What CleverTap charges and what you get at each price tier

CleverTap offers a subscription model where you pay based on the number of monthly active users (MAU) your app or website reaches, not a flat monthly fee. The company does not publish exact pricing on its website — you request a quote based on your user volume, industry, and which features you need. This means two businesses with different sizes pay different amounts, and negotiation is normal.

The platform includes a free tier called CleverTap Free, which lets you send up to 10,000 messages per month to a single app. This tier includes basic segmentation, push notifications, and in-app messaging. If you exceed 10,000 messages or need multiple apps, you move to a paid plan. Paid tiers scale with your user base — a startup with 50,000 MAU pays less than a company with 5 million MAU.

Each subscription tier unlocks different tools. Lower tiers include push notifications, email, and SMS. Higher tiers add features like predictive analytics, advanced segmentation, A/B testing, and dedicated support. The API access — the technical layer that lets your engineers connect CleverTap to your own systems — is available on all paid plans, though the rate limits (how many requests you can make per second) increase with higher tiers.

Key Takeaways

  • CleverTap charges based on monthly active users, not a fixed monthly fee, so you request a custom quote rather than selecting a preset plan.
  • The free tier allows 10,000 messages per month to one app and includes basic push, email, and in-app messaging features.
  • Paid plans unlock advanced features like predictive analytics, A/B testing, and higher API rate limits as your user volume grows.
  • API access is included on all paid subscriptions, but the number of requests you can make per second depends on your tier.
  • You can start on the free tier and upgrade only when you need additional apps, higher message volume, or advanced analytics tools.

How the dashboard works with your subscription level

The CleverTap dashboard is the web interface where you build campaigns, view analytics, and manage your audience. What you see and what you can do in the dashboard depends on your subscription tier. On the free plan, the dashboard shows basic reporting: how many messages were sent, how many people opened them, and straightforward user segments. You can create campaigns manually and schedule them to send at specific times.

Paid plans unlock more dashboard features. You gain access to predictive analytics, which estimates which users are likely to churn (stop using your app) or make a purchase. You can also build more complex audience segments using behavioral rules — for example, "users who opened an email in the last 7 days AND made a purchase over $50 in the last 30 days." The dashboard also shows real-time campaign performance and lets you pause or adjust campaigns while they are running.

Higher tiers add a journey builder, a visual tool for creating multi-step campaigns. Instead of sending one message, you can set up a sequence: send a push notification, wait 2 days, send an email if the user did not click the push, and send an SMS if they still did not engage. The dashboard also includes team management, so you can invite colleagues and control what each person can see and edit.

What the API does and which plans include it

The CleverTap API is a set of technical instructions that lets your engineering team connect CleverTap to your own software. Instead of manually uploading user data or creating campaigns in the dashboard, your developers can write code that talks directly to CleverTap. This is essential if you want to send messages triggered by specific user actions — for example, sending a push notification the moment someone abandons their shopping cart.

The API is included on all paid CleverTap plans. The free tier does not include API access. On paid plans, you get access to several API endpoints: the User API (to upload or update user profiles), the Events API (to record when users take actions), the Messages API (to send messages programmatically), and the Segments API (to query which users match certain criteria). Each endpoint has a rate limit — the number of requests your code can make per second. A startup plan might allow 100 requests per second, while an enterprise plan allows 1,000 or more.

If you exceed your rate limit, CleverTap queues the extra requests and processes them when capacity opens up. This means your messages still send, but there may be a delay. If you consistently hit the limit, you can upgrade your plan to increase it, or contact CleverTap support to negotiate a higher limit within your current tier.

How to move between tiers and what happens to your data

You can upgrade or downgrade your CleverTap subscription at any time. If you upgrade — for example, from free to a paid plan — your access to new features turns on when ready. Your existing campaigns, user data, and analytics history remain intact. You start paying the new rate on your next billing cycle.

If you downgrade — moving from a paid plan to free, or from a higher-paid tier to a lower one — your data stays in CleverTap, but features you lose access to stop working. For example, if you downgrade from a tier that includes journey builder to one that does not, your existing journeys pause. They do not delete; if you upgrade again later, they resume. However, if you downgrade to the free tier and you have multiple apps, you lose access to all but one app. The other apps' data remains in CleverTap, but you cannot view or edit them until you upgrade again.

If you cancel your subscription entirely, CleverTap typically keeps your data for 30 days. After that, it may be deleted. Check your contract or contact support to confirm the exact retention period for your account.

Comparing CleverTap to other customer engagement platforms

CleverTap competes with platforms like Braze, Iterable, and Segment. Unlike CleverTap, Braze publishes tiered pricing on its website, making it easier to compare costs upfront. Iterable also uses a usage-based model but charges per message sent rather than per monthly active user. Segment focuses on data collection and integration rather than campaign building, so it serves a different use case.

CleverTap's strength is in mobile app engagement — it was built for app developers first and added web features later. If your business is primarily a mobile app, CleverTap's pricing and feature set may be more efficient than a platform designed for email-first businesses. If you send mostly email or SMS, Iterable or Klaviyo might offer better value. The best choice depends on your channel mix (how much you rely on push versus email versus SMS) and your user volume.

Common questions about CleverTap costs and what is included

Many teams ask whether they can use the free tier for production (real customer data) or only for testing. CleverTap allows free tier use in production, so you can run a real business on 10,000 messages per month. However, you lose access to advanced features and API access, which limits what you can automate. Most teams use free for testing or very small apps, then upgrade once they need more messages or automation.

Another common question: does CleverTap charge for data storage? No. You pay for monthly active users, not for how much data you store. This means you can keep years of historical user data without extra cost. However, if you have a user who was active 12 months ago but is inactive now, they do not count toward your MAU and do not affect your bill.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know what tier I need?

Start with the free tier if you have fewer than 10,000 monthly active users or want to test the platform. Once you need more than 10,000 messages per month, multiple apps, API access, or advanced features like predictive analytics, request a quote for a paid plan. CleverTap's sales team will ask about your user volume and use case, then suggest a tier.

Can I use the API on the free tier?

No. API access is only available on paid plans. If you need to send messages triggered by user actions or upload user data programmatically, you must upgrade to a paid subscription.

What happens if I go over my message limit?

On the free tier, you are capped at 10,000 messages per month. Once you hit that limit, you cannot send more messages until the next month. On paid plans, there is no hard message limit — you pay based on monthly active users, not message volume, so you can send as many messages as you want to those users.

Do I pay for users who do not receive messages?

Yes. You pay for monthly active users, which means any user who opens your app or visits your website in a given month counts toward your bill, whether or not they receive a message. This encourages you to segment your audience and send only relevant messages.

Can I pause my subscription without losing my data?

CleverTap does not offer a formal pause option, but you can downgrade to the free tier to stop paying while keeping your data. Your campaigns and user profiles remain in the system. When you upgrade again, everything is still there.