Free accounts, credits and subscriptions
What a free account can do, how credits and the subscription work, and why Sonatina campers never pay.
There are four kinds of Piano Gather account. You can see them all on the Pricing page.
| Account | Cost | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Piano Camps Member | Free | Everything. Given automatically to Sonatina campers. |
| Subscription | $8.99 a month, 14-day free trial | Everything, including hosting as many sessions as you like. |
| Credits | From $5 for 50 credits | Join any session; hosting costs credits. Credits never expire. |
| Guest (free account) | Free | Join any session you're invited to, free. Join other performances for a $1 tip each. |
Sonatina campers are free
If you've been to a Sonatina camp, sign in with the email you used to enroll and you get Piano Camps Member access automatically, with nothing to pay. If you signed up with a different email, write to us and we'll connect it.
Free (Guest) accounts
If the host invited you, it's free. A host can invite you by name, or by putting your email address in the session's invitations. Either way you can RSVP and join that session on a free account, whatever kind of session it is, because the host is the one paying. If you were invited by email, sign in with that same email and verify it first.
Without an invitation, a free account can RSVP and join performances for a $1 tip: click Tip $1 & Join on a performance card (in the iPad/iPhone app, tap Continue on web). Going back into the same performance later is free.
To join other practice sessions, or to host your own, you need credits or a subscription.
How credits work
- Joining and RSVPing are free. You just need at least 1 credit on your account.
- Hosting costs credits, taken when you post the session. The price depends on how long it is and how many people can come:
| Length | 1 visitor | 2–4 visitors | 5 or more / unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 minutes | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 1 hour | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| 90 minutes | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| 2 hours | 8 | 16 | 24 |
Lengths in between round up (45 minutes costs the same as an hour). For a private session, the number of people you invite sets the price.
- Change your mind? Delete the session before anyone has entered the room and you get all the credits back. Editing a session's length or size charges or refunds the difference.
Credit packs: 50 for $5, 120 for $10, 260 for $20.
Subscribe or buy credits
Web browser
- In the Gather menu, click the billing badge under your name (it says Explore Plans if you have neither), or go to Pricing.
- In Manage Credits or Subscription, choose Subscribe or Buy Credits.
- Pay on the secure Stripe checkout page.
After your first credit purchase your card is saved, so buying more is one click. Choose Use a different card to change it.
Mac or Windows app
- Open Account in the sidebar.
- Under Your plan, click Subscribe, or Buy credits and choose a pack.
- Pay on the secure Stripe checkout page, which opens inside the app.
The buttons stay greyed out until you've verified your email.
iPad or iPhone app
You can't buy anything inside the iPad and iPhone app. Subscribe or buy credits on the website (or in the Mac or Windows app), and the app picks it up as soon as you're signed in with the same account.
Where the app needs a payment, such as a $1 performance tip or an audit, it offers Continue on web.
Cancel or change your subscription
Web browser
- Click Manage Profile in the Gather menu.
- In the Billing section, click Manage billing.
- The Stripe billing page opens. Cancel or change your card there.
The same section shows your Credit balance. Click Show history to see every credit you've bought, spent or had refunded.
Mac or Windows app
- Open Account in the sidebar.
- Click Manage billing. The Stripe billing page opens in your web browser. Cancel or change your card there.
The Account screen also shows your credit balance, and Credit history lists every credit you've bought, spent or had refunded.
iPad or iPhone app
- Open the Account tab.
- Tap Manage billing. The Stripe billing page opens in Safari. Cancel or change your card there.
Manage billing only appears if you have, or have had, a subscription.
Auditing piano lessons
Auditing (silently watching someone else's piano lesson) costs $10 a lesson. It's free for subscribers and for anyone who's been to a Sonatina camp in the last two years or is enrolled for next year. If a lesson you paid for is cancelled, the $10 carries over to another lesson.