Downgrading moves you to a lower-tier plan with reduced quotas and limits. Unlike upgrades — which take effect immediately — downgrades are always scheduled for the end of your current billing period to ensure you receive the full value of what you have already paid for.
When Downgrading Makes Sense
- Your sending volume has decreased and you are consistently using only a fraction of your current plan quota.
- You want to reduce costs during a low-activity period (off-season, product pivot, reduced marketing).
- You have consolidated email operations and no longer need multiple SMTP accounts or domains.
- You are testing a lower tier before switching platforms.
Check your usage first: Before downgrading, review your last 30-day delivery report to confirm your actual volume is comfortably within the lower plan's limits. Downgrading to a plan that is too small for your volume will result in sending blocks and queued messages.
Key Difference from Upgrading
| Upgrade | Downgrade | |
|---|---|---|
| Takes effect | Immediately on payment | At end of current billing period |
| Invoice generated | Immediately (prorated) | At next renewal (new lower price) |
| Current quotas | Increases immediately | Remains at current level until period ends |
| Refund for unused days | Credit applied toward upgrade cost | No refund — current period is used in full |
| Cancellable before taking effect? | No — immediate | Yes — cancel the scheduled downgrade before period end |
How to Schedule a Downgrade
- Log in to the Rackwave portal as the Account Owner.
- Go to Services in the left sidebar.
- Find the subscription you want to downgrade.
- Click Change Plan or Manage Plan.
- Select the lower-tier plan you want to move to.
- Review the downgrade summary — it will show your current plan, the new plan, and the effective date (end of current billing period).
- Click Schedule Downgrade.
A confirmation email is sent and your Services page will show a Downgrade Scheduled indicator until the change takes effect.
How to Cancel a Scheduled Downgrade
Changed your mind? You can cancel a scheduled downgrade at any time before it takes effect:
- Go to Services.
- Find the subscription showing the Downgrade Scheduled indicator.
- Click Cancel Downgrade.
- Your subscription continues on the current plan at the next renewal.
What Changes When the Downgrade Takes Effect
| Item | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Monthly sending quota | Reduced to new plan limit from the start of the new billing period |
| Daily & hourly limits | Reduced to new plan levels |
| Domain slots | Reduced. If you have more domains than the new limit allows, excess domains are not deleted — but you cannot add new ones until you are within the new limit. |
| SMTP accounts | Same as domains — existing accounts are preserved, new ones cannot be added if over limit. |
| Sending history & logs | Fully preserved — no data is lost on downgrade |
| Billing amount | Reduced to new plan price from next renewal invoice |
Over-limit resources: If your current setup (domains, SMTP accounts) exceeds the new plan's limits, those resources are locked — they remain active but you cannot add new ones. To regain the ability to add resources, either delete the excess or upgrade back to a higher plan.
Downgrade vs Cancellation
A downgrade moves you to a lower paid plan. Cancellation ends your subscription entirely. If you are considering cancellation instead, see: Deactivating or deleting your account.