10 min read
Shopify subscription apps are an excellent and easy-to-use solution if you want to integrate subscription-based products or services into your website. They allow you to set up recurring billing, automate payments, manage subscriptions, and more.
Since the market has loads of options to choose from, it can be challenging to make the right pick. You want a user-friendly app that includes all the necessary features and isn’t overpriced.
To help you out, we handpicked 12 best Shopify subscription apps available on the Shopify app store. Keep reading to find each of their strengths, analyze their shortcoming, and find the app that’s a perfect match for your website.
What is a subscription app on Shopify?
Shopify subscription app gives you the possibility to set up recurring payments for your Shopify services or products. It adds a widget to your product pages where customers can select a subscription instead of making a one-time purchase.
Some subscription apps on the Shopify app store also offer a little extra, such as subscription performance analytics, subscription discount tiers, or an extensive amount of payment gateways.
Product subscription is an indispensable tool for customer retention, revenue growth, and a more appealing shopping process for your customers.
A Shopify recurring payments app will do wonders for businesses selling consumable products, such as food or cosmetics, as well as any service provider.
Top 12 Shopify apps for subscriptions: our shortlist
Here is our top 12 Shopify subscription app shortlist:
- Appstle Subscriptions & Loyalty - overall best Shopify subscription app
- Seal Subscriptions & Loyalty - best app for stores with high order value
- Propel Subscriptions App - Shopify subscription app with the best free plan option
- PayWhirl Subscription Payment - best variety of payment gateways
- Skio Subscriptions (YC S20) - Shopify subscription app with advanced performance analytics
- Yotpo Subscriptions - user-friendly app with professional support
- Loop Subscriptions - mobile-focused subscription app
- Recurpay Subscriptions App - app with convenient customer portal
- RecurrinGO! Subscriptions App - flexible plans with lower fees
- Subify Subscriptions App - feature-loaded plans for different size stores
- Ongoing Subscriptions - app with easy installation and migration
- Recharge Subscriptions - simple app with eCommerce features
Optimize your store for better speed and SEO performance to get more potential subscribers
Install TinyIMG nowBest Shopify subscription apps: in-depth overview
Finding the right app for setting up and managing subscriptions can be a beneficial addition to your website. It can help foster trusting relationships with customers, streamline billing, and ultimately lead to more revenue.
So, let’s take a more in-depth look at all 12 top Shopify subscription apps.
1. Appstle Subscriptions App
Appstle Subscriptions App is the best Shopify subscription app because it offers an array of features and affordable plans catering from the smallest to largest stores.
The paid plans of Appstle start from just $10/month and offer high-value perks such as customer-segment-based subscription plans, no transaction fees, subscriber loyalty features, weekly summary reports, 1-click customer portal login, and more.
The free plan also has a 0% transaction fee but is limited to the $500/mo benchmark in revenue. To get weekly summary reports or advanced subscription management, you’ll have to upgrade, but the free plan is a great starting point for small businesses.
The best part is that you can try Appstle’s paid plans out with a free 10-day trial.
Pros:
- Great value-to-price ratio
- 0% transaction fee on all plans
- Custom shipping profiles
- Mailing list integration
- Inventory tracker
- 24/7 support
Cons:
- Slightly complicated interface
Here is what your product page with Appstle subscription box could look like:
2. Seal Subscriptions App
Seal Subscriptions App boasts a range of features for scaling your business, such as an intuitive customer portal and subscription widget customization.
Seal Subscriptions lets you upgrade plans based on subscription quantity. Paired with the fact that it has no transaction fees, it makes this subscription app a very attractive option for stores with high order value.
There’s also a free plan available which allows 150 subscriptions. If that’s not enough, you can upgrade to a paid plan with up to 15,000 subscriptions. The prices start from only $4.95/mo, and all plans come with many advantages, including auto-charging functionality, custom email HTML, a customer portal, global statistics, and more.
You can try Seal Subscriptions App paid plans with a risk-free 30-day trial.
Pros:
- Great value for money
- Plan ranges are based on subscription quantity, not sales
- Educational video tutorials available
- Customer portal for managing subscriptions
- Wide customization possibilities
Cons:
- Free plan has very limited features
Here is a product page with the Seal Subscriptions App subscription widget:
3. Propel Subscriptions App
Propel Subscriptions App is another great Shopify subscription app with native integration and no transaction fees.
Propel Subscriptions App offers a free plan with an array of features available, including unlimited subscriptions, customer portal, widget optimization, and analytics.
The paid plans start from $9/mo. They’re worth investing in because of features like custom email notifications, subscription editing and importing, payment retry management, priority support, and more. Multiple reviews also demonstrate that their customer service team is professional and fast to respond.
While there’s no free trial for trying out the paid plans, the free plan and its extensive feature list compensate for it.
