We Got Part of Our Pricing Wrong. Here’s What We’re Changing

Earlier this year, we introduced a new pricing structure for Zendo.

The reasoning behind it was straightforward: Zendo had grown into a much more capable platform, while some businesses were running significant parts of their operations on the Free plan. We needed a pricing model that would allow us to keep investing in the product sustainably.

We still believe that part was right.

But we got another part wrong.

We made the Free plan too restrictive and described it as a plan intended mainly for evaluating Zendo—not for running a real business.

In practice, that created a problem: you cannot properly evaluate a client portal without using it with real clients.

So we’re correcting that decision.

What we learned

In our previous pricing announcement, we said:

The Free plan is designed to let you understand Zendo, not to run a full business on it.

Looking back, this was the wrong goal for the plan.

A client portal is not something you can meaningfully evaluate by clicking through settings or creating test data. Its value becomes clear when you invite a client, receive a real request, exchange messages and files, send an invoice, and collect a payment.

By removing Stripe and limiting important workflows, we made it harder for new users to reach that moment.

We tried to improve monetization by adding more value to paid plans. Instead, we also made it harder for potential customers to experience that value in the first place.

The answer is not to make everything free again. The answer is to create a Free plan that provides a complete experience at a small scale—and paid plans that become necessary as a business grows.

A new principle for the Free plan

The new Free plan is built around a simple promise:

Run your first client relationships in Zendo for free.

It should allow you to complete the full workflow:

• invite real clients;
• receive requests and orders;
• communicate and exchange files;
• create quotes and invoices;
• accept manual and Stripe payments;
• sell one-off, subscription, or custom services.

Instead of blocking entire workflows, we will primarily limit scale.

The new Free plan will include:

• 1 internal user;
• up to 3 clients;
• unlimited requests;
• 1 service;
• all service types: one-off, subscription, and custom;
• 2 Request Types;
• quotes and invoices;
• Stripe and manual payments;
• Service Catalog and multi-step checkout;
• files, request forms, and order forms;
• basic portal branding;
• 1 GB of storage;
• no Zendo transaction fees.

This means you can genuinely use Zendo —not just look around it.

The Free plan will still include “Powered by Zendo” branding and will not include features such as client organizations, automations, integrations, or custom domains.

We’re limiting scale, not business models

Previously, access to different service types depended on the plan. We no longer think this is the right distinction.

A new business should be able to test whichever model fits it:

• a fixed-price one-off service;
• a recurring subscription;
• a custom service that requires an individual quote.

The limitation will now be the number of published services:

This gives smaller businesses room to start while creating a natural upgrade path for companies with a broader offer.

How the paid plans will work

Our paid plan prices are not changing:

Each paid plan includes one internal user. Additional internal users remain available as paid seats, with pricing based on the selected plan.

Core: run your business in Zendo

Core is for solo service providers and small businesses that have moved beyond their first few clients.

It includes:

• unlimited clients and requests;
• up to 3 published services;
• all service types;
• custom statuses, checklists, and custom fields;
• 5 Request Types;
• portal templates (coming soon) and sidebar customization;
• custom branding options;
• 100 GB of storage.

The main reason to move from Free to Core is straightforward: you are actively running your client operations in Zendo and need more capacity.

Pro: build a professional, branded client experience

Pro is designed for established businesses that need more than capacity.

It adds:

• unlimited published services;
• unlimited Request Types;
• custom domain and custom email domain;
• client teams/organizations;
• client onboarding and intake forms;
• automations;
• subscription trials and pauses;
• external app embeds;
• Zapier and Rewardful integrations;
• 500 GB of storage.

Pro is where Zendo becomes a more deeply branded and automated part of your business.

Agency: complete control and white label

Agency is for businesses that need Zendo to operate as a fully customized platform under their own brand.

It adds:

• removal of the “Powered by Zendo” badge;
• conditional logic in forms;
• custom CSS and JavaScript;
• API access when available;
• 5 TB of storage.

This plan is about full white label, customization, and control—not simply having more clients or team members.

How to switch from the legacy to the new plan?

📌 If you’re on the legacy Essential or legacy Core plan, you can switch to the new plans. If you haven’t switched by December 31, 2026, you’ll be moved over automatically.

