Question 1

What exactly does Chartsy do that my payment platform's built-in analytics doesn't?

Accepted Answer

Stripe and Paddle have dashboards built for processing payments - not for answering business questions. They show you totals and transaction lists, but they can't tell you why your MRR dropped, which customers are at risk of churning, or how your LTV compares across pricing plans. BigCommerce's built-in reports cover orders and products, but fall short the moment you need anything beyond basic sales summaries. Chartsy sits on top of your existing data and lets you ask those questions in plain English. You get AI-generated charts, customer segmentation, and a full analytics layer - without SQL, without spreadsheets, and without a data team.

Question 2

How long does setup take?

Accepted Answer

For most users, under 5 minutes. You connect your Stripe or Paddle account - or your BigCommerce store - through a secure read-only connection. No code to write. Once connected, Chartsy syncs your historical data automatically and your first dashboards are ready to use as soon as the sync completes.

Question 3

Do I need any technical skills or SQL knowledge to use Chartsy?

Accepted Answer

None at all. Chartsy is built specifically for non-technical founders and operators. You ask questions in plain English - 'Show me my best products this month' or 'What's my churn rate this quarter?' - and Chartsy generates the chart. No SQL, no formulas, no configuration required.

Question 4

Will Chartsy slow down my site or affect my checkout?

Accepted Answer

No. Your payment data is read through read-only API connections - Chartsy never touches your checkout flow, your storefront templates, or your payment pages. The only code that ever goes on your site is the optional Growth tracking script: a single tag in your head that records visits. It sits entirely outside your checkout and has no effect on conversion.

Question 5

Does Chartsy track my website traffic as well as my payment data?

Accepted Answer

Yes, through Growth. You add a single script tag to your site and Chartsy records visits and the channel each visitor arrived from, then matches those visitors to real signups and revenue once your Stripe or Paddle account is connected. It turns 'we had 4,000 visits last month' into 'Product Hunt sent 400 visits, 22 signups, and this much MRR'.

Question 6

How do I install the Chartsy tracking script?

Accepted Answer

Copy the Growth script tag from your Chartsy dashboard and paste it into your site's head. It is one line - no package to install and no build step. Put it on every entry page rather than only the homepage: a visitor who lands on a blog post without the tag is invisible until they reach a page that has it.

Question 7

What does the Chartsy tracking script collect?

Accepted Answer

It records a visit and works out where that visit came from. It reads UTM parameters, ad click IDs (gclid, msclkid), social click IDs (twclid, fbclid), generic referral parameters (ref, via, aff), and the referring domain, then classifies each visit into a channel such as organic search, social, or a known referral source like Hacker News or Product Hunt - the same channel-grouping logic used by standard analytics platforms. Each visitor is identified by a persistent, anonymous ID.

Question 8

How do I track signups?

Accepted Answer

Two ways. Zero code: add the signup tracking attribute to your signup form and Growth detects the submission automatically. One line of code: fire the signup event at the exact point in your flow where an account is created, which suits custom or multi-step signup flows. Either method links the signup to the visitor anonymous ID, which is what lets Chartsy credit the channel that drove their first visit.

Question 9

Do I need Stripe or Paddle connected for website tracking to work?

Accepted Answer

Not for traffic. Visits and signups start recording as soon as the script tag and signup event are installed. Revenue and churn by channel require a connected Stripe or Paddle account, since that is the data Growth matches signups against. Until billing is connected, revenue figures stay empty rather than being estimated.

Question 10

Does attribution survive a visitor moving between subdomains?

Accepted Answer

Yes. First-touch and last-touch cookies are shared automatically across all of your subdomains, so someone who lands on your marketing site and signs up on a separate app subdomain keeps their original channel instead of appearing as an internal referral.

Question 11

What is the difference between first-touch and last-touch attribution?

Accepted Answer

Last touch is the source credited with the visit that immediately preceded the action - what brought them back this time. First touch is the very first source ever recorded for that visitor - what made them aware of you at all. Growth records both and shows them side by side, because either alone misleads: last touch over-credits direct visits and branded search, while first touch ignores whatever actually closed the deal.

