Plans and slot limits

SpeakAnyWay has three plan tiers. The most common question we get is "what happens when I run out of communicator slots?" — that's covered at the bottom.

What each plan includes

What "slot" means

A communicator slot is one full communicator on your account — name, voice, boards, and a sign-in.

• A full communicator uses one slot.
• A sandbox communicator is a separate, no-sign-in slot. Free includes 1 (a try-it space), and Pro includes 10; Basic doesn't include sandboxes. Use one to plan boards before lending the account to a family, or just to experiment.
• Once you lend a sandbox out, it becomes a full communicator and uses one of your sign-in slots.

What counts as a board

A board is one page of tiles. The board count on your plan is the total number of those pages on your account.

• One page of tiles = one board. However many tiles are on it, and whatever size the grid is.
• Pages you make yourself count individually. If you build a five-page set by hand, that's five boards.
• Board builder sets count page by page. There is one cap and it's boards: a set the builder generates for you uses one board slot per page. There's no separate "board sets" allowance — sets themselves are unlimited. The builder checks you have room for the whole set before it starts.
• Quick Start is the builder set that fits the Free plan. It's a home board with pages for food, feelings, and play, plus a favorites page for interests that don't fit those, so it uses up to 5 boards. The bigger builder sets need more room than Free has, so they need a paid plan.
• Folder pages count too. Turning a tile into a folder makes a new page, and that page uses a board slot like any other board. You'll see these on your Boards page badged as Page, so you can always find and delete them.
• Menus you share publicly are free. A menu board is charged like any other board while it's private — but tick Share this menu publicly and it stops using a board slot for as long as it stays public. Unpublish it later and it counts again.
• Preset and public-library boards don't count until you copy one onto your account. The copy is yours, so it counts; the original never did.

What happens when you hit your slot limit

When all your sign-in slots are full and you try to create another, you'll see an error explaining you've hit your plan limit. You won't lose what you have — you just can't add another full communicator until something changes.

You have a few options:

• Upgrade your plan. New slots open up immediately, and any sandbox can be promoted to a full communicator.
• End a loan. If you're an SLP with a loaner that's no longer in use, ending the loan frees up that slot.
• Use your sandbox. Sandboxes don't count against your sign-in slots. If you just need to plan boards, a sandbox is fine indefinitely.
• Archive a communicator. Sandboxes and full communicators you own can both be archived — archiving a full communicator frees up its slot. A communicator that's out on loan can't be archived until the loan is ended, and unarchiving needs a free slot to land in.

What happens to extra communicators when you downgrade

If you move to a plan with fewer slots than you're using (for example Pro → Basic), nothing is deleted — every communicator, its boards, and its public MySpeak page stay exactly as they are.

The only thing that changes is private sign-in. Your plan covers a set number of signed-in communicators, so any beyond that number have their private passcode sign-in paused. They still work through their public MySpeak page (boards, audio, everything a communicator needs day-to-day), so a child is never cut off mid-use.

You choose which ones stay signed in. On the Communicators page you'll see a short "choose which communicators stay signed in" panel whenever you're over your limit. Pick the ones to keep — the rest pause private sign-in until you upgrade or free up a slot. Change your mind any time; it's just a toggle.

To bring a paused communicator back, upgrade your plan (or end a loan) to free up a slot — paused communicators restore automatically as room opens up.

A note for SLPs and educators

Pro plans get sandbox communicators specifically because the SLP workflow is:

1. Set up a sandbox for a client.
2. Pick boards, voices, settings while you're planning.
3. When the family is ready, lend the sandbox to them — it becomes a full communicator at handoff.

This means the slot only "counts" once the family is actively using it. You can have a workshop full of sandboxes in progress without using any of your slots.

What to expect

• You won't be locked out of the app when you hit your slot limit. You can still use, edit, and share every communicator you already have.
• Pick how you pay. Paid plans come in three flavors on the pricing page: monthly, yearly (Basic $80/yr, Pro $200/yr — about 17% off), or a pay-once 5-year license (Basic $199, Pro $499). A 5-year license isn't a subscription — there's nothing to renew or cancel, and your account shows "License through" your end date. To change plans on a license, contact support.
• You change plans in the app. On a paid plan, the upgrade or downgrade happens right on the pricing page — you'll see exactly what's due today before you confirm, with no trip to a separate billing portal. (The billing portal is still there for receipts and updating your card, and for switching back to Free.)
• Upgrading is instant. The moment the change goes through, your new slots are available and any sandbox can be promoted.
• Downgrading is a manual choice. If you move to a plan with fewer slots than you currently use, you'll be asked to pick what to do with the extras before the change goes through. Nothing is deleted automatically.

Common questions

• Can I see how many slots I'm using? Yes. Open Communicators and look for "X of Y communicators" at the top — your home dashboard shows the count too.
• Do MySpeak pages use slots? No. The communicator uses a slot, but their MySpeak page is free regardless of plan.
• What if I just want to try a paid plan? Monthly Basic and Pro plans started on the web come with a 14-day free trial. If you don't continue after the trial, your account moves to Free — nothing you made is deleted, but boards past the Free limit become view-only until you upgrade.
• I'm an SLP, OT, or AT specialist — is there a clinician plan? Yes — SpeakAnyWay for Clinicians is a free account for verified clinicians: premium features unlocked, 100 boards, 2 loaner slots, and 400 AI credits a month. Apply here.
• Are there discounts for schools or districts? Yes — school and district licenses are quoted directly. Email hello@speakanyway.com.
• Can I share one Pro account across my whole SLP practice? You don't need to share a login. Invite each clinician to a communicator's team and they get their own sign-in. For a whole practice, email hello@speakanyway.com and we'll size something that fits.