Marketing usage is metered by the number of emails sent per calendar month. Each plan tier has a monthly quota; sends above quota are either rejected (free tier) or billed as overage blocks of 1,000 emails (paid tiers). Quotas reset on the first of the month, on your organization's timezone.
The three plan tiers
Individual — free tier. 125 emails per month. Hard block at the cap: once you hit 125 sends, further send requests are refused until the quota resets.
Growth — 1,000 emails per month included. $4.00 per 1,000-email block over quota. No hard block — sends continue and overage is billed.
Pro — 5,000 emails per month included. $3.00 per 1,000-email block over quota. No hard block — sends continue and overage is billed.
How quota is counted
Only successfully-sent emails count toward your quota. If a send fails before delivery (e.g., the recipient is on the suppression list, or the contact is unsubscribed), it does not count. Hard-bounced and complained emails are counted if the send was attempted but the bounce/complaint came back after delivery.
The quota window is the calendar month on your organization's configured timezone — not UTC. If your organization is configured for America/New_York, the month rolls over at midnight Eastern.
Overage billing on paid tiers
When a paid-tier (Growth or Pro) account exceeds its monthly quota, sends continue without interruption. The system records the overage and reports it to Core for billing. Overage is charged in blocks of 1,000 emails — if you send 1,050 emails over quota in a month, you're billed for 1 block (rounded up).
You'll see overage as a separate line item on the next Core invoice.
What happens at the cap on the free tier
On the Individual (free) plan, when you hit 125 sends in a month, the next send request is refused. The campaign or automation that triggered it shows a "send refused — quota exceeded" status. To send more, either wait for the month to roll over OR upgrade to Growth or Pro from the Core dashboard.
Where to see your current usage
The Marketing dashboard shows your current month's send count, your remaining quota, and (on paid plans) the number of overage blocks accrued. Refreshes after each successful send.
What plans do not control
Plans do not limit the number of contacts or audiences you can store. You can have unlimited contacts on any tier; only sends are metered.
Plans do not limit the number of users or seats on Marketing — user counts are tied to your Compass / Books seat structure, not Marketing.
There is no soft warning before hitting the cap. You'll see your usage on the dashboard; the system doesn't email you when you're approaching the limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as one "email" for quota purposes?
One successful send to one recipient. A campaign sent to 100 contacts counts as 100 emails. An automation that sends 3 emails to 50 contacts is 150 emails (assuming all 150 complete).
Do test sends count toward my quota?
Yes. The system doesn't distinguish between test sends and production sends for metering purposes.
What happens to in-progress automations when I hit the cap?
On the free tier, in-progress automations stop sending until the quota resets — contacts wait at the next send step. On paid tiers, automations continue and any new sends become overage.
Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan mid-month?
Yes, from the Core dashboard. Upgrades apply immediately and your existing sends count against the new (higher) quota. Downgrades apply on your next billing cycle.
Related guides
Marketing Reports and Revenue
Per-campaign engagement metrics (delivered, opens, clicks, bounces) and manual revenue attribution — record bookings against a campaign so you can see actual dollars per send.
Marketing Automations
Per-contact email workflows that fire on a specific trigger and walk each contact through a fixed sequence of steps. Built for "if this happens, send these emails" use cases — not for conditional branching.
Sending Domains and DNS Setup
Verify a custom domain so marketing emails come from your address ([email protected]) with proper SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and Return-Path records.