> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.outpost.pub/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Complimentary Subscriptions

> Grant paid access to members without charging them — for staff, partners, or special cases.

Complimentary (comped) subscriptions give a member paid-tier access without requiring a Stripe subscription. Use comps for your team, advisors, beta testers, press contacts, or anyone you want to give free access to premium content.

In Ghost, comped members are treated as paid members and can access all paywalled content for the tier they are set to. In Outpost, comped members are tracked separately from paying subscribers — they appear under the **Complimentary** filter rather than the **Paid** filter, and they do not count toward revenue metrics.

<Note>
  Outpost uses complimentary subscriptions to power gift, group, and institutional subscriptions. These all appear as complimentary subscriptions in Ghost. Don't delete complimentary subscriptions without checking why they exist — they may be powering gift, group, or institutional access.
</Note>

Comps are added and managed from the **Members** page rather than a dedicated Comps page.

## Adding a comp

From the member detail page:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the member's profile">
    Go to **Members** and click on the member you want to comp.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add complimentary subscription">
    Click **+ Add Complimentary Subscription** in the Subscriptions card.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure the comp">
    Select the tier to grant access to and a duration (1-11 months, 1 year, or Lifetime).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Member gets access">
    The member immediately gains access to the selected tier's content in Ghost. They're synced as a paid-tier member without any Stripe billing.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  A complimentary subscription does **not** replace or pause an existing paid subscription. If the member already has a Stripe subscription, comping them on top of it stacks the two — they keep being charged, and the comp simply runs alongside. Cancel the paid subscription first if your intent is to switch them to free access.
</Warning>

### Adding a comp to someone who isn't a member yet

If the recipient doesn't exist in Ghost yet, you have to create them as a free member **first**, then add the comp:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the member in Ghost">
    In Ghost, go to **Members → New Member**, enter their email, and click **Save**. Do not try to add a subscription at this stage — Ghost won't let you add a comp until the member exists.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the complimentary subscription">
    On the saved member's page, scroll to the Subscriptions section and click **+ Add Complimentary Subscription**. Pick the tier and duration as usual.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Expiry options

Comped subscriptions can be:

| Option                   | Description                                                                                                         |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Permanent (Lifetime)** | No expiry — the member keeps free access indefinitely until you manually revoke it.                                 |
| **Time-limited**         | Set a specific duration: 1 through 11 months, or 1 year. When the period ends, Outpost automatically revokes access |

When a time-limited comp is about to expire, the [Autoresponder](/features/basic-autoresponder) can automatically:

* Notify your staff that a comp is ending soon (so you can decide whether to extend it)
* Send the comped member emails encouraging them to become a paying subscriber

These emails are configured in the **Complimentary tab** of the Basic Autoresponder.

## Managing comps

Go to **Members** and filter by **Type: Comped** to see all comped members. Open a comped member's profile to view the comp's tier and expiry date, or to **Remove** comp access (the member reverts to free).

### Extending a comp

There is currently no control to edit an active comp's expiry date in place. To extend a member's comp, use one of these:

* **Renew from the expiry reminder.** As a time-limited comp nears its end date, the Autoresponder's staff notification email includes a renewal link that extends the comp by one year. This is only available while the comp is still active, during the reminder window before it expires.
* **Remove and re-add.** On the member's profile, **Remove** the complimentary subscription, then click **+ Add Complimentary Subscription** again with the tier and duration you want. Use this if the comp has already lapsed or you missed the reminder window.
* **Set an exact end date.** Need a specific expiry rather than a whole-month duration? Your Outpost contact can set an exact `membership_end_date` on the member's subscription through the API.

<Note>
  A direct "extend" control on the member profile — to bump an active comp's expiry date without removing and re-adding it — is planned but not yet available.
</Note>

## Autoresponder integration

The Autoresponder's **Complimentary tab** includes 7 pre-built email actions for comps.

Note that these do not apply to gift/group/institutional subscribers even though they are technically also complimentary.

| Action                       | Purpose                                                                                                                       |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Welcome**                  | Tell a member they received a complimentary subscription                                                                      |
| **Staff notification (1st)** | Notify your staff that a comp is ending soon and give you the option to extend or send the subscriber through an upsell flow. |
| **Staff notification (2nd)** | Second reminder to staff                                                                                                      |
| **Expiring upsell (1st)**    | Encourage the comped member to become a paying subscriber                                                                     |
| **Expiring upsell (2nd)**    | Second encouragement                                                                                                          |
| **Expiring upsell (3rd)**    | Last reminder before comp expires                                                                                             |
| **Renewed notification**     | Tell the member their comp was extended for another year                                                                      |

See [Autoresponder → Complimentary tab](/features/basic-autoresponder#complimentary-tab) for details.

## Comp vs. gift comparison

|                            | Complimentary                              | Gift                                     |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Who pays?**              | Nobody — admin grants free access          | Giver pays via Stripe                    |
| **Source**                 | Internal grant by a staff member           | External purchase by another member      |
| **Expiry**                 | Optional (can be permanent)                | Set by the gift subscription duration    |
| **Recipient notification** | Optional                                   | Automatic email with redemption link     |
| **Stripe involvement**     | None — no Stripe subscription created      | Stripe processes the giver's payment     |
| **Ghost sync**             | Synced as a comped member with tier access | Synced as a paid member with tier access |
| **Auto-renewal**           | No — must be manually extended             | No — gift subscriptions don't auto-renew |

***

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can a comped member upgrade to a paid subscription?">
    Yes. If a comped member subscribes through an Outpost promotion link, they become a standard paid subscriber. Their complimentary access is replaced by the paid subscription.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does a comp show up in revenue reporting?">
    No. Complimentary subscriptions don't generate Stripe charges, so they don't appear in revenue metrics. They do appear in member counts and tier segmentation.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I comp a member on multiple tiers?">
    A member can only have one active complimentary subscription at a time. If you need to change their tier, update the existing comp rather than adding a second one.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens when a comp expires?">
    The member loses access to paid content and reverts to free status. If you've enabled the expiring subscription upsell emails in the Autoresponder, they'll receive reminders encouraging them to subscribe before losing access.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is there a limit on how many comps I can give?">
    There's no hard limit in Ghost or Outpost. However, since comped members count toward your member total and receive the same content access as paying members, consider the impact on your publication's economics.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Related features

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Gift Subscriptions" icon="gift" href="/features/gift-subscriptions">
    Paid gifts from one member to another (different from comps)
  </Card>

  <Card title="Autoresponder" icon="envelope-open-text" href="/features/basic-autoresponder">
    Automated emails for comp welcome, expiry warnings, and staff notifications
  </Card>

  <Card title="Members" icon="users" href="/features/members">
    View and manage all members including comped subscribers
  </Card>

  <Card title="Labels" icon="tag" href="/features/labels">
    Tag comped members for segmentation and targeting
  </Card>
</CardGroup>