License not syncing / Workspace showing as Free after upgrade (self-hosted Commercial Edition)

Last updated: June 15, 2026

If your workspace is showing as Free after upgrading, or your paid features are no longer accessible, this is almost always a license sync issue rather than a billing problem. Here's how to resolve it.

Why this happens

Plane's self-hosted Commercial Edition verifies your license by periodically connecting to Plane's servers through the monitor service. If that connection fails due to a network issue, a redeployment, or a stale instance binding, your workspace may fall back to showing as Free even though your license is valid.

Common triggers include:

  • A server restart or redeployment after upgrading

  • Network issues preventing your instance from reaching Plane's servers

  • A mismatch between your local instance ID and the one registered in the Prime portal

  • The license being linked to a different instance

Step 1: Restart the instance

The quickest fix in most cases is to restart your instance. If this resolves it, you're done. If you don't see any changes, continue to the next step.

Step 2: Try syncing the plan

  1. Go to Workspace Settings → Billing and Plans

  2. Click the Sync Plan button

  3. Wait a few seconds and refresh the page

If you see an error, continue to the next step.

Step 3: Activate the license

If syncing doesn't work or you see an Activate this Workspace button:

  1. Go to Workspace Settings → Billing and Plans

  2. Click Activate this Workspace

  3. Enter your license key. You can find this in the Prime portal by logging in with the email you used to purchase

  4. Click Sync Plan after activating

Note: Do not try to activate your Business or Pro license in God Mode. The Enterprise License activation in God Mode is only for Enterprise Grid licenses. Business and Pro licenses must be activated from Workspace Settings.

Step 4: Delink the license if it's linked to another instance

If you see an error saying the license is already activated on another instance:

  1. Log in to the Prime portal

  2. Find your license and delink it from the existing instance

  3. Go back to Workspace Settings → Billing and Plans and activate it on your current instance

  4. Click Sync Plan

Step 5: For Kubernetes / Helm deployments

If you're running Plane on Kubernetes and the above steps don't resolve it, the issue is likely the monitor service retaining stale state in its PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC).

The sequence that works:

  1. Delink the license from the Prime portal

  2. Delete the monitor StatefulSet and its PVC

  3. Redeploy the Helm chart

  4. Go to Workspace Settings → Billing and Plans and activate the license

  5. Click Sync Plan

Important: Deleting just the StatefulSet without the PVC will reattach the same stale state on redeploy. You must delete both.

Step 6: For Docker Compose deployments

If you're on Docker Compose and syncing isn't working:

  1. Run docker compose down && docker compose up -d

  2. Try syncing again from Workspace Settings → Billing and Plans

  3. If still not working, delete the monitor volume and redeploy

  4. Reactivate the license after redeployment

Still not working?

If none of the above resolves it, reach out to support with the following:

  • Your instance ID (found in God Mode → General)

  • The email address used to purchase the license

  • Any error messages you're seeing when syncing

  • Monitor container logs

Prevention

  • After any redeployment or upgrade, always do a Sync Plan from Workspace Settings as a routine check

  • Make sure your monitor service has outbound internet access to reach Plane's servers for license verification

  • For Kubernetes deployments, note that the monitor PVC holds license state. Factor this into your backup and migration procedures