [Feature not available for my account](/hc/test/articles/feature-not-available-us).

## Practical tips

- Prefer one browser tab for checkout.
- Never start a second payment while the first is still processing.
- **Switch workspace** before you pay. A **Personal** payment does not fund **Acme Events traffic plans**.
- For sign limits while drawing, see [I can’t place more signs](/hc/test/articles/cannot-place-more-signs-us).

## Related articles

- [Pay or spend a credit](/hc/test/articles/paying-for-a-traffic-plan-us)
- [Payment status after checkout](/hc/test/articles/payment-status-after-checkout-us)
- [Organization billing](/hc/test/articles/organization-billing-us)
- [Workspace unavailable](/hc/test/articles/workspace-unavailable-us)
- [I can’t place more signs](/hc/test/articles/cannot-place-more-signs-us)
- [Payment succeeded but plan not unlocked](/hc/test/articles/payment-succeeded-plan-not-unlocked-us)