Overdraft buffer
Paid plans include an overdraft buffer of 10 % of the monthly quota. When all your other credits are used up, Frontmail keeps sending from the buffer instead of holding messages, and bills what you used on the next invoice.
| Plan | Quota | Overdraft buffer |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 3,000 | 300 |
| Pro | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Business 50k | 50,000 | 5,000 |
| Business 100k | 100,000 | 10,000 |
| Business 200k | 200,000 | 20,000 |
The Free plan has no overdraft.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”- A new
overdraftgrant is created with each month of a paid plan (yearly plans get one per month too) and expires at the end of that month. Unused overdraft costs nothing and does not roll over. - It is always consumed last – after the subscription quota, packs and bonus credits (see Consumption order).
- The overdraft credits you used are billed as a line item on your next invoice, priced at your plan’s per-email rate (monthly price ÷ quota; for yearly billing the discounted monthly price). The renewal email mentions the billed overdraft.
- On yearly plans there is no renewal invoice each month, so the overdraft used in a month is billed as a separate small invoice (charged to your saved card) right after that month ends.
- When the subscription ends – a cancellation at the end of the period, or deleting the organization – the overdraft used in the last period is billed right away as a separate invoice and the rest of the buffer is removed.
- Emails sent with the public key (website forms) don’t use the overdraft unless you allow it in Billing → Buy credits → Spending by public-key traffic. Anyone can copy the public key from your website, so by default such emails wait in the hold queue instead of adding to your invoice. Requests with a private key and dashboard sends use the overdraft as usual.
- When the overdraft is used up too, messages go to the hold queue.
Should I rely on overdraft?
Section titled “Should I rely on overdraft?”Overdraft is a safety net for an unexpected spike, not a pricing tier. If you use it regularly, a credit pack is cheaper, and auto top-up can buy one for you automatically before the overdraft is ever touched.
You get a notification when you reach 100 % of your quota, which is when overdraft starts to be used (if you have no packs). The Billing → Credits & ledger tab shows how much of the overdraft grant is left.