One of the most common pieces of feedback I've received from Starter plan customers has been about theme restrictions. While the Pro plan includes full custom theme support, many publishers on the Starter plan wanted the flexibility to upload their own themes without upgrading to the full Pro plan.
Many of you told me that you didn't need all the bells and whistles of the Pro plan (CDN, Pintura, higher email limts, etc.), so the price difference between the Starter and Pro plan didn't make much sense, just to add custom themes.
Today, I'm excited to introduce the Custom Theme Support Add-On – a new optional feature that brings theme flexibility to Starter plans for just $2.50/month ($25.00/year or $75.00 one-time on the Starter lifetime plan).
How It Works
If you're currently on a Starter plan:
- Head to your Billing page in the customer portal
- Look for the "Available Add-ons" section
- Click "Add Custom Theme Support" to see detailed pricing
- Complete the purchase – your theme restrictions will be lifted within 2-3 minutes ✨
For new customers choosing the Starter plan, the add-on will be offered during the upgrade process if you're using a theme that requires it.
Why This Approach?
Rather than forcing everyone into a higher-tier plan, this add-on approach lets you pay only for the specific features you need. Many Starter plan customers are perfectly happy with the included themes, while others want the creative freedom of custom themes – now both groups can choose what works best for them.
The add-on can also be removed at any time if your needs change, giving you complete flexibility over your subscription.
If you're currently on a monthly or yearly Pro plan, and just got it for the custom theme (e.g. you don't need the CDN caching, Pintura, etc.), send me a quick email. The "downgrade" won't work automatically due to the different products involved, but I can make it happy on my end.
A downgrade from the Pro lifetime plan to Starter lifetime (with the addon) is not possible.