What's included in the Free plan?

On the Free plan you get 3 profile scans and 2 group scans in any rolling 7-day window, and each scan previews the first 30 posts in your dashboard. It costs $0, needs no credit card, and never expires. Free opens nearly the whole dashboard from day one; Discovery and PostSnag MCP are the two features that need Pro or Lifetime.

This article covers exactly what's in Free, how the weekly scan limit and the 30-post preview work day to day, and what changes if you upgrade.

What Free includes

• The Chrome extension, with the capture panel that reads posts live as you scroll a profile, a Page, or a group.

• 3 profile scans in any rolling 7-day window. Scanning a profile you already scanned within that same window is free; it's only a NEW profile that draws from the weekly allowance. Once you've used your 3 for the window, you need to upgrade to scan another new profile before it refills, 7 days after your first scan in that window.

• 2 group scans in the same rolling 7-day window, counted separately from profile scans. Pro and Lifetime remove the limit entirely.

• A 30-post preview on each scan. Your dashboard shows the first 30 posts from a scanned profile normally; anything beyond that is blurred behind a subscribe or upgrade wall until you upgrade. A profile or group you scan beyond that week's allowance is still saved, just fully locked (0 posts visible) until you upgrade.

• Most of the dashboard: Overview, Profiles, Posts, Groups, Compare, Bookmarks, and Folders, plus a Recent scans list, all open from day one. Discovery and PostSnag MCP are the exceptions; both need Pro or Lifetime.

Free suits testing PostSnag out or doing occasional, light research: checking a small number of profiles, getting a first read on a competitor, or trying the workflow before deciding whether to upgrade.

The weekly scan limit, and how it rolls over

Free's 3 profile scans and 2 group scans refill on a rolling 7-day window, not a fixed weekly or monthly clock: the window starts the moment you use your first scan, and it opens back up 7 days after that. Check what you have left any time in Settings > Usage, or in the extension toolbar popup's Weekly scans meter. Once your 3 profile scans (or 2 group scans) for the current window are used, scanning another new profile or group needs Pro or Lifetime. Re-scanning a profile or group you already have permission for within the same window doesn't cost you another scan.

The 30-post preview and the paywall

Every profile scan on Free shows its first 30 posts normally in your dashboard. If a profile has more than 30, the rest are still there, but blurred, sitting behind a subscribe or upgrade wall right in the dashboard. You can see that more exists; you can't open, read, or export it until you upgrade. Scan a profile or group beyond your weekly allowance and the whole thing is saved but fully locked instead, none of its posts visible, until you upgrade. Either way, upgrading removes the blur or the lock on posts already sitting in your dashboard; there's no need to rescan.

What's Pro and Lifetime only

• Discovery, PostSnag's caption and hook pattern engine, is gated to Pro and Lifetime. It doesn't appear on Free at all.

• PostSnag MCP. PostSnag MCP is included with Pro and Lifetime. It isn't part of the Free plan. It lets Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, or Perplexity read the profiles, posts, and groups you've already captured, so you can ask questions in the chat instead of exporting a file first. A Free account can still add the connector, but every question comes back asking you to upgrade. See What is PostSnag MCP, and what can I ask my AI?

• Full post history past the 30-post preview, or past the lock. Upgrading is what unblurs or unlocks it.

• Complete-capture exports. Free exports only ever cover whatever's unlocked in your dashboard, so they match the 30-post preview. The Export menu has three options: Download data for AI (a Markdown file and a CSV file together), Download media for AI (a .zip of the images and videos), and Download Data & Media for AI (a .zip with both). On Free, Download data for AI opens an upgrade prompt; the two media options still work, covering whatever's unlocked. See How does exporting work on Free vs paid? for exactly what that covers.

What happens when you hit a limit

• Used your 3 profile scans for the window: scanning another new profile needs Pro or Lifetime; check Settings > Usage or the toolbar popup's Weekly scans meter to see when the window refills.

• Past 30 posts on a scanned profile: the dashboard shows the rest of that profile's posts blurred, with a subscribe or upgrade prompt over them.

• Scanned a new profile or group beyond your weekly allowance: it's saved, but every one of its posts is locked until you upgrade, not just the posts past 30.

• Used your 2 group scans for the window: the same rolling allowance applies, tracked separately from profile scans in Settings > Usage.

What actually changes on a paid plan

Pro and Lifetime remove every Free cap:

• No weekly limit on profile scans. Scan as many profiles as you want, whenever you want.

• No 30-post preview, and nothing locked. A profile's full post history is visible in your dashboard, nothing blurred.

• No weekly limit on group scans.

• Discovery included.

• PostSnag MCP included, so Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, or Perplexity can read your whole library.

• Complete-capture exports, covering everything captured, not just the first 30 posts.

See What are PostSnag's plans and pricing? for the full breakdown of Pro and Lifetime, and what each costs.

Common questions

How many profile scans do I get on the Free plan?

3 profile scans and 2 group scans in any rolling 7-day window. The window refills 7 days after your first scan in it, not on a fixed weekly clock. Re-scanning a profile you already have from the same window doesn't use another scan.

What does the 30-post preview mean?

Each profile scan shows its first 30 posts normally in your dashboard. Anything past 30 is there, but blurred behind a subscribe or upgrade wall, until you upgrade.

What happens if I scan a new profile after I've used my scans for the week?

It's still saved, but every post on it is locked, not just the ones past 30, until you upgrade.

Can I still scan Facebook Groups on the Free plan?

Yes, 2 in any rolling 7-day window, separate from your profile scans. Pro and Lifetime remove the limit entirely.

Is Discovery available on the Free plan?

No. Discovery needs Pro or Lifetime.

Is PostSnag MCP available on the Free plan?

You can connect it, but every question returns an upgrade message instead of an answer. PostSnag MCP needs Pro or Lifetime.

Do I need a credit card to use the Free plan?

No. Free costs $0, needs no card, and doesn't expire.

Related articles

• What are PostSnag's plans and pricing?

• Pro or Lifetime: which plan should I choose?

• How do I upgrade to Pro or Lifetime?

• What happens to my captured data if I downgrade or cancel?

• How do big exports and export notifications work?

• What is PostSnag MCP, and what can I ask my AI?

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