Voluntary Payment
How much does the CellarTracker cellar management service cost?
CellarTracker is a free site/app with a voluntary annual payment model to unlock additional premium features. CellarTracker is unique in only suggesting a payment level but offering you the flexibility to pick a price that works for you.
Our simple goal is to build and maintain software that you will be using DECADES from now, and we are deeply appreciative for any support. If you have any questions about our payment model, please send us a note.
We want to be very clear about one thing: FREE means FREE. Any data that you enter is always intended to be accessible to you regardless of payment status. And these payment suggestions are exactly that, just suggestions. Most users adhere to our suggestions, some pay less, and a significant number pay more. Ultimately, you have the flexibility to decide what CellarTracker is worth to you.
If you are a long-term supporter and have picked an annual level you are happy with, then you should feel no pressure to revise that.
Letter from the Founder
I started CellarTracker 20 years ago as a tool to manage my wine. I sent it to a few friends to try out, and it has grown from there — into the world's largest collection of tasting notes and an incredible community of wine collectors and enthusiasts. We share knowledge and wine experiences, and we invite each other along as we learn. My own wine journey has been so much more enjoyable learning from you.
Now it's time for the next evolution of CellarTracker. We've heard from you that you want more from us — help protecting your investment and amplifying the pleasure you get from your wine. In order to grow in the ways we want and keep pace with the changing wine world, we are updating our suggested pricing recommendations.
We were very intentional in our adjustments, welcoming new wine explorers into the mix and making sure each group pays an appropriate amount based on their usage. As wine passion grows and our cellars grow, the cost to maintain them also grows. We wanted to reflect that in our updated pricing, with suggested payment levels that remain less than the cost of drinking a special bottle of your wine too late, regardless of how many years you've been on your wine journey.
That said, this remains a voluntary payment model. You are free to choose the amount you'd like to pay based on how much you get out of your CellarTracker experience. The data you enter into our site remains free for you to access, and that isn't changing.
We are grateful for your part in building CellarTracker, and we are humbled to help fuel your passion for wine. We simply can't say it enough — thank you for helping to make CellarTracker the destination for wine lovers everywhere.
Cheers, Eric LeVine
As always, I want to hear feedback from you — please feel free to reach out to me any time.
Suggested payment is based on bottles tracked:
0-99 bottles: $40/year 100-249 bottles: $60/year 250-499 bottles: $80/year 500-999 bottles: $160/year 1,000-2,499 bottles: $320/year 2,500+ bottles: $500/year
Premium Features
- The primary premium feature is automatic cellar valuation for determining the estimated market value of your collection. This is based on quarterly worldwide auction and retail pricing data from the Wine Market Journal together with millions of community valuations for individual wines.
- In addition, premium subscribers can see scores (but not review text) from some content channels including John Gilman's View From the Cellar and Brad Baker's Champagne Warrior.
- Finally, we've just launched My Charts which visualizes your wine collection and tastes over time.
Please visit: CellarTracker Payment Page
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I renew early? How do you calculate the due date?
There is no penalty for renewing early, as the system goes to great lengths to honor your original term. That said, the system is also very permissive if a user lapses payment. Any subsequent payment from that user starts a fresh premium period. This is described in detail here.
What happens if I lapse payment? Will I still be able to access my data?
Yes, the system is designed to allow users to always access any data they have personally entered regardless of their payment status. Some automatically integrated premium data (professional scores and values) will 'dry up' when payment lapses; this should have no impact on data that a user has entered. Accounts with data are never purged except by user request. If you are having trouble logging in, it is for unrelated reasons, as no one is ever 'locked out' based on payment status, etc.
What is the minimum payment to gain premium access for one year?
The minimum payment for a full year of premium support is $20. Payments as low as $5 are supported, but those are prorated against the $20/year rate.
What payment mechanisms do you support?
We support all major credit cards, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. All payments are in US dollars.
Is my online payment secure, and how do you handle credit cardholder data?
Yes, we take security very seriously. Our payment page is hosted by PayPal Enterprise (Braintree Payments) and follows industry best practices for security. CellarTracker does not store or transmit any credit card data directly. Please see our Password Security topic for a brief discussion of this.
Can I pay by check?
While we prefer online payment, it is still possible to mail us a physical check. Please make checks payable in USD (foreign checks not accepted) to CellarTracker! LLC. Please also include your handle and user ID # on the check so that we can track this back to your account. Send checks to: CellarTracker! LLC, 1425 Broadway #20-5107, Seattle, WA 98122
How has the suggested payment changed over time?
CellarTracker was designed to become more useful for each user over time and with the growth of the community. Users create so much valuable data for themselves and the rest of the community: wine definitions, tasting notes, drinking windows, community average values, label images and much more. Also, whereas until 2012 all wines had to be largely created by the community, our team of four content editors is now available 7 days a week to help create wines for you, usually in a few hours. Suggested payments are based on bottles tracked as shown below:
Year | Metrics | 0-99 | 100-249 | 250-499 | 500-999 | 1,000-2,499 | 2,500+ |
2004 | Notes: 1,237 Wines: 3,249 |
$20 | $20 | $20 | $40 | $75 | $75 |
2007 | Notes: 213,837 Wines: 278,921 |
$30 | $30 | $30 | $60 | $100 | $100 |
2011 | Notes: 1,137,136 Wines: 750,726 |
$36 | $36 | $36 | $75 | $150 | $150 |
2014 | Notes: 3,800,888 Wines: 1,665,474 |
$40 | $40 | $40 | $80 | $160 | $160 |
2022 | Notes: 9,326,701 Wines: 4,068,061 |
$40 | $60 | $80 | $160 | $320 | $500 |