Is Stanza free?

Yes. You can use Stanza without paying anything, and the free plan is not a trial — it does not run out.

What you can do for free

• Write and publish written poems, with full control over presentation and visibility.
• Record and upload spoken word, with transcripts.
• Run up to three profiles from one account.
• React with Cheers, Tomatoes and 8 Encores a month.
• Reply, leave margin notes and write critiques.
• Create and join Inner Circles.
• Build lists, save poems and follow poets.
• Start a podcast and go live, within the free plan's limits.
• Enter open calls — entering is free.
• See your own numbers. Your cheers, encores, tomatoes, replies and views are always yours to see.
• Push and in-app notifications.

How Stanza stays free

Ads help pay for Stanza. You may see ads in feeds, in Discover and search, and on poem pages — but never on profile pages or organization pages. Ads are not personalised unless you choose to turn Personalized ads on, and they are never personalised for members under 18.

What a paid plan adds

A paid plan adds room and insight on top of the free plan. Stanza Pro includes ad-free browsing on your personal profiles, 15 Encores a month, longer recordings, unlimited live sessions, higher limits on drafts and circles, full analytics and email notifications. The Organizations plan is for journals, presses and other groups.

See Stanza Plans & Subscriptions for the full comparison.

Where the free plan has limits

Some things have a ceiling on the free plan — for example, how long a recording can be, how many drafts you can keep, and how many live sessions you can run each month. If you reach one, Stanza tells you with a Plan limit reached message and you can choose Maybe later to carry on as you are.