# Questions About Subscribing **URL:** \ **Category:** WaniKani\ **Created:** [August 24, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469 "2018-08-24T19:20:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Naytrib](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/naytrib/32/190122_2.png) [@Naytrib](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Naytrib)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/1 "2018-08-24T19:20:55Z")
Okay. So. Yes, I need to subscribe. Yes, I’m going to. Eventually. Hopefully soon. This isn’t all that important, I’m more just curious about people’s experiences. Most of these are “I’m cheap and just want to save as much money as possible” questions, so take from that what you will. I’ve heard a lot about this elusive Christmas sale; does it affect all prices, or just lifetime? In that vein, would it be worth it, at least for the moment, to just subscribe monthly and then switch to yearly (or even lifetime) around Christmas? I understand that this sale possibly isn’t even a certainty, so I guess we’re just being hypothetical here. On the other hand, if I were to subscribe a few months then later switch to yearly (with or without the sale), are the months I’ve already paid taken off that full price? Or does that only work going from yearly to lifetime and I’ll essentially be screwing myself over? Right now, I think I’m just going to go for yearly, but does anyone have any thoughts or stories to share about this? I’m sorry if any of these have been addressed elsewhere, as they probably have and I just wasn’t looking hard enough. I’m just procrastinating taking a large chunk out of my bank account, really. I still want to hear some tales, however! Any horror stories about accidentally overpaying, methods I should actively avoid? ---
**Author:** ![Leebo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/leebo/32/439476_2.png) [@Leebo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Leebo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/2 "2018-08-24T19:22:12Z")
When you upgrade it’s always prorated, but you get credit for the time you have left, not the time you used. ---
**Author:** ![Naytrib](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/naytrib/32/190122_2.png) [@Naytrib](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Naytrib)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/3 "2018-08-24T19:24:54Z")
Alright, so minor misunderstanding on my part I think. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Radish8](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/radish8/32/206088_2.png) [@Radish8](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Radish8)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/4 "2018-08-24T19:24:55Z")
The Christmas sale is never confirmed until it happens, but it has happened without fail so far. It’s up to you whether that risk is worth it. It _only_ affects lifetime (or at least, that’s how it has worked in previous years). Lifetime historically goes from $300 to $200, but the other subscriptions are unaffected. As Leebo said, any money _left_ on your current subscription essentially goes to paying off whatever you move up to. So if you have three months of a yearly subscription left, the equivalent amount of money will be taken off if you buy lifetime. That all adds up to mean that the most cost-efficient thing to do, _assuming the sale happens_, is to buy a yearly subscription and then get lifetime during the sale (assuming you want lifetime - if you finish quickly it might not be worth it!). The small difference in price for a month on the monthly vs yearly subscription means you still might want to subscribe for just one month before taking the yearly plunge, just to be absolutely sure WaniKani is for you. ---
**Author:** ![Ryouki](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/ryouki/32/202681_2.png) [@Ryouki](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Ryouki)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/5 "2018-08-24T19:26:04Z")
For what it’s worth, I grabbed lifetime when it was on sale and I’m glad I did. However, some people choose to go monthly or yearly as they find it motivates them more to keep going, since it’s costing them money. ---
**Author:** ![Naytrib](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/naytrib/32/190122_2.png) [@Naytrib](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Naytrib)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/6 "2018-08-24T19:30:53Z")
That’s what I thought, yeah. Thanks for clearing it up a bit! From what I’m seeing, it looks like going yearly is my best option. I’m not really interested in lifetime, (at least not at the moment) and don’t really have the option of waiting a few months having done nothing. I’ll take what you said about going for a month into account, however! ---
**Author:** ![Naytrib](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/naytrib/32/190122_2.png) [@Naytrib](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Naytrib)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/7 "2018-08-24T19:32:26Z")
Constantly losing money would be more a demotivator for me than anything, lol. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Radish8](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/radish8/32/206088_2.png) [@Radish8](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Radish8)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/8 "2018-08-24T19:35:06Z")
No problem! Yeah, and as the sale saving is $100, more than an entire year’s subscription, even if you eventually get lifetime it’s always worth waiting for the sale (while being on yearly, I mean). Just to add to what Ryouki said as well - I like that having lifetime means I’m not stressing about going fast. I’m still trundling along nicely at a very steady pace, but I don’t worry if I have to stop lessons for a week or two while I go on holiday or whatever. But it is kind of a huge amount of money! ---
**Author:** ![Ryouki](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/ryouki/32/202681_2.png) [@Ryouki](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Ryouki)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/9 "2018-08-24T19:37:15Z")
As a lifer, I obviously don’t abide by that mentality either. Just sharing the different perspectives for you, since you asked about experiences. ---
**Author:** ![Naytrib](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/naytrib/32/190122_2.png) [@Naytrib](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Naytrib)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/10 "2018-08-24T19:41:46Z")
I get that, and thanks! It’s really appreciated. I think I’ve pretty much settled on what I’m going to do, but I still love reading other perspectives. > [@Radish8](#): > > I like that having lifetime means I’m not stressing about going fast. This, too, though I’ve come into a lot of free time recently so I’m not super worried about being fast or slow. But always something to consider! ---
**Author:** ![DaisukeJigen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/daisukejigen/32/728834_2.png) [@DaisukeJigen](https://community.wanikani.com/u/DaisukeJigen)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/11 "2018-08-24T20:17:56Z")
I’m with @Ryouki and @Radish8. Lifetimes nice as I can go at a pace I’m comfortable with. Free time is something I don’t have tons of. Been a member three years already, so in my case, lifetime was definitely worth it. ---
**Author:** ![HotWeather](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/hotweather/32/353843_2.png) [@HotWeather](https://community.wanikani.com/u/HotWeather)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/12 "2018-08-25T03:56:00Z")
I was curious about the WK after first demo levels so i took monthly subscription for 3 months. It was working so i am in a yearly plan now. Monthly plan made me rush because of the limited-time-feeling so i feel better in a yearly plan. ---
**Author:** ![Naytrib](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/naytrib/32/190122_2.png) [@Naytrib](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Naytrib)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/13 "2018-08-25T20:28:49Z")
I definitely like to take my time with things, so I can see how going monthly would make you feel rushed. Thanks for sharing! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/4X/6/2/a/62a8b0f4c59ff2c5b6651ffcf43531480b3e5297.png) [@system](https://community.wanikani.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/questions-about-subscribing/32469/14 "2019-08-25T20:28:50Z")
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