Release Notes: SaaS API Docs, Checkout & UX Polish + More!

This release brings clear, polished improvements you can rely on. We’ve made the checkout smoother to reduce drop-offs, updated invoices to lower support needs, and released OpenAPI-powered API docs to make integrations easier and faster.

Whether you’re scaling a SaaS or selling plugins and other software, we’ve made Freemius more predictable, customizable, and maker-friendly than ever.

Let’s get into June’s updates:

Launching Our New API Documentation: A Massive Step Toward SaaS Maturity

Our new API documentation is live and you can explore it right now! 🍾

Until now, most Freemius-powered WordPress products have relied on our SDK to handle things automatically, with a handful of documented snippets available for custom use cases.

But as we expand deeper into SaaS, a modern, well-documented API becomes essential — not just for flexibility, but for integration, automation, and even AI-readability.

We’ve overhauled our API infrastructure from the ground up, embracing the OpenAPI specification as our new standard. This means:

All current API endpoints are now fully documented to help SaaS makers build the custom integrations they envision
All future API development will follow the OpenAPI protocol — no more stale, manually maintained docs
Plus, we’ve added detailed documentation to help with advanced automation around version deployments and getting latest updates

A Developer’s Playground (Or Sandbox)

You can already browse every API endpoint in our live docs, view code examples in multiple languages (like JavaScript, NodeJS, PHP or cURL), and simulate or send real requests using bearer tokens.

Want to retrieve a subscription? Cool. See every parameter, expected response, and possible error before you write a line of code.

It’s all powered by OpenAPI, which means docs stay automatically synced with our codebase. No more guesswork or outdated pages.

This structure also makes our platform infinitely more compatible with AI tooling. Here’s why this is a massive win for Freemius makers of all types:

Built for Modern Makers (and Machines)

OpenAPI’s specification means our new docs aren’t just human-friendly — they’re IDE- and AI-friendly too.

What this means in practice:

Type-safe operations: No more guessing what a response looks like. With OpenAPI, modern languages can validate your requests and responses at compile time, meaning fewer errors, faster debugging.
Live previews inside your IDE: Use extensions like vscode-openapi to browse endpoint details without ever leaving your code editor.
Instant client SDKs: Generate language-specific SDKs using tools like OpenAPI Generator. No boilerplate, and no drift.
AI-ready structure: Our docs can be fed directly into tools like ChatGPT or Cursor (using advanced protocols like MCP) to generate accurate, context-aware code snippets and automation flows, paving the way for code generation, smart assistants, and low-friction integrations.

An example for ChatGPT:

Prompt: > Please read the OpenAPI spec from this link – https://freemius.com/help/documentation/api/openapi.yaml – and help me write TypeScript code to get a list of payments from the API.
Results: https://chatgpt.com/share/686a405e-37c0-8004-b0b3-ae33cb2e72a1

Feels like magic? Here’s a pro tip from Swashata Ghosh (Freemius VP of Engineering) to take the magic even further. “If you let chatGPT think deep it does much better job for you: https://chatgpt.com/share/686a40c5-5154-8004-b302-e7c04dd225b0”

Our new API documentation is so much more than an update. It’s the foundation of our SaaS future and practically a product in its own right, built to power software businesses of all kinds.

Checkout Enhancements: Polish, Power, and Post-Purchase Control

Two key upgrades lead the way for the Freemius Checkout this cycle, both designed to improve transparency, trust, and flexibility for SaaS and other software products.

Smarter Discount Calculations, Less Buyer Confusion

We’ve added a small line of text and solved a big point of confusion.

Previously, buyers weren’t always sure if their discount would carry over at renewal, causing avoidable confusion, unnecessary support tickets, and lost conversions.

Renewal pricing has now been brought forward to where buyers actually need it, and the Freemius Checkout now clearly shows a “Renews at [amount]” line, even when the renewal amount matches the discounted price.

This small but meaningful update brings greater clarity to the checkout experience and forms part of our ongoing effort to make Freemius more transparent and SaaS-savvy by design.

Checkout Success Redirection — Now for All Product Types

Originally built for SaaS flows, this feature quickly drew requests from WordPress makers looking for the same flexibility.

We listened!

All makers can now redirect users to a custom page after checkout, whether it’s a dashboard, onboarding flow, thank-you screen, or upsell. The redirect also passes along helpful metadata, like the plan ID and user info, so you can personalize the experience from the moment a buyer converts.

This is a perfect example of how our shift into SaaS benefits everyone, bringing modern capabilities to WordPress and other software ecosystems.

Visual Polish with Purpose: Modernizing Freemius One Touchpoint at a Time

Another important part of our continued push to modernize the Freemius experience: visually, functionally, and everywhere it matters.

Cleaner, Smarter Maker Emails (With More on the Way)

The old emails were showing their age, so we’ve begun rolling out sleeker ones, starting with maker-facing messages.

These aren’t just prettier templates. They’re clearer, more consistent with our current design language, and built to reflect the evolving maturity of the Freemius platform.

Buyer-facing emails are up next, but since many makers have customized them to match their brand, we’re rolling them out more gradually to avoid breaking anything.

Upon rollout, makers have the option to preview and tweak new designs before flipping the approval switch. Until then, your existing styles will stay exactly as they are.

Modernized Invoices, From Font to Function

More than a facelift! The redesigned buyer invoices are live and more informative, accurate, and aligned with the evolving Freemius experience.

Here’s what’s new:

Account #, license ID, and a masked license key, making it easier for buyers and support teams to connect purchases with licenses
A new “Additional Discounts” row to account for edge cases like price adjustments or special promos
Product-specific support emails now appear directly on the invoice
Monospace font for the numeric values on invoices, improving alignment and readability across all totals and line items
Removed trailing zeroes after decimal points (e.g. “20.00%” is now “20%”), so tax percentages look cleaner and more natural
Aligned currency symbols in the totals section for a cleaner, more professional layout

Some of these improvements were sparked by real feedback from our makers (shoutout to Florian!), and all of them are part of our continued push to bring more clarity and polish to our digital footprint.

DX Win: Smoother Manual License Creation

Another chip off the “manual hassle” block to ensure the lives of our makers keep getting easier!

You can now assign a newly created license to any of the user’s websites directly in the UI. This also means you don’t need to send license keys manually anymore.

Small change = huge time saver.

Bit by Bit, a Better Freemius

Here are a bunch of smaller fixes and improvements that make Freemius smoother, smarter, and a little more delightful to use:

Checkout:

Developer Dashboard:

Miscellaneous:

Reverse invoices: Squashed bugs and improved reliability across the board
Custom license units: New doc shows you how to customize your license unit labels
Deployment automation UI: Improved WordPress deployment screen now surfaces automation options more clearly
Dunning: Fixed an edge case bug with updating payment methods in the dunning flow
Payout invoices: Fixed tokenized invoice link authentication issue
Customer portal: Fixed issue with “Remember Me” login option

Progress Lives in the Details, and It’s Powered by You

We’ve been quietly consistent with leveling up not just the tools you use, but the way you use them. Clearer flows, cleaner interfaces, and smarter defaults.

This round of updates reflects a Freemius that’s becoming more polished and more cohesive, one touchpoint at a time, each progressive step expanding our digital footprint.

From API docs that scale with your SaaS ambitions to cleaner invoices, smarter checkout flows, and sleeker, better-looking touchpoints, every update reflects your feedback, needs, and the maturity of our platform.

Keep the ideas, bug reports, and requests coming. They shape what’s next.