Pros:
- No transaction fees
- All plans have unlimited subscriptions
- Slick customer portal interface
- Great cancellation, discount and dunning management
- Mixed (subscription and one-time) checkout support
Cons:
- No free trial for paid plans
You can take a look at how Propel’s subscription options, special offers, and discount management look below:
4. PayWhirl Subscription Payments
If your customer demographics are wide and they need access to a lot of different payment methods, PayWhirl Subscription Payments might be the Shopify subscription app for you.
Unlike most other apps, they support Authorize.net, PayPal Express, Stripe, and Shopify Payments. PayWhirl also offers decent performance analytics for your subscription revenue and a unique perk – phone support.
While the free plan offers unlimited subscriptions, the transaction fee is 3% when reaching $5,000 in monthly revenue. By opting for paid plans, you can lower transaction fees to 0.75-2% and get access to such features as email template editing, tag workflows, and developer API/Webhooks.
If you’re interested in the paid plans, you can try them out with a 14-day free trial.
Pros:
- Native integration (themes, checkout, and Shopify customer accounts)
- All plans have unlimited subscriptions
- Customers can save payment options
- Phone support
Cons:
- 3% transaction fee on the free plan when reaching $5,000
Here’s an example of a product page with a subscription widget featuring ongoing and prepaid subscription models:
5. Skio Subscriptions (YC S20)
If trust and reputation are of utmost importance to you when choosing apps, look no further than Skio. Shiny reviews and numerous strong brands trust Skio’s state-of-the-art tech and appreciate their perks, such as passwordless login (instead of using a code as part of the multi-factor authentication process) for customers.
Skio really stands out in the performance analytics department – they have outsourced this part of their app to Source Medium, so you’ll get all the information imaginable regarding your subscriptions.
This provider also lets you design a custom plan for your business on their website and request a demo. However, you can’t overlook its large price of $499/mo, especially since there’s still a 1% + 20¢ transaction fee applied.
Pros:
- Trusted by known brands
- Very powerful subscription analytics
- Passwordless customer portal login
- Gradual rollout migration option
Cons:
- Pricey
Take a look at an example of Skio’s subscription widget:
6. Yotpo Subscriptions
Yotpo Subscriptions is a solid app that has all the features you would expect from a good Shopify recurring payment app. Its customer support agents are professional and the widgets are modern-looking.
You can install Yotpo for free. There will be no transaction fee until you reach $500 in monthly subscription revenue. Then, Yotpo applies a 1% transaction fee, which is a competitive amount compared to some other subscription apps.
This provider offers the option to customize your subscriptions and create a plan that fits your business needs. While there’s no free trial available, you can request a demo version.
Pros:
- Convenient subscription management for your clients
- Comprehensive data analytics
- Passwordless login for customers
- 24/7 live support
Cons:
- Reported issues with email notifications
You can take a look at a demo Yotpo store version and its subscription widget below:
7. Loop Subscriptions
Loop Subscriptions boasts multiple advantages as a Shopify Subscription app, including having a mobile-first approach and the option to request custom feature development.
The app provider also offers an attractive 50-subscriber free plan that comes with a 0% transaction fee and sufficient features, which is a good starting solution for tiny Shopify stores.
The paid plan prices start from $99/mo – they’re quite pricey compared to apps like Appstle. However, they come with features like box subscriptions, a customer portal, and a subscriber reward system.
Their dunning system is quite advanced too – they have multiple solutions, such as smart recharge and email/SMS reminders to reduce failed payments.
If you’re interested in giving the paid plans a shot, there’s a 14-day free trial available.
Pros:
- Customer portal that functions like an app
- Great dunning and cancellation flows
- 200+ mobile-responsive widgets to choose from
- Loyalty tiers to inspire customer retention
Cons:
- Both monthly and transaction fees apply to paid plans
- Quite pricey paid plans
Here is the Loop Subscriptions widget with a custom discount on subscriptions:
8. Recurpay Subscriptions App
Recurpay Subscriptions App is a great fit if you’re looking for a straightforward app to integrate recurring payments.
You can install Recurpay for free but it’s limited to $100 in monthly subscription revenue. Meanwhile, the paid plan prices start from $9/mo, but the subscription revenue limit applies to every plan. This can be quite expensive considering other options on the market don’t include a limit on higher-costing plans.
Whichever plan you decide on, you get a portal where customers can edit, cancel, skip, or reschedule their subscriptions. The app automatically syncs modified product prices for subscription orders and also allows you to implement free trials or renew subscriptions on specific dates.
Pros
- Great reviews regarding customer support
- Paid plan prices start from just $9/mo
- Multiple currencies available
- Customer portal control
Cons
- Subscription revenue limited on all paid plans
- Transaction fees apply on paid plans
Take a look at Recurpay’s subscription widget example below:
9. RecurrinGO! Subscriptions App
RecurrinGO! Subscriptions App is a good option with flexible plans and relatively low transaction fees on paid tiers.
