Articles on: Members - Billing & Subscriptions

How do I subscribe to communities?

How do I sign up for a subscription?


  1. From the community website that you've joined as a member (ex: communityname.locals.com), on the left menu click “Manage Support.”


  1. After clicking subscribe, you will be prompted to enter your credit/debit card information. If an annual subscription option is available for the community you’ve joined, it will be selected by default, but if you would prefer to have a monthly auto-recurring subscription instead, you can click that option on the left (you can always choose to upgrade to an annual subscription later if you change your mind).


Keep in mind, if you decide to sign up for an annual subscription, make sure that is what you really want to do before confirming. Once you've signed up for an annual subscription, you cannot switch back or change it to a monthly subscription. Annual subscriptions will auto-renew by default. If you don't want it to auto-renew, subscribe and then click "Cancel" on the Manage Support page. This won't end/refund the annual subscription, it will simply stop it from auto-renewing when the year is up.



If you already have a monthly subscription with a credit card, and if the community has the annual subscription option, you will also see the option to “update” to annual.



Manage My Support


  1. Start Date - The date that you originally started your subscription.
  2. Next Payment Date - The date you'll receive your next charge. If you signed up for a monthly subscription, you will be billed 30 days from the date you start, so if you want to be billed on a certain date, be sure to start the subscription on that date. If you signed up for annual, you'll be charged on the same date 12 months from when you start.
  3. Type - It will either show Monthly or Annual depending on what you chose at sign-up (Note: not all communities have both options).
  4. Amount - This is the amount that you are paying monthly or annually. If you're on a monthly subscription, you can edit the amount by clicking on the pencil icon. (Annual subscription amounts can't be changed).
  5. Payment Method - This will either show Credit Card or Locals coins, as those are the only accepted payment methods on the web. If you paid with a credit card, you can edit/update your card information by clicking on the pencil icon.
  6. Cancel - Click here to cancel your subscription. Since you pay for access for the month or year ahead of time, canceling will not refund you or immediately end your subscription, but will cancel the auto-renewal, so that you will still have supporter access until the end of your billing period (whether it's monthly or annually). Subscriptions paid with coins don't auto-renew, so you won't see the option to cancel if you subscribed with coins.
  7. Active Monthly Support - You'll see this amount listed near the top right corner in the above example. This is the monthly rate you are signed up for, based on the amount you paid, whether you are signed up monthly or annually (i.e. if the subscription cost $5/month, and you signed up and paid $50 for an annual subscription, it will show $5 under Active Monthly Support). This **does not **mean you are getting charged $5/month in addition to your monthly or annual subscription.


If you subscribed using any other payment method besides a credit card, you will not see the option to upgrade to an annual subscription and will have to cancel your existing subscription/let it expire first, and then start a new one in order to see the update to annual option (if available) using a credit card. If you are subscribed using Locals coins, you can wait for it to expire and then sign up for 12 months (if available) using coins.


We accept payments from outside the U.S., but regardless of where you live the subscription pricing will always be shown in USD. Once you submit your payment, our payment vendor will automatically convert the payment to your local currency.


How to subscribe using Locals coins


You also have the option of purchasing Locals coins to subscribe. Locals coins are a type of currency that you can purchase and then give to the community you want to support, instead of paying directly with your credit/debit card. Coins subscriptions are a one-time only purchase, that you pay for upfront for a set amount of time and that doesn't auto-renew. First, click on the "Coins" tab at the Manage Support page, and click on the drop-down to select the amount of time you want supporter access. You will see the options for 3, 6 or 12 months (available duration varies for communities)



After you choose the amount of time you want to subscribe, you will need to purchase coins by clicking "get coins" (unless you already have enough coins). Select the appropriate amount of coins based on what length of time you chose (i.e. 3 months = $15, which is 150 coins) and enter your credit/debit card information.



Once the coins are purchased, they will instantly be added to your Locals wallet. Click "Support" to apply the coins to the one-time subscription, and then you will have supporter access for the allotted time period.


Promo codes are not available for use when paying for supporter access with Coins


If you subscribe through the Locals app, you will only have the option of subscribing with Locals coins (you can't pay directly with a credit card). However, when purchasing coins through the app, there are multiple payment options available through the Apple/Google stores. To learn more about subscribing on the Locals app, click here.


How do I subscribe from locals.com


You can also subscribe to communities you’ve joined from locals.com - to learn more about how to do that, refer to How to view all the communities I’ve joined.





Updated on: 08/08/2023