FARMPhoneFarm billing: phone purchases, setup and monthly costs
Understand per-phone purchases, billing status, setup slots, invoices and recurring costs, including the customer-supplied proxy that is not included.
PhoneFarm's cloud-phone billing is organized around purchased phones. Each paid phone purchase supplies one setup slot, and you configure that phone after purchase. This is why the dashboard distinguishes Purchased phones, Created phones and Waiting for setup.
Use this guide to understand those records, review invoices and plan the cost of an operating fleet. The current checkout, billing portal and any agreed commercial terms are the references for your actual charges; the guide does not replace the offer shown when you buy.
Understand what a phone purchase represents
A phone purchase authorizes one phone. Buying additional capacity adds more phone purchases rather than merely changing a social-account count.
The phone then moves through setup: creation, customer-supplied proxy configuration, live control and app/account setup. Those steps explain why a payment can be complete while the phone is still waiting for configuration.
Do not buy a second phone solely because the first setup is taking time. Return to the existing purchase and inspect its status. If there is a problem, provide that purchase reference to support so it can be investigated directly.
Read the Billing page
Open Settings → Billing. The normal phone-billing view separates these values:
| Field | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Payment status | Summary of the account's current billing condition |
| Purchased phones | Phone purchases represented in the current billing summary |
| Created phones | Phones that have been created in the account |
| Waiting for setup | Eligible purchased capacity that has not yet been used to create its phone |
| Monthly estimate | A summary estimate based on the current purchased-phone count and rate |
| Stripe billing | Whether a Stripe customer connection is present for billing management |
For example, if you purchased three phones and completed creation for two, the remaining purchase may appear as waiting for setup. It is not automatically an extra charge beyond the three purchases; it is a different stage of the same capacity.
If your account uses a custom or manual billing arrangement, the page can show a different state. Use the terms associated with that arrangement rather than assuming that every account has the same portal actions.
Monthly estimate, invoice and payment are different records
The Monthly estimate helps you understand the ongoing phone count. An invoice records a particular billed period and its line items. A payment records whether a charge was collected. Those records can differ in purpose and timing.
When reconciling costs, compare the invoice period and purchased-phone records rather than only the number of phones currently running. A phone's live power state is an operating state, not a billing receipt.
The phone purchase screen displays the current price and billing interval before checkout. Review that information and the website pricing section when planning new capacity. If the screens or an agreed offer disagree, resolve the specific discrepancy before buying more phones.
Budget for the full workflow
The phone subscription is one part of the operating cost. PhoneFarm does not provide an included dedicated IP address. The setup described in these guides uses a customer-supplied residential or ISP proxy, which you obtain and manage with its supplier.
Other costs depend on your process: content production, editing tools, operator time, account administration and the work needed to investigate exceptions. If you use a managed arrangement, its scope and pricing should state which of those activities are covered.
A useful monthly model is:
Phone charges
+ Customer-supplied proxy charges
+ Content production and editing
+ Operator and review time
+ Other agreed tools or services
= Total workflow cost
For a fleet with N phones at the current per-phone monthly rate P, the phone component is N × P. Add the actual proxy arrangement rather than assuming it is bundled or that every supplier bills in the same way. Some connection products charge by endpoint, others by traffic or a different unit.
The first-month operating budget helps turn these categories into a planning worksheet.
Match purchases to the phones they support
Keep the purchase or invoice reference alongside the phone's operating reference. This is particularly useful when phones were bought at different times, when one is still awaiting setup, or when a billing question affects only part of a fleet.
You do not need to expose billing information to every content operator. The person reconciling invoices needs purchase and phone references; the publisher usually needs the phone's account assignment and readiness. Share the level of detail each role needs.
When a payment issue appears, identify the affected purchase instead of assuming that every phone on the account has the same state. Likewise, a single working phone does not prove that every other purchase is paid or configured.
Use Manage billing for invoices and payment details
When available, Manage billing opens the Stripe customer portal associated with your PhoneFarm account. The dashboard describes this as the place to update payment methods, download invoices and manage cancellation.
Use the portal's actual line items and confirmation screen for the action you intend. Check the affected subscription or purchase, amount, billing period and effective date. Keep the confirmation or invoice reference for your records.
If Manage billing is absent, the account may not yet have a connected billing customer or may use a different arrangement. Check the page's stated billing mode and contact PhoneFarm about the specific account rather than assuming the button failed to render.
Stopping a phone is not a cancellation procedure
Do not treat closing a live-control tab, stopping a phone, signing out of TikTok or removing an asset as proof that recurring billing has ended. Those actions concern device or content operations.
When you intend to change or end service, use the available billing management route and read its confirmation. Coordinate any device retirement separately so you understand what happens to account access, content and records. Do not erase a working device simply to investigate a charge.
Refund eligibility, prorations, cancellation timing and data retention depend on the actual offer and action shown. If they are not clear in the portal or agreement, ask a specific question before making an irreversible change.
Investigate an unexpected charge
Compare the charge date, amount, currency and invoice with your purchased-phone records. Look for a second intentional purchase, a previous phone still represented in billing, or an incomplete setup that you mistakenly bought again.
Send support the invoice or purchase reference, the affected phone reference if one exists, and the discrepancy you found. For example: “The invoice lists three phone purchases; I can account for two, and this is the unrecognized line item.” This is much easier to investigate than a screenshot of the total alone.
Do not send a full card number or security code. A reference to the relevant invoice or payment is enough to begin the conversation. The support guide includes the relevant fields.