# Free Tier

The Cosmocloud Free Tier is designed to help developers get started with our platform quickly and easily. This guide provides in-depth information about the Free Tier, its features, limitations, and best practices.

## Overview

The Free Tier is perfect for:

* Individual Developers
* Proof of Concept Applications
* Learning and Exploring Cosmocloud's capabilities

It provides a robust set of features while maintaining certain limitations to ensure fair usage across our platform.

## Free Tier Limits

To prevent system abuse and ensure fair usage, the Free Tier comes with the following restrictions -

* Each user can create only **1 Organisation**, with only **1 Project** allowed.
* Each Project can have only 1 Environment (Development).
* Development Environment will have a **daily limit of 1000 API** calls per project, refreshing at 00:00 IST everyday.
* For enhanced security, you need to pass [additional headers](/getting-started/6.-testing-free-tier-apis.md) when calling the API

{% hint style="warning" %}
Free Tier Projects run on shared infrastructure and might have some minute performance impacts. They are not meant to be used for Production use cases. [Please upgrade your Organisation](#upgrading-your-organisation) to create dedicated staging and production environments.
{% endhint %}

## Upgrading your Organisation

As your project grows, you may need to upgrade from the Free Tier to a paid plan. This guide walks you through the process of upgrading your Cosmocloud project, explaining what to expect and how to make the transition smoothly.

{% hint style="info" %}
Cosmocloud currently allows you to link your existing Databases in self service. If you need **dedicated databases created directly by Cosmocloud**, contact Cosmocloud Support. (<support@cosmocloud.io>)
{% endhint %}

### When to Upgrade?

Consider upgrading your project when:

1. You're consistently hitting the Free Tier API call limit (1000 calls/day).
2. You need to create multiple projects within your organization.
3. Your project is moving from development to production/staging
4. You need dedicated infrastructure for better performance
5. You require priority support for your growing team

### Upgrade Process

Follow these steps to upgrade your project:

1. Go to [Dashboard](https://dashboard.cosmocloud.io/) and open your Free Tier Project. On the top left, you'll see an `Upgrade` button.
2. Schedule a call with our team and the team would assist you from there onwards.

## FAQs

1. **Can I exceed the 1000 API calls limit if I'm willing to pay?** A: No, the 1000 API call limit is hard-capped for Free Tier projects. To increase this limit, you need to upgrade.
2. **What happens if I hit the API call limit?** A: Once you hit the limit, any further API calls will be rejected until the limit resets at 00:00 IST.
3. **Can I use the Free Tier for a production application?** A: While it's technically possible, we don't recommend using the Free Tier for production applications as it uses shared infrastructure and has hard limits applied.
4. **Is my data safe on the Free Tier?** A: Yes, we implement security measures across all tiers.
5. **Can I downgrade my plan?** A: Downgrade from High to Low Tiers are handles on case-by-case basis. Contact our support team to discuss your specific situation.
6. **What about my data during plan changes?** A: Your data remains intact during plan changes.


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