❓ What This Message Means
You may see this message when you try to add a new OTTO site: "You have hit the limit of [your plan's OTTO site allowance] OTTO projects. Please upgrade your plan to add more." The number is your plan limit, which can be 2 but is not always 2.
This can be confusing if only one site looks active. The most common cause is a site in Deep Freeze. A frozen site is not actively optimizing, but for 14 days after it is frozen it still holds one of your plan's OTTO site slots. During that window the platform counts the frozen site toward your limit, so one active site plus one recently frozen site counts as two. After 14 days the slot is released automatically, and unfreezing later uses a free slot again.
🧊 What Deep Freeze Does
Deep Freeze pauses a project so it stops running, without removing it from your account. This is useful if you want to keep a project's setup and history for later.
- A frozen project is paused, not deleted.
- It keeps its slot reserved for 14 days so you can unfreeze it without using another slot. After 14 days the slot is released, and bringing the site back requires an available slot.
- A Deep Frozen site's slot counts toward your plan's OTTO site limit for 14 days after it is frozen. Once that window ends, the slot no longer counts.
- You will not see it among your active projects, but it still counts against your limit.
🔍 How to Confirm a Frozen Project Is Using a Slot
- Open the OTTO section of the platform.
- Go to your list of OTTO projects.
- Switch from the Active tab to the Deep Frozen tab. Sites there are marked frozen, and each one that is still holding a slot shows how many days remain until the slot is released.
- Count every project in the list, active and frozen. If the total matches your plan's limit, the frozen project is the cause.
If you cannot see a second project in your list but still get the limit message, use the chat steps at the end of this article so our team can check your account.
🔓 How to Free Up a Slot
You have a few options, depending on what you want to do with the frozen project.
- Option 1: Unfreeze the site you want to use. Open the frozen site and choose "unfreeze the site." If you do this within 14 days of freezing it, it becomes active again without using another slot. After 14 days its slot has already been released, so unfreezing needs a free slot and may be blocked until you remove another site or upgrade.
- Option 2: Remove a site you no longer need. On the site's menu, choose Remove and confirm. Removing it releases its slot immediately. The site disappears from your lists, and this cannot be undone from the dashboard, so make sure you do not need it first.
- Option 3: Upgrade your plan. If you need more projects running at once, upgrading gives you more OTTO project slots.
📝 Step-by-Step: Swap an Active Project for a Frozen One
Use these steps if you want to work on the frozen project and pause the one that is currently active.
- Open the OTTO section and find your projects list.
- Open the OTTO site you want to pause, open its action menu, and choose Deep Freeze. The menu shows this only when the site is not already frozen.
- Find the frozen project you want to bring back and choose the option to unfreeze it.
- Refresh the page and confirm that the project you want is active.
- Try adding your new project again, if that was your original goal.
Note: Because a frozen project can still hold a slot, freezing one project to make room for another may not lower your project count. If you still see the limit message after freezing, you will need to remove a project or upgrade your plan.
💡 Tips to Avoid This in the Future
- Check your full project list, including frozen projects, before adding a new one.
- Remove projects you no longer need instead of leaving them frozen.
- Remember that your plan's limit applies to all projects, not only active ones.
- Review your plan details if your project needs grow.
🛠️ Still Seeing the Limit Message?
Contact our team if any of these apply:
- You see the limit message but cannot find a second project in your list.
- You tried to unfreeze a project and nothing happened.
- You removed a project and the limit message still appears.
- You are not sure which project is holding the slot.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be instantly connected with a member of our team.
To help us resolve it faster, include the name or website address of the project you want to unfreeze or use, and the exact message you are seeing.
✅ Quick Summary
- The limit message counts all OTTO projects, including those in Deep Freeze.
- A frozen project can hold a slot even when it is not running.
- To free a slot, unfreeze and swap projects, remove a project you no longer need, or upgrade your plan.
- If the numbers do not add up, our team can check your account in live chat.