Each plan, including the free one, comes with the same features. Only the more expensive plans include the subscription migration or customization option.
The main difference between plans is the transaction fees. The more you pay for your monthly subscription, the smaller the fee. This approach is convenient because you can calculate which plan provides the most value for your business based on your order count.
All paid plans come with a free 14-day trial if you wish to check it out.
Pros
- Free plan comes with unlimited subscriptions
- Paid plan prices start from just $9/mo
- Multiple currencies available
- Customer portal control
Cons
- Subscription revenue limited on all paid plans
- Transaction fees apply on paid plans
Take a look at RecurrinGO!'s subscription widget example below:
10. Subify Subscriptions App
Subify Subscriptions App has a sufficient feature variety, including memberships, email notifications, quick checkout links, and more depending on the plan you pick.
The free plan has quite many features available, but it only allows 10 active subscribers, and their branding will be present on your widgets.
Considering the paid Essential plan has a 2.5% transaction fee and only up to $1000 revenue, it doesn’t bring much value for $9/mo compared to competitors. If you want unlimited subscriptions and a lower (1%) transaction fee, you have to opt for the even more expensive $15/mo plan.
To try out the paid plans, you can opt for the free 14-day trial.
Pros:
- Customers can manage the delivery schedule
- Custom widget personalization upon request
- Supports one-time and subscription products in one cart
- Amazing customer support reviews
Cons:
- Subify branding present on the free plan
- Transaction fees on all plans
Here is an example of a gym membership subscription widget powered by Subify:
11. Ongoing Subscriptions
Ongoing Subscriptions is another Shopify subscription app praised for its easy one-click installation process and positive reviews regarding the migration process.
The app has a wide range of subscription periods, outstanding analytics dashboards, various subscription discounts, and other features available.
However, it’s worth noting that there’s no free plan. And while the paid plans offer a 30-day free trial, their prices start from $99/mo. Plus, there’s still a 1-2% transaction fee.
With all these reasons combined, Ongoing Subscriptions couldn’t score higher on our list simply because you can find most of the same features and better value for money with other apps.
Pros:
- Build-a-box feature
- 3 types of subscription discounts
- Order history management and analytics
- Great reviews about migration and installation processes
Cons:
- No free plan, transaction fees on all plans
- Lacks competitive advantage to justify the price
This demo product page was created with Ongoing Subscriptions widget, take a look:
12. Recharge Subscriptions
Our one last suggestion is Recharge Subscriptions. They surely have their perks, such as subscription management using SMS and a wide range of eCommerce tools they integrate with.
Some might recommend this app as one of the top options because of the numerous reviews collected over the years. However, recent feedback raises concerns about customer service.
Moreover, the app doesn’t have a free plan available and the paid plans are relatively expensive. Prices start from $99/mo, and a 1-1.25% fee per transaction is still applied. Considering the app doesn’t have any unique features compared to competitors, the price could be lower.
Pros:
- Great UI
- Exclusive customer portal
- Possibility for customers to manage subscriptions through SMS
- Performance analytics
Cons:
- No fully free option, paid plans are expensive
- Negative reviews regarding migration and customer support
- Lack of automated solutions (e.g. you need to set up a subscription for each product independently)
- No replies to negative reviews
Here’s a product page from a demo store Recharge built to showcase their Shopify subscription widgets:
How to choose the best subscription app for Shopify
When choosing the best subscription app for Shopify, the most important thing is to decide whether it makes sense for you to pay transaction fees.
Take your monthly revenue of the past three months or so, estimate your store’s revenue growth rate and calculate how much approximately you’d pay in 1% transaction fees over the upcoming months.
If you see anything over $200 per month, we’d suggest picking from the top three apps on our list. They offer a flat monthly rate and no hidden fees.
A few more factors to consider:
- Migration. If you’re already using a Shopify subscription app and wish to migrate to a new one, choose an app with complementary migration assistance or great customer support reviews. We recommend Appstle, Skio, Loop Subscriptions, Subify, or Ongoing Subscriptions.
- Shopify theme. All of the apps here work with up-to-date Shopify themes. If your store is running on a custom theme solution though, we’d suggest shortlisting apps with outstanding technical support and reviews. Shortlist: Appstle, Seal, Propel, or PayWhirl.
- Cost efficiency. Some apps offer overpriced plans with high transaction fees and basic features. We recommend looking for cheaper alternatives that offer the best value for your money and no extra fees. Our top choices are Appstle and Seal.
Is Shopify good for subscription-based businesses?
Getting the right Shopify subscription app for your business can help you not only increase customer retention but also improve revenue by analyzing your target audience and their needs.
From paid options, our top recommendation for a Shopify subscription app is Appstