I’m not one to write takedown blog posts. I love exploring new dev tools and I genuinely support open-source platforms. But when a company, especially its CEO, makes a clear promise and breaks it without explanation, I think the dev community deserves transparency.
Here’s what happened with Appwrite.
The Offer
On February 28, I received an email from Appwrite’s CEO, Eldad Fux, offering what sounded like a simple gift:
“Here's a free month of Appwrite Pro… no awkward breakups needed.”
I had been working on KitchenPal, a personal AI-powered recipe project. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try out Appwrite’s paid features during development.
What I Did
| Date | Action | Proof |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 28 | Received CEO’s email offering free Pro features |  |
| March 2 | Activated the $15 credit exactly as instructed |  |
| March 31 | Downgraded my plan before renewal |  |
I expected that if I downgraded within the credit window, I wouldn’t be charged and would simply return to the free tier.
What Happened Instead
One week after downgrading, on April 7, my Appwrite account was restricted, and I was asked to pay $15 to unlock access to my database.
This was confusing for a few reasons:
-The platform said I had Pro features “until April 30.”
-I had no users or activity to “run out” the credits.
-The CEO promised “no awkward breakups.”
The Fine Print Argument
Support later said the credits were gone and that the upgrade page included a message:
“You’ll pay $0.00 now. Once credits run out, you’ll be charged $15 every 30 days.”
But there was no activity to “run out” the credits.
And I never saw that. And even if it was there, it contradicted the CEO’s message and the downgrade confirmation I received.
My Timeline and Attempt to Resolve It
I tried multiple channels to get this resolved:
- Direct email to the CEO on March 31,
- Support ticket after the restriction on April 7
- Follow-up emails to support on April 9 with screenshots
- Follow-up email to both support and the CEO on April 14
As of April 29, there was no reply.
The Invoice Tells the Real Story
Appwrite’s invoice shows I was billed for March 1–31, yet I activated Pro on March 2.
Their own docs state billing starts when you upgrade, but they charged me for March 1 despite activating March 2.
That means:
- I was charged for a day I didn’t even use.
- I got 29 days of “30-day” credits.
- My access was blocked 7 days after downgrading, not at the end of the cycle.
This isn’t about $15.
Let me be clear: this isn’t about the money.
It’s about trust. And transparency.
I didn’t mind paying for a tool that works. I just didn’t expect to be billed after downgrading early, especially when the offer was framed as “no awkward breakups.”
The Outcome: I Moved to Supabase
After two weeks of silence, I decided to stop waiting.
I migrated my project KitchenPal to Supabase and rebuilt everything to restore access to my data.
Honestly? I’m glad I did. Supabase is working well so far, and my app is now live in beta:
👉KitchenPal
Feel free to try it out!
Surprisingly, this became a valuable learning experience. Forcing myself to migrate to a new backend:
- Pushed me to explore Supabase's features more deeply than I might have otherwise
- Improved my database architecture skills through the rebuild
- Proved the importance of vendor flexibility in personal projects
What I’d Like to See
I still want Appwrite to succeed. But here’s what would make a difference:
- Honor the full 30 days of credit.
- Don’t restrict downgraded accounts mid-cycle.
- Make billing terms and time limits clearer.
- Respond to users, especially when things go wrong.
Let’s Talk
Have you run into similar issues with Appwrite or other platforms?
I’m sharing this after three weeks of silence, not to attack, but to give developers a heads-up and to celebrate how challenges can spark growth.
Let’s keep dev tools honest and dev-first 💙
