The best Shopify subscription apps help busy entrepreneurs to rapidly process repeat payments from a range of customers. If you sell software, online courses, or anything else which requires consistent weekly, monthly, or annual payments from clients, these apps will keep your cash flow on track.
In fact, with the right app countless ecommerce companies can set up subscriptions for virtually any kind of product or service, boosting their chances of regular, recurring revenue. Many of the top apps even come with useful insights and analytics to ensure you can keep track of your most successful products, packages, and plans.
What are the Best Shopify Apps for Selling Subscriptions?
Today, we’re going to be looking at some of the most popular subscription apps available directly through the Shopify app store. These integrated tools will slot seamlessly into your Shopify ecosystem, so you can worry less about payments, and focus more on growing your store.
Let’s dive in.
Recharge Subscriptions
One of the most highly-rated and well-known Shopify subscription apps on the market, Recharge is a state-of-the-art recurring payments application. Compatible with most Shopify themes, the solution allows business owners to rapidly enable subscriptions programs in a matter of seconds, and improve customer lifetime value. You can even create a customer portal where customers can manage their subscriptions, and get updates on their purchases via SMS.
Outside of it’s strong connection with Shopify, Recharge also links seamlessly to Klaviyo, Gorgias, Yotpo, and a range of other popular Shopify apps. This means you can connect your subscription strategy to your referral, reward, and email marketing campaigns.
To boost your revenue, there are built-in tools for upselling and allowing customers to add one-time purchases to their orders. Plus, You can use the reporting and analytics features to keep a close eye on your evolving revenue, subscriptions, and customer base. There’s even the option to track product performance in real-time.
Pricing
There are two plan options available for Shopify users with Recharge Subscriptions. The first solution is the free plan. While the service is free to install on this plan, you’ll still need to pay 1% and 10c for every transaction. This option gives you access to basic analytics, subscription billing, order management, merchant tools, and payment management.
Alternatively, the Pro plan for $499 per month will charge 1% plus 19c for every transaction, and comes with advanced features like an enhanced customer portal, and state-of-the-art analytics.
Pros:
- Automated updates for you and your customers
- Insights into your top-selling products and packages
- Convenient integrations with a range of tools
- Excellent order and payment management
- Customer portals available for controlling subscriptions
Cons:
- Expensive premium plan
- Customer service can be limited
Paywhirl
Another excellent subscription app for Shopify, Paywhirl allows you to create convenient subscription plans where customers can save their payment methods and control their purchases with ease. The automatic billing system comes with subscription notifications and automatic failed payment management. Plus, the tool integrates seamlessly with all Shopify themes, checkout solutions, and tools for shipping and taxes.
Paywhirl is a highly versatile application with unlimited features and subscriptions on all plans. You can charge subscription customers according to your preferred cadence, use customer retention tools to prevent churn when customers cancel, and even use Shop Pay and Apple Pay for accelerated checkout. There are subscription discount tools, flexible and automatic order generation systems, and access to developer tools for APIs, webhooks, and .CSV imports.
Paywhirl comes with both multi-language, and multi-currency support, and there are built-in subscription analytics for churn, revenue, cohort analysis and more. You can build white labelled experiences from scratch, or simply copy-paste the functionality you need into your store.
Pricing
There are 4 pricing plans available for Paywhirl, starting with the “free to install” starter plan. This solution comes with all features and unlimited subscriptions, but there is a 3% transaction fee. The Pro plan reduces the transaction fee to 2% for $9 per month, while the Plus plan gives you a 1% transaction fee for $49 per month.
The “Ultimate” plan, which is the most expensive from Paywhirl at $249 per month has a 0.5% transaction fee. Essentially, each plan gives you the same functionality, but with slightly different transaction fees, intended for different kinds of companies.
Pros:
- Lots of customization options
- Flexible integration with all Shopify store
- In-depth analytics for insights into subscribers
- Unlimited subscriptions on all plans
- Excellent multi-language and multi-currency support
Cons:
- The plans can be a little expensive
- Could be difficult to access support at times
Bold Subscriptions
Great for scaling companies, the Bold Subscriptions app makes it easy to access out-of-the-box subscriber features in a matter of minutes. You can create your own subscription portal for customers, where they can manage their delivery intervals, personal info, payments, and orders. There’s also automatic dunning management included, and custom cancellation flows designed to help you retain your clients for as long as possible.
Bold Subscriptions is a certified Shopify Plus app, so it’s ideal for enterprise and larger companies. You can seamlessly integrate the tool with Shopify Checkouts, or migrate your subscription program to virtually any payment provider you choose. There’s also a range of APIs, developer tools, and webhooks to help you customize your subscription service even further.
Bold Subscriptions has an easy-to-use dashboard for beginners, and a range of solutions to help you enhance customer experiences. You can add discount codes, and connect your tools with other Shopify apps and Zapier integrations. There’s also in-depth reporting and analytics tools, so you can see which subscribers are your most loyal customers, where purchases might have failed, and why customers choose to unsubscribe.
There’s also the option to implement buffer days so you can manage your fulfillment cycles more effectively, and maintain excellent customer service.
Pricing
There’s only one plan available for Bold Subscriptions. You can start out with a 60-day generous free trial to test all the features, then you’ll be moved onto the “Core” plan for $49.99 per month. This gives you all of the features of the tool, including customer order management, dunning management, full customization, and robust webhooks and APIs. You will need to pay a transaction fee on all subscription payments of 1% too.
Pros:
- Easy to use dashboard and customizations
- Tons of integrations and API connections available
- Lots of insights into customer subscription flows
- Access to a leading customer support team for migration
- Attractive customer self-service portal
Cons:
- API and developer tools can be complex
- Limited support after set-up
Loop Subscriptions
Otherwise known as Subscriptions by Loop, this convenient application aims to help companies increase their number of repeat clients as quickly as possible. The convenient user interface makes it straightforward to set up and sell subscriptions in minutes. You can configure everything from discounts and frequency settings, to shipping profiles and more.
There’s dunning management, automatic email and SMS reminders for customers, and the option to configure payment “retries” when transactions fail. Aside from integrating with Shopify, this tool works well with a range of other Shopify and third-party apps. It also connects with Google analytics, so you can expand your insights into customer payments and loyalty.
An intuitive customer portal makes it simple and straightforward to initiate recurring revenue opportunities form subscribers. You can allow customers to manage their own subscriptions with the option to pause, skip, and reschedule upcoming deliveries. There’s also the option for users to switch between subscriptions and one-off payments.
Loop supports the set up of rewards and loyalty programs, and you can create bundled box subscriptions to help customers buy more. There’s support for customized subscription widgets, complex subscription flows, maximum and minimum limits on subscription orders and anchor day billing solutions.
Pricing
The first package from Loop Subscriptions is free to install with no transaction fee for up to 50 subscribers. This package comes with auto-ship subscriptions, pre-paid and gift subscription options, and a self-service customer portal, as well as 20+ alerts.
The paid packages start with “Growth” at $99 per month with a 1% transaction fee, with unlimited subscriptions, Recharge and Bold migration, upselling and product swapping and smart dunning controls. You can also integrate with Klaviyo and Google analytics, and create cancellation flows. The Enterprise plan for $399 per month with a 0.75% transaction fee includes all the features of Growth, with custom subscription flows, unique features, dedicated engineer support and unlimited API calls, as well as extra integrations.
Pros:
- Advanced range of customization options
- Powerful customer portal for managing subscriptions
- Easy-to-access automated workflows
- Intelligent analytics and insights
- Fantastic cancellation flows
Cons:
- Slight learning curves for beginners
- Expensive high-level plans
Yotpo
Another excellent option if you’re looking to start a subscription business, or accept recurring orders, Yotpo is a top-rated app on the Shopify app store. The convenient tool makes subscription management easy, with an all-in-one platform for creating as many plans as you need. You can even set up convenient portals where your customers can make changes to their subscriptions, without having to reach out to your team for help.
The native integration for Shopify comes with a native checkout experience for your subscription products, and complete catalog management. You can easily apply discounts throughout your ecommerce business, and create your own “subscribe and save” widget for your product pages. Plus, there’s easy customization for the full subscription solution, without the need for developer support.
Alongside various tools to enhance your checkout process, the key features of Yotpo also include in-built analytics and reporting. This means you can keep track of your conversion rate, and pay attention to which of your online store items get the most orders. There’s also the option to integrate Yotpo Subscriptions with other Yotpo tools for generating customer loyalty, referrals, and more.
Pricing
There are no monthly fees for installing Yotpo into your Shopify store, but you will need to pay transaction fees when you start earning more. Paid plans begin when you exceed $500 in monthly subscription sales, with a rate of 1% on all transactions.
Pros:
- No subscription fees
- Offer discounts and mixed cart bonuses easily
- Keep track of important metrics with analytics
- Customizations for your payment gateway
- Convenient self-service portal for customers
Cons:
- Transaction fees can add up
- Some limitations on subscription options
Choosing the Best Subscription Apps for Shopify
Whether you’re launching a subscription business model, or you simply want to create a new revenue stream with recurring payment options, subscription apps can be a great choice for store owners. There are plenty of user-friendly options to choose from on the Shopify app market, the right choice for you will depend on the specific needs of your business.
When you’re sorting through the options above, or checking out tools like Seal Subscriptions, Appstle subscriptions, Paywhirl subscription payments and more, here are some of the factors worth paying attention to:
- Subscription options: Make sure you can offer a range of subscription options to your customers, including discounted rates for long-term recurring transactions. This will help you to reach a wider audience, and should boost your conversions.
- Customization: Being able to customize your subscription payment solution by adding your own branded widgets and buttons to your product and checkout pages is crucial. The more consistent your store looks, the better it is for your brand.
- Customer support: Even if you choose a user-friendly app, there’s always a chance something might go wrong. Ensuring you can access support from a friendly and knowledgeable service team will give you more peace of mind.
- Automation: Tools which allow you to automate certain processes can make your life a lot easier. Some tools allow you to apply discounts to carts automatically when they have a specific order value. Others allow you to send email notifications to subscribers about their recurring payments.
- Pricing: Pay attention to how much you’ll need to pay for your subscription service. You’ll need to account for the monthly price of Shopify, the cost of any subscription fees for the app, and additional transaction costs.
It’s also worth looking for a subscription solution that’s easy to set up and use, for both you and your customers. Solutions with branded customer portals can even allow clients to manage their subscriptions themselves, with less guidance from your team.
Which Subscription App is Best?
As subscription boxes and subscription model businesses continue to evolve, the number of subscription apps available for Shopify is constantly evolving. It’s worth taking the time to sort through each of your options carefully, with a focus on your specific company’s needs.
Remember, some of these tools will allow you to set up free trials and demonstrations for free, so it might be worth using this option to test the functionality before you commit to a long-term payment plan.
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