What you’ll gain with the new Core plan:

• Creating subscription services, in addition to one-off and custom services.
• Two-factor authentication for everyone in your workspace.

What changes?

• The new Core plan includes up to 3 active services instead of unlimited. If you currently have more than 3, your existing services will remain active, but you won’t be able to accept new orders until you’re within the limit.
• Everything else stays the same: unlimited clients, team members/seats, 5 request types, and 100 GB of storage.

How to switch?

• Head to Settings > Plan & Billing and click “Switch to the new Core plan”.

Security should not be a premium feature

Two-factor authentication will be available across all plans, including Free.

Zendo stores client communication, files, invoices, and business information. Protecting access to that data should not depend on the plan you purchase.

Every new workspace will start with Pro

New Zendo workspaces will begin with a 14-day Pro trial.

No credit card will be required.

During the trial, you will be able to explore the full Pro experience, including custom domains, client organizations, automations, onboarding, and integrations.

When the trial ends, you can choose a paid plan or continue using Zendo on the Free plan.

Your workspace will not be deleted or locked simply because you decide not to upgrade.

Features outside the Free plan will be disabled, but your data and configuration will remain available if you upgrade later.

What happens to existing Free workspaces?

We will not delete your clients, requests, services, or other data.

If your workspace is above the new Free limits, we will give you time to decide how you want to continue. You will be able to select the clients and services you want to keep active or upgrade to a paid plan.

The new pricing and plans take effect immediately for new accounts. We will communicate the exact transition timeline directly before the new limits take effect.

A first look at Zendo 4.0

This pricing & plans update is part of a broader direction for the product.

We are currently rebuilding the entire Zendo application.

This is not simply a new coat of paint. Zendo 4.0 is a major rewrite intended to give us a stronger foundation for improving the product faster and offering businesses significantly more control over their client experience.

Among the changes planned for Zendo 4.0 are:

• a redesigned application experience;
• substantially more white-label functionality;
• much more control over application and portal colors;
• portal templates;
• dark mode;
• a better foundation for future customization,
• dozens of minor improvements that are hard to list

Dark mode has been one of our most frequently requested improvements, and we know many of you have been waiting for it.

Portal templates and expanded color controls will make it much easier to create an experience that fits your brand without relying on custom code.

Below are a few early previews of what we are working on.

Please note: all screenshots show work in progress. Designs, functionality, and details may change before release.

Of course the portal templates may be assigned to sidebars so you can have different brand styling for each of your clients or teams/organizations ;) 

We are currently planning to release Zendo 4.0 in September 2026.

It is a large release, and we want to be transparent that the exact timing may still change as we complete development and testing. We would rather move the date than release a rewrite that is not ready to support real client businesses.

Why we believe this is a better balance

Zendo needs paying customers to remain sustainable. That has not changed.

What has changed is our understanding of where the paywall should appear.

It should not appear before someone has had the opportunity to experience the product’s core value. It should appear when the business begins to grow, needs a broader service catalog, wants a branded portal, collaborates with client organizations, or starts automating its operations.

The new structure is intended to make each step clear:

• Free: run your first client relationships;
• Core: operate your service business;
• Pro: automate and brand the complete client experience;
• Agency: create a fully white-labeled platform.

We believe this is fairer, easier to understand, and better aligned with how service businesses actually adopt Zendo.

Questions and discussion

If you have questions about the new plans, migration, or billing, we invite you to join our Discord community.

This is where our team is most active and where you can get direct answers and discuss real-world use cases with other Zendo users.

Our commitment

Pricing decisions are difficult, and we will not always get every one of them right on the first attempt.

What matters is being willing to look at the evidence, listen to customers, and correct course when something is not working as intended.

We still need to build Zendo sustainably. But sustainable growth cannot come from making it unnecessarily difficult for new users to discover why the product is valuable.

Thank you to everyone who shared feedback, challenged our assumptions, and continued supporting Zendo.

The updated pricing is coming first. Zendo 4.0 is coming next.

Together, they represent the direction we want to take: easier to start, more powerful as you grow, and much more adaptable to your brand.