When Ellie hits a limit
Sometimes Ellie can't do something because of your plan tier. Here's what those messages mean and what to do.
Ellie will tell you directly when something she's trying to do runs into a plan limit. These messages appear as inline notes in the chat — not errors, just honest explanations of what's available on your current plan.
"You've used all your AI recipe sessions this month"
The free plan includes 3 AI recipe sessions per month. When Ellie hits this limit mid-conversation, she'll let you know and tell you when the counter resets (the 1st of next month).
You can still use Ellie for questions, pantry lookups, and restocking advice — the limit only applies to recipe generation in the wizard.
"Cost estimates are available on the Maker plan"
COGS calculations — cost per recipe, suggested sell price, margin — require the Maker plan. If you ask Ellie about costs or profitability on a free account, she'll explain what's locked and what upgrading unlocks.
"You've reached your 50-item pantry limit"
If you try to add a new pantry item after hitting 50, Ellie won't be able to complete the action. She'll tell you the limit has been reached and suggest removing items you no longer use or upgrading to Maker for unlimited inventory.
"You've reached your 5 custom mold limit"
Custom molds (molds you've added yourself, not from the template library) are capped at 5 on the free plan. Ellie will flag this if she tries to create a new mold for you.
Beta workspaces
If your workspace is on the beta plan, you won't see any of these limit messages — beta workspaces have full access. These limits apply to free-tier accounts once the product launches publicly.
Upgrading
Paid plans are coming soon. If you'd like to be notified when Maker and Studio are available, get in touch. See Free plan limits & what upgrading unlocks for the full breakdown.