Pricing FAQ

Everything you need to know about Cinapse plans, pricing, and billing.

Plans & pricing

What plans does Cinapse offer?

Plan

Price

Best for

Starter

Trying Cinapse out

Professional

Picture lock

$29.99/mo or $299.99/yr

Individual ADs, development work, and smaller single-unit productions

Independent

$19.99/unit/day

Single-unit productions with multiple collaborators

Studio

$49.99/unit/day

Multi-unit, crossboarded episodic television or feature films

Enterprise

Studios and production companies managing multiple production schedules simultaneously

What's the difference between personal and production-based plans?

Professional is a personal subscription. You pay for it yourself, and it stays with you between gigs. Your boards, your data, your workflow.

‍Project-based plans (Independent, Studio, Enterprise) are paid by a production for a specific show. When the show wraps, the plan ends.

Is there a free plan?

Yes. Cinapse has a Starter tier so you can see how the tool works. No credit card required, no time limit.

Can I start on a personal plan, then upgrade a single project to an Independent or Studio plan later?

Yes. Many Assistant Directors start building on Starter or Professional, then upgrade the project when filming is approved and the production takes over billing. Upgrade any individual project to Independent or Studio from your Starter account — your schedule stays exactly as it is.

Cinapse is the first film and television scheduling platform to charge productions directly. Why?

Because production scheduling is not a personal productivity tool. It's a production-wide system relied upon every day by the cast, crew, production company, studio, and financiers. Productions already pay for document distribution, digital background actor vouchers, costume and asset management software, payroll, dailies, and countless other operational systems. Production scheduling software belongs in that same category.
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At the same time, many projects begin long before financing is secured. That's why Cinapse Professional exists: giving filmmakers and ADs a personal workspace for development and prep, while making it seamless for productions to assume responsibility for billing, security, permissions, and administration once a project enters active production.

How many seats can I add?

Independent includes 4 configurable seats. Add as many as many additional seats you need.
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‍Studio includes 10 configurable seats with custom permissions. Add as many as many additional seats you need.

What's included in "unlimited stripboards, colors, and reports"?

On the Independent plan and above, there's no cap on the number of stripboards you can create, the color schemes you can use, or the reports you can generate.

Picture Lock pricing

What is Picture Lock pricing?

Picture Lock is our introductory rate for Cinapse Professional. Subscribe before December 1, 2026 and you lock in $29.99/month or $299.99/year for 2 years.

After December 1, 2026, new subscribers pay standard pricing: $49.99/month or $499.99/year.

Does Picture Lock pricing apply to project-based plans?

No. Picture Lock pricing is exclusive to the Professional individual subscription. Project-based plan pricing (Independent, Studio) is not promotional.

What happens after the 2-year Picture Lock period?

Your subscription moves to standard pricing ($49.99/month or $499.99/year) at the end of the 2-year lock-in period.

Billing & account

Pausing vs. Cancelling a Cinapse Professionsal plan

When you pause or cancel your Professional plan, each of your Professional productions goes through a quick downgrade to Starter. Because Starter has limits, you choose what stays active in each one: which stripboards, calendars, layouts, etc. Anything you don't keep active gets locked.

Here's where pausing and canceling differ:

Pausing

Locked items stay view-only — you can still open and read everything, you just can't edit beyond Starter limits.
You keep view-only access to Professional productions shared with you, and your collaborators keep view-only access to yours.
Your rate stays locked. On Picture Lock, it's preserved through any approved pause (up to 12 months total).
Unpause anytime and everything unlocks exactly as you left it.

Canceling

Locked items can't be viewed until you resubscribe.
You are removed from Professional productions shared with you, and your collaborators are removed from yours.
Your Picture Lock rate is permanently forfeited and can't be reinstated.
Resubscribe to Professional anytime and everything unlocks exactly as you left it.

What happens when my production wants to pay for Cinapse?

Upgrade that project to an Independent or Studio plan and assign a billing admin. The production pays for that project, and you keep working in the same Cinapse account — same boards, same data, no disruption.

Your Professional subscription stays completely separate. You can keep it active, pause it, or reactivate it at any time. It's your call, independent of what the production is paying for.

How do I assign a billing admin?

When upgrading a project to a production-paid plan, you'll be prompted to invite a billing admin by email. They'll receive access to manage billing for the project.

Can I switch back to my Professional subscription after a show wraps?

Yes. Your Professional subscription is separate from any production-paid plan and can be activated, paused, or reactivated at any time from your account settings.

Can I switch between monthly and annual billing?

Yes. You can switch between monthly and annual billing from your account settings. If you're on Picture Lock pricing, both the monthly and annual rates are locked in for 2 years.

PLAN CHANGES

Why did the plan names change?

We renamed Team to Independent and Team Pro to Studio to better reflect how productions actually use Cinapse. Independent productions typically need collaboration and permissions, while studio-backed features and episodic television productions often require advanced security, governance, and multi-unit scheduling workflows. The rename was applied automatically and did not affect your subscription, features, or pricing.

Do I need to do anything because of the rename?

No. The rename is fully automatic. You'll see the new plan name in your account, but your pricing, features, and projects are exactly the same.

I was on the Team plan. What changed?

Your plan is now called Independent. Pricing is now $19.99/unit/day and includes 4 configurable seats with default permissions for Editors, Breakdown Editors, and Viewers. You’ll also now get unlimited stripboards, colors, and reports, with the ability to expand your team as needed by purchasing additional seats.

I was on Team Pro. What changed?

Your plan is now called Studio. At $49.99/unit/day, it continues to include full multi-unit scheduling, along with 10 configurable seats for Editors, Breakdown Editors, and Viewers. Fully customizable permissions are also supported, with the ability to purchase unlimited additional seats as your production scales.

Enterprise

How does Enterprise pricing work?

Enterprise pricing is custom, based on your studio or production company's slate and volume. Contact us for a proposal.

Can productions be transferred into an Enterprise account?

Yes. Any production (Starter, Professional, Independent, or Studio) can be managed under an Enterprise account. For example, an AD may begin building a development schedule under their personal Professional subscription and later transfer that production into your Enterprise workspace. Alternatively, your organization can create the project within Enterprise from the start and invite the AD to build directly within it, ensuring the production remains under your organization's ownership, access controls, and administrative oversight throughout its lifecycle.

Still have questions? Reach out to us.

Pricing FAQ

Schedule your next production with Cinapse.