When does the cancellation take effect?

Downgrades to the Free plan take effect on the 1st of the following month, not immediately. You retain your current plan's limits and will receive a final invoice on that date covering the full package fee plus usage from the current month.

Will I get a refund for the remaining days in my billing period?

No. Ably's terms state that you may deactivate your account at any time without a refund. There is no pro-rata refund for partial months when downgrading.

What happens to my apps and data after I downgrade to Free?

Your apps continue running under the Free plan limits (200 concurrent connections, 6 million messages/month, 500 msg/s). No data is deleted by the downgrade itself — full data deletion only happens if you separately request account closure via email.

How do I permanently delete my Ably account and all data?

First downgrade to the Free plan, then email support@ably.com from the account owner's email address requesting account deletion. Ably will send a confirmation email; reply to confirm. This is irreversible — all information is permanently deleted with no recovery option.

Can a team member cancel on my behalf?

No. Only the account owner has permission to downgrade or cancel. Team members and collaborators cannot initiate a plan change or account closure.

Is there a cancellation fee?

No cancellation fee. You simply stop being charged after the final invoice is issued on the 1st of the month following your downgrade request.

How to Cancel Ably (2026)

Ably plans start from $0.00/month. Follow our 6-step guide to cancel your subscription in about 3 minutes — with tips to avoid retention offers.

Updated: April 2026

Easy

Visit Website

Estimated Time:3 minutes

Cancel Method:Website

Log in to your Ably account

Go to ably.com/login and sign in with your account owner credentials. Note: only the account owner can cancel — team members do not have this permission.

Open the Account menu

Once logged in, click on the 'Account' menu in the top navigation bar of the Ably dashboard.

Go to Billing

In the Account dropdown, select 'Billing' to open your billing and subscription settings.

Click Downgrade

On the Billing page, locate the 'Downgrade' button. Below the 'Upgrade your package' button you will see a link labelled 'Downgrade to a free package' — click it to initiate the downgrade.

Confirm the downgrade

Confirm your selection when prompted. Your plan will be downgraded to Free on the 1st of the following month. You will receive a final invoice on that date covering the full package fee plus any usage from the current month. No refund is issued for the remainder of the current billing period.

(Optional) Request full account deletion

If you also want all data permanently deleted, send an email to support@ably.com from the account owner's email address requesting account closure. Ably will reply with a confirmation email; reply to confirm. This step is irreversible — all apps, channels, and data are permanently deleted.

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