Question 12

Does the tracking script use cookies, and what happens without consent?

Accepted Answer

Yes - cookies hold the roughly 30-minute session window and the first-touch and last-touch attribution. For a visitor Chartsy stores nothing for, such as an EEA or UK visitor on a site with no consent banner wired up, tracking still works but each visit is classified on its own with no first touch carried forward, and there is no session window - those page loads are deduplicated only by the rule that a load referred by your own site is never counted.

Question 13

How many websites can I track on one Chartsy account?

Accepted Answer

Two connected websites on Starter and twenty on Growth. Events from every tracked site are added into a single monthly total rather than counted per site.

Question 14

What stops someone else copying my tracking snippet and using up my events?

Accepted Answer

Every site has a list of allowed domains. If the origin or page URL of an incoming visit is not one of the domains registered for that site, the visit is refused and never counted. An unknown or incorrect public key in the snippet is rejected the same way, and neither consumes any of your usage.

Question 15

Why is all of my traffic showing as direct?

Accepted Answer

Direct means no UTM parameter, click ID, referral parameter, or usable referrer was present. Check three things: whether your links are actually tagged, whether a redirect strips the query string before the tracked page loads, and whether the script tag is on every entry page rather than only the homepage. Genuinely unclassifiable visits stay labelled direct - Growth never forces them into a channel bucket.

Question 16

Is website tracking an extra cost?

Accepted Answer

No. Growth is part of Chartsy - there is no add-on or separate subscription. What varies by plan is your monthly event allowance and how many websites you can connect.

Question 17

What counts as an event in Chartsy?

Accepted Answer

Two things, and only two: one tracked visit on a website you have added to Chartsy, and one tracked signup. They are counted separately and added together. Nothing else in the product counts as an event.

Question 18

Is an event the same as a pageview?

Accepted Answer

No. A visit is closer to a session than a pageview. For a visitor Chartsy can store a cookie on, the visit stays open for about 30 minutes and every page load pushes that window forward, so someone reading ten pages in one sitting is a single event rather than ten. Visitors Chartsy stores no cookie for have no session window, and their page loads are deduplicated only by the rule that a load referred by your own site is never counted.

Question 19

Can one session produce more than one event?

Accepted Answer

Only when a new source arrives mid-session. A visitor who lands organically and then clicks a link tagged with a different source records a second visit, so the second channel gets credit for the click it drove. It has to be the source that changes, not the campaign: two links with the same utm_source and different utm_campaign values stay one event, and a direct hit part-way through a session is never a new source. Ordinary navigation between pages never records another visit.

Question 20

Do AI queries, connected accounts, or Stripe payments count as events?

Accepted Answer

No. AI queries have their own separate monthly allowance. Connecting Stripe, Paddle, or BigCommerce is not an event and neither is keeping it connected. Subscriptions, payments, invoices, and refunds syncing in from your provider are not events either - a month with a thousand renewals and no site traffic uses none. Your own use of Chartsy, such as opening dashboards or inviting teammates, does not count.

Question 21

What never becomes an event?

Accepted Answer

Bot traffic, rate-limited IP addresses sending implausible volumes of requests, requests carrying an unknown or incorrect public key, requests from a domain outside your allowed list, visitors who have opted out of tracking, and localhost - excluded by default so local development never spends your allowance. None of these consume any usage.

Question 22

Does direct traffic count toward my event limit?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A visit with no identifiable channel is labelled direct and counted like any other event. It is not discarded for being unclassifiable.

Question 23

How are events totalled against my plan?

Accepted Answer

Visits and signups from all of your tracked sites are added into one total for the current calendar month, and the total resets on the 1st rather than rolling over a trailing 30-day window. Beyond the session window itself there is no unique-visitor collapsing: the same person returning in a new session counts again, and the same person returning next month counts again in that month.

Question 24

How do I estimate how many events I need?

Accepted Answer

Start from the session count in whatever analytics tool you use today rather than the pageview count, add your monthly signups, then leave a little headroom for sessions that pick up a second source partway through. If most of your traffic is EEA or UK and your site sends no referrers, size closer to pageviews than to sessions.

Question 25

What happens if I go over my monthly event limit?

Accepted Answer

Your dashboard locks until you move up a tier. Chartsy never stops tracking your data and there are no overage charges, so there is no surprise bill. You can move the event slider up or down at any time and your price updates immediately.

Question 26

How much does Chartsy cost?

Accepted Answer

There are two price lists, because there are two product lines. Chartsy for SaaS starts at $9/month on Starter and $29/month on Growth, and scales with the monthly event allowance you pick. Chartsy for BigCommerce is a single plan starting at $19/month, and scales with how many years of order history you want. Both bill monthly or annually, and annual works out at ten months' price for twelve months of service.

Question 27

How does Chartsy SaaS pricing work?

Accepted Answer

Two choices set your price: the tier - Starter or Growth - and your monthly event allowance, which steps through 10,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000 and 2,000,000. Starter runs from $9/month at 10,000 events up to $99/month at 2,000,000. Growth runs from $29/month to $189/month across the same steps. Annual billing costs ten months' price for the year.

Question 28

What is the difference between the Starter and Growth plans?

Accepted Answer

Growth multiplies the limits by ten: 20 connected data sources instead of 2, 20 connected websites instead of 2, and 2,000 AI queries a month instead of 200. It also retains 5 years of data rather than 3. The core analytics are identical on both tiers - MRR and revenue breakdown, the AI chatbot, AI chart generation, and Growth attribution are included either way.

Question 29

How does Chartsy BigCommerce pricing work?

Accepted Answer

One plan, priced by how much history you want. The base is $19/month and includes 2 years of data history; each additional year adds $5/month, so 3 years is $24/month and 4 years is $29/month. AI queries are unlimited on every BigCommerce plan. You can change your history length at any time from account settings - increasing syncs the extra years in the background, and decreasing takes effect at your next billing cycle.

Question 30

How does the Chartsy free trial work?

Accepted Answer

It is 14 days on both products, with no credit card required. On SaaS, connect Stripe or Paddle and your last 24 months of data sync automatically; on day 14 you move onto the tier and event allowance you picked. On BigCommerce, install Chartsy from the marketplace and your last 12 months of orders sync instantly; at the end of the trial you carry on from where you left off with no data lost.

Question 31

Can I change my Chartsy plan later?

Accepted Answer

Yes, at any time. On SaaS, move the event slider up or down and your price updates immediately - there are no overage charges and no proration surprises. On BigCommerce, change your history length from account settings. Neither requires talking to sales.

Question 32

How much data history do I get?

Accepted Answer

On SaaS, your last 24 months sync automatically the moment you connect Stripe or Paddle, and data retention is 3 years on Starter and 5 years on Growth. On BigCommerce you choose how far back to go: 2 years is included in the $19/month base and each additional year adds $5/month. Historical data always syncs automatically - there is no manual import step.

Question 33

Is there any lock-in or cancellation fee?

Accepted Answer

No contracts and no cancellation fee. Monthly plans are billed one month in advance and renew monthly; annual plans are billed one year in advance and renew yearly. You can cancel at any time from the Billing section of your account settings - or from the BigCommerce app manager if you installed Chartsy there - and your subscription stays active until the end of the current billing period, then does not renew.

Question 34

Can I get a refund?

Accepted Answer

Yes, within 14 days of your initial subscription purchase - a full refund, issued to the original payment method. After that window, subscription payments are generally non-refundable and no credits are issued for partially used billing periods. To request one, email support@chartsy.app and include the address you used to purchase.

Question 35

Who charges my card for Chartsy?

Accepted Answer

Paddle.com is the Merchant of Record for all Chartsy orders, which means Paddle handles payment processing, applicable taxes, and compliance with global payment regulations. For any billing or payment question, email support@chartsy.app.

Question 36

What data permissions does Chartsy need for Stripe and Paddle?

Accepted Answer

Chartsy requests read-only access to your transaction, subscription, and customer data from Stripe and Paddle. We can never modify transactions, issue refunds, change prices, or touch your checkout. You can review and revoke access from your Stripe or Paddle dashboard at any time.

Question 37

What data permissions does Chartsy need for BigCommerce?

Accepted Answer

Chartsy requests read-only access to your orders, products, and customer records. The one exception is webhooks: we request write access to webhooks so Chartsy can register a listener and receive real-time order updates. We use this solely to keep your dashboard in sync. You can review and revoke access from your BigCommerce Connected Apps settings at any time.

Question 38

Is my Stripe and Paddle data safe?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Chartsy connects via read-only API and never stores raw card data. All connections are encrypted and access is scoped to analytics only. If you're subject to GDPR or similar requirements, Chartsy also offers GDPR Mode - which means customer data is never saved to our servers at all.

Question 39

What is GDPR Mode and do I need it?

Accepted Answer

GDPR Mode is a privacy-first option that ensures customer data is never saved to Chartsy's servers. When enabled, Chartsy processes your data to generate metrics and dashboards in real time, but does not persist any customer identifiers. Your analytics remain accurate, but no PII ever lands on our servers. Enable it with a single toggle in your account settings.

Question 40

How does Chartsy handle refunds, chargebacks, and failed payments?

Accepted Answer

Refunds, chargebacks, and failed payments are factored into revenue calculations automatically. Chartsy pulls the full transaction history from Stripe and Paddle on every sync so your MRR and revenue figures always reflect what you actually received, not just gross charges.

Question 41

How does Chartsy handle multi-currency sales?

Accepted Answer

Chartsy consolidates revenue reporting into your account's default currency using the exchange rates recorded at the time of each transaction. Revenue figures in dashboards and AI answers always reflect the converted amount in your reporting currency.

Question 42

How accurate are Chartsy's numbers for SaaS metrics - can I trust them for board reports?

Accepted Answer

Chartsy calculates MRR, churn, and LTV directly from your Stripe and Paddle transaction data. All figures follow standard SaaS definitions. For audited financials or tax purposes, Stripe and Paddle remain the official records - Chartsy is built for analytics and decision-making, not accounting.

Question 43

What counts as an AI query?

Accepted Answer

Every time you ask Chartsy a question - like 'show me MRR by plan this month' - that uses one AI query. Tool calls made over the Chartsy MCP server draw on the same monthly budget, so a long Claude conversation with lots of tool calls uses more of it than a single question inside Chartsy. Viewing saved charts, loading dashboards, and exporting reports don't count toward your query limit. Query limits reset on the first of each month.

Question 44

Can Chartsy explain why a metric changed, not just show what it is?

Accepted Answer

Yes - this is one of ChartsyAI's core strengths. Ask 'why did my MRR drop last month?' and Chartsy looks at your actual data, identifies which customers cancelled or downgraded, and gives you a plain-English explanation. You can ask follow-up questions to keep digging.

Question 45

Does Chartsy use my data to train AI models?

Accepted Answer

No. Chartsy does not use your business data to train AI models. Your data is used only to answer your queries and generate your dashboards.

Question 46

Which platforms does Chartsy support?

Accepted Answer

Chartsy has two product lines. Chartsy for SaaS connects to Stripe and Paddle (Classic and Billing) for subscription businesses tracking MRR, churn, and LTV. Chartsy for BigCommerce connects to BigCommerce stores for e-commerce merchants tracking revenue, orders, products, and customers.

Question 47

Can I connect both Stripe and Paddle at the same time?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Chartsy for SaaS supports multiple data sources - connect Stripe, Paddle Classic, and Paddle Billing simultaneously and analyse them together in one unified dashboard. There's no extra charge per source; the only ceiling is your plan's connected data source limit, which is 2 on Starter and 20 on Growth.

Question 48

Does Chartsy work for WooCommerce or Shopify?

Accepted Answer

Not currently. Chartsy supports Stripe, Paddle, and BigCommerce. WooCommerce and Shopify integrations are on our roadmap.

Question 49

Does Chartsy have an affiliate or partner program?

Accepted Answer

Yes - Chartsy has an affiliate program. If you're a blogger, consultant, agency, or someone who recommends tools to founders and store owners, you can sign up, get a unique referral link, and earn recurring commission for every customer you refer. There's no approval wait and no cost to join. Sign up at chartsy.affonso.io.

Question 50

Who is the affiliate program for?

Accepted Answer

Anyone who has an audience of SaaS founders, ecommerce store owners, or people who use Stripe, Paddle, or BigCommerce. Bloggers, newsletter writers, consultants, agencies, YouTubers, and community builders are all a natural fit.

Frequently asked questions

Getting started

What exactly does Chartsy do that my payment platform's built-in analytics doesn't?

What exactly does Chartsy do that my payment platform's built-in analytics doesn't?

How long does setup take?

How long does setup take?

Do I need any technical skills or SQL knowledge to use Chartsy?

Do I need any technical skills or SQL knowledge to use Chartsy?

Will Chartsy slow down my site or affect my checkout?

Will Chartsy slow down my site or affect my checkout?

Website tracking & attribution

Does Chartsy track my website traffic as well as my payment data?

Does Chartsy track my website traffic as well as my payment data?

How do I install the tracking script?

How do I install the tracking script?

What does the tracking script actually collect?

What does the tracking script actually collect?

How do I track signups?

How do I track signups?

Do I need Stripe or Paddle connected for website tracking to work?

Do I need Stripe or Paddle connected for website tracking to work?

Does attribution survive a visitor moving between subdomains?

Does attribution survive a visitor moving between subdomains?

What's the difference between first-touch and last-touch attribution?

What's the difference between first-touch and last-touch attribution?

Does the tracking script use cookies - and what happens if a visitor doesn't consent?

Does the tracking script use cookies - and what happens if a visitor doesn't consent?

How many websites can I track on one account?

How many websites can I track on one account?

What stops someone else copying my snippet and using up my events?

What stops someone else copying my snippet and using up my events?

Why is all of my traffic showing as direct?

Why is all of my traffic showing as direct?

Is website tracking an extra cost?

Is website tracking an extra cost?

Events & usage limits

What counts as an event?

What counts as an event?

Is an event the same as a pageview?

Is an event the same as a pageview?

Can one session produce more than one event?

Can one session produce more than one event?

Do AI queries, connected accounts, or Stripe payments count as events?

Do AI queries, connected accounts, or Stripe payments count as events?

What never becomes an event?

What never becomes an event?

Does direct traffic count toward my event limit?

Does direct traffic count toward my event limit?

How are events totalled against my plan?

How are events totalled against my plan?

How do I work out how many events I need?

How do I work out how many events I need?

What happens if I go over my monthly event limit?

What happens if I go over my monthly event limit?

Pricing & billing

How much does Chartsy cost?

How much does Chartsy cost?

How does SaaS pricing work?

How does SaaS pricing work?

What's the difference between Starter and Growth?

What's the difference between Starter and Growth?

How does BigCommerce pricing work?

How does BigCommerce pricing work?

How does the free trial work?

How does the free trial work?

Can I change my plan later?

Can I change my plan later?

How much data history do I get?

How much data history do I get?

Is there any lock-in or cancellation fee?

Is there any lock-in or cancellation fee?

Can I get a refund?

Can I get a refund?

Who actually charges my card?

Who actually charges my card?

Data, privacy & security

What data permissions does Chartsy need for Stripe and Paddle?

What data permissions does Chartsy need for Stripe and Paddle?

What data permissions does Chartsy need for BigCommerce?

What data permissions does Chartsy need for BigCommerce?