Free & Pro Features
5 min read
Smart Cycle Discounts offers a fully-featured free version with essential capabilities, plus a Pro version with advanced discount types, analytics, and automation. This guide provides a detailed comparison to help you determine which version meets your needs.
Quick Comparison #
| Category | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign Limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Basic Discounts (% & Fixed) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Advanced Discounts (Tiered, Spend, Bundle) | — | ✓ |
| Scheduling & Recurring | One-time scheduling | One-time + recurring |
| Analytics Dashboard | — | ✓ |
| Advanced Notifications | — | ✓ |
| Export & Reports | — | ✓ |
Campaign Management #
Free Version Includes #
- Unlimited campaigns — Create as many campaigns as you need
- 5-step campaign wizard — Guided configuration workflow
- Campaign health monitoring — Real-time validation and scoring
- Priority system (1-5 levels) — Control discount precedence
- Bulk actions — Activate, deactivate, delete multiple campaigns
- Duplicate campaigns — Copy existing campaigns as templates
- Draft/Scheduled/Active statuses — Full status management
Pro Version Adds #
- All Free features included
- No additional campaign management features — Free is comprehensive!
Product Selection #
Free Version Includes #
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| All Products | Apply discount to entire catalog or selected categories |
| Specific Products | Search and select individual products by name, SKU, or ID |
| Random Products | Automatically select X random products from catalog |
Pro Version Adds #
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Smart Selection: Best Sellers | Automatically select top-performing products by sales |
| Smart Selection: Featured | Select products marked as “Featured” in WooCommerce |
| Smart Selection: Low Stock | Select products with ≤10 items in inventory |
| Smart Selection: New Arrivals | Select products added in the last 30 days |
| Advanced Conditions | Filter by price range, stock status, product type, tags, etc. |
Discount Types #
Free Version Includes #
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Reduce price by percentage | 25% off ($100 → $75) |
| Fixed Amount | Reduce price by fixed amount | $10 off ($50 → $40) |
| BOGO | Buy X Get Y with configurable discount on the “get” items | Buy 1 Get 1 Free |
Pro Version Adds #
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Tiered Volume | Quantity-based discount tiers | Buy 5+ get 10%, Buy 10+ get 20% |
| Spend Threshold | Cart total-based discounts | Spend $100 get 15% off |
| Bundle Discount | Discount when all required bundle items are in cart | Buy bundle set for fixed bundle price |
Discount Configurations (Pro Only) #
| Configuration | Description |
|---|---|
| Usage Limits | Per-customer limits, total redemption caps, lifetime thresholds |
| Application Rules | Apply to all items, cheapest only, most expensive, first X items |
| Combination Policy | Stack with other campaigns, allow/block coupon codes |
Scheduling #
Free Version Includes #
- Start date & time — Schedule campaigns to begin at specific times
- End date & time — Set automatic expiration
- Timezone support — All times respect your WordPress timezone
- Automatic activation/deactivation — Campaigns start and stop automatically
- Draft mode — Prepare campaigns before activating
- No recurring schedules — Free supports one-time scheduled campaigns only
Pro Version Adds #
- All Free scheduling features included
- Recurring campaigns — Daily, weekly, and monthly patterns
Analytics & Reporting #
Free Version Includes #
- Basic campaign status overview
- Campaign health scores
- Status distribution chart
Pro Version Adds #
Full Analytics Dashboard #
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Total Revenue | Revenue from orders containing discounted products |
| Conversions | Number of orders with discounted products |
| Click Rate | Discount badge click-through rate |
| Impressions | Product page views for discounted products |
| Trend Analysis | Comparison to previous periods |
Additional Pro Analytics Features #
- Custom date ranges — Filter analytics by any date period
- Traffic breakdown — Source and referrer analysis
- Device breakdown — Desktop, mobile, tablet metrics
- Geographic data — Location-based performance
- Per-campaign performance — Individual campaign metrics
- Exportable reports — Download data as CSV or JSON
- Scheduled reports — Automated email delivery
Email Notifications #
Free Version Includes #
Reactive Notifications (After Events):
- Campaign Started — Notification when a campaign activates
- Campaign Ended — Notification when a campaign expires
Pro Version Adds #
Proactive Notifications (Before Events & Smart Alerts):
| Notification | Description |
|---|---|
| Campaign Ending | 24-hour warning before campaign ends |
| Daily Report | Daily performance summary email |
| Weekly Report | Weekly insights and trend analysis |
| Performance Alert | Smart alerts when campaigns underperform |
| Low Stock Alert | Warnings when discounted products run low |
| Milestone Alert | Achievement notifications (e.g., 100 conversions) |
Email Providers (Free & Pro) #
Both versions support multiple email delivery methods:
- WordPress Mail (default)
- SendGrid API
- Amazon SES
Export Features #
Free Version #
- No export features
Pro Version #
- CSV export — Download data in spreadsheet format
- JSON export — Download data in structured format
- Scheduled reports — Automated export delivery via email
- Campaign backup — Export campaign configurations
API Access #
Free Version #
- No API access
Pro Version #
- REST API — Programmatic campaign management
- CRUD operations — Create, read, update, delete campaigns via API
- Analytics endpoints — Retrieve performance data programmatically
- Webhook support — Event notifications to external systems
Support #
Free Version #
- WordPress.org support forum
- Documentation access
- Community support
Pro Version #
- Priority email support
- Faster response times (24-48 hours)
- Direct developer access for complex issues
- Priority bug fixes
Complete Feature Comparison Table #
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign Management | ||
| Unlimited campaigns | ✓ | ✓ |
| 5-step wizard | ✓ | ✓ |
| Health monitoring | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priority system | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bulk actions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Product Selection | ||
| All products | ✓ | ✓ |
| Specific products | ✓ | ✓ |
| Random products | ✓ | ✓ |
| Smart selection filters | — | ✓ |
| Advanced conditions | — | ✓ |
| Discount Types | ||
| Percentage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fixed amount | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tiered volume | — | ✓ |
| BOGO | — | ✓ |
| Spend threshold | — | ✓ |
| Usage limits | — | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ||
| Date/time scheduling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Timezone support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recurring patterns | — | ✓ |
| Analytics | ||
| Basic overview | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full dashboard | — | ✓ |
| Custom date ranges | — | ✓ |
| Traffic breakdown | — | ✓ |
| Export reports | — | ✓ |
| Notifications | ||
| Campaign started | ✓ | ✓ |
| Campaign ended | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ending warning | — | ✓ |
| Daily/weekly reports | — | ✓ |
| Performance alerts | — | ✓ |
| Other | ||
| API access | — | ✓ |
| Priority support | — | ✓ |
Upgrading to Pro #
How to Upgrade #
- Navigate to SC Discounts → Pricing in your WordPress admin
- Or visit webstepper.io/wordpress-plugins/smart-cycle-discounts/pricing
- Select your preferred license plan
- Complete the secure checkout process
- Pro features unlock automatically via Freemius—no reinstallation required
What Happens When You Upgrade #
- Your existing campaigns and settings are preserved
- Pro features become available immediately
- No downtime or reconfiguration needed
- License validates automatically
14-Day Free Trial #
Try all Pro features free for 14 days before purchasing:
- Go to SC Discounts → Pricing
- Click “Start Free Trial”
- Access all Pro features immediately
- No credit card required to start
- After 14 days, choose to purchase or continue with the Free version
Your campaigns remain functional regardless of your decision—Free version features continue working if you don’t purchase.
Updated on February 20, 2026
