Using JUDE

Studio time & plans

You pay for one thing: time your engineer is actually working with you. This page explains exactly when the meter runs, when it doesn't, and what happens at every edge — trial ending, hours running out, plans changing. Current plans and rates live on the pricing page.

When the meter runs

The clock counts studio time: wall-clock minutes while your session is live and you're actually working — talking with the engineer, the engineer driving the DAW, or a take rolling. A long quiet tracking pass still counts, because the engineer is still working while tape rolls.

Everything else is free:

  • Stepping away. After a few quiet minutes the session pauses itself and the meter stops — the Account panel literally says "Meter paused (idle) — idle time is free." Speak and it picks up where it left off.
  • Leaving the app open. An open app with no session, or a paused session, costs nothing. After 30 quiet minutes a paused session ends on its own.
  • Anything going wrong. If the app quits, crashes, or loses its connection, the clock stops immediately. Time is only ever counted while the app is provably reporting in.

Your trial

The trial starts the moment you confirm your email: 14 days and 3 studio hours, every feature unlocked, no credit card on file. It's a hard cap — when either the days or the hours run out, sessions stop and nothing is ever charged. Your account, settings, and engineer choice all keep.

When the trial ends, the Start Session button goes quiet and a notice points you to Settings → Account, where picking a plan takes about a minute — checkout opens in your browser, handled by Stripe, and your card details never touch Jude. Sessions work again seconds after you subscribe.

Watching your time

  • Settings → Account shows the meter: how much of your included time is used this billing period, what's left, and the date it resets.
  • The studio-time clock — turn it on in Settings → General — puts a small live readout next to the session controls: time left, or "idle — not billing" while paused.
  • Or just ask. "How much studio time do I have left?" gets you the full picture out loud: balance, plan, and reset date.

On a plan: included hours and what follows them

Subscriptions include a block of studio hours each month, which resets on your billing day — on a monthly plan that is your renewal date; on an annual plan (billed once a year, three months cheaper) the hours still reset every month on the same day of the month you subscribed. Unused hours don't roll over.

If you use them all, nothing stops. Extra time meters at your plan's per-hour overage rate and lands on your next monthly invoice — on an annual plan that is a separate small invoice on your billing day, never a change to the yearly charge. The moment you cross your included hours, the engineer says so out loud and a notice tells you the rate; a session that starts already past them gets one line saying so — no silent surprises.

If you'd rather be stopped than billed, turn on "Hard stop at included hours" in Settings → Account (it is off by default on every plan). Sessions then stop when your included hours run out and start again after the reset — though a take that's already rolling always finishes first. Turn it off any time to keep working at the overage rate.

Changing, cancelling, invoices

  • Change plan: Settings → Account, with a Monthly / Annual switch. Moving up — or from monthly to annual at the same or a bigger plan — takes effect immediately, with credit for the unused part of your current period. Moving down, or from annual back to monthly, happens when the period you've paid for ends (the end of the year on annual), so you never lose time you've paid for. Picking your current plan again cancels a scheduled change. Pending a cancellation? Resume the plan first, then change it.
  • Cancel: also in Settings → Account, no email or phone call. Your plan and its remaining hours run to the end of the billing period, and nothing bills after that. Changed your mind before the date? One click resumes it.
  • Card and invoices: the Manage billing… button opens your billing portal — update the payment method, download invoices.

The fine print, honestly

  • A rolling take is never cut off by the meter — if time runs out mid-take, the take finishes and the notice waits.
  • Mid-session, if your time runs out, the engineer tells you out loud and signs off properly. Nothing vanishes abruptly.
  • Cancellations aren't refunded pro rata — the month you paid for stays yours to use.
  • If a renewal payment fails, Stripe retries the card, and your plan keeps working while it does. If the payment can't be recovered the subscription ends — fix the card and re-subscribe, and nothing is lost.

Something not adding up? Troubleshooting covers sessions that end on their own — or write support@heyjude.studio.