🧭 Overview

OTTO sites are billed based on the number of sites allocated to your account, not just the ones actively using OTTO. If your current plan includes more OTTO site slots than you need, you can reduce your site count and adjust your billing plan to match your actual usage. This article walks you through how to do that.

Important: Disengaging (deactivating) OTTO on a site does not reduce your OTTO bill or free the site's OTTO quota slot — the project stays counted. To free the slot, delete the project (freed right away) or use Deep Freeze (freed after 14 days). To stop a top-up charge, cancel the top-up in Billing → Services.

⚙️ Step 1 — Check How Many OTTO Sites You Have Active

Before making any changes, confirm how many OTTO sites are currently activated on your account.

1. In the left sidebar, click OTTO SEO → SEO Automation (URL: /seo-automation-v3).
2. Review the list of sites that have OTTO activated. Each site shown with OTTO enabled counts toward your billed site total.
3. Identify any sites where OTTO is activated but no longer needed — these are the slots you can free up.

🛠️ Step 2 — Deactivate OTTO on Sites You No Longer Need

To free up OTTO quota slots, you must delete the project (freed right away) or use Deep Freeze (freed after 14 days). Simply deactivating OTTO on a site does not free the slot or reduce your bill.

1. From the OTTO SEO → SEO Automation page, locate the site you want to remove from your OTTO quota.
2. Open the site and find the OTTO activation toggle or settings.
3. Delete the project to free the slot right away, or use Deep Freeze to free it after 14 days. Note: simply deactivating OTTO on a site does not free the slot.
4. Repeat for any additional sites you no longer need covered by OTTO.

Important: Deactivating OTTO on a site stops the OTTO pixel from serving OTTO's changes for that site, though the project's settings, recommendations and history are retained for later reactivation. Note that any changes written directly into the site's CMS are not served by the pixel. Make sure you no longer need OTTO managing that site before proceeding.

📊 Step 3 — Downgrade Your OTTO Sites Plan

Once you have deactivated OTTO on the relevant sites, you can adjust your billing plan to reflect the lower number of sites.

1. Click your Avatar (top-right) → Billing (Plans & Top-ups tab).
2. Locate the OTTO SEO section, which displays your current quota (shown as 'Total Quota X / Y') and the number of sites in use.
3. Select the option to downgrade or reduce your OTTO sites allocation.
4. Choose the plan tier or site count that matches your actual usage — for example, if you now only use 6 sites, select a 6-site plan.
5. Confirm the change. Your billing will be updated to reflect the new, lower site count at your next billing cycle.

Note: You cannot downgrade your OTTO sites count below the number of sites that currently have OTTO active. Always deactivate OTTO on unused sites first (Step 2) before attempting to reduce your quota.

💡 Why Am I Being Billed for More Sites Than I Use?

Your bill is based on the number of OTTO site slots allocated to your account, not just sites where OTTO is actively doing work. If you previously added extra site capacity — for example, through a top-up or plan upgrade — those slots remain billed until you explicitly reduce your quota. Common reasons this happens include:

• A site was added to OTTO during testing and never deactivated.
• A top-up was purchased for a temporary project and not cancelled afterward (top-ups must be cancelled in Billing → Services to stop the charge).
• A previous plan included more OTTO sites than your current needs require.

Reviewing your active OTTO sites regularly and keeping your quota aligned with actual usage is the best way to avoid unexpected charges.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose any data if I deactivate OTTO on a site?
Your site's historical data and Search Atlas account information are retained. However, OTTO will stop managing optimisations for that site, and any active OTTO tasks will be paused.

When will my billing reflect the downgrade?
Plan changes typically take effect at the start of your next billing cycle. You will not usually receive a refund for the current period, but you will stop being charged for the reduced slots going forward.

Can I add sites back later?
Yes. You can upgrade your OTTO sites quota at any time from Avatar (top-right) → Billing (Plans & Top-ups tab) if your needs change.

💬 Need Help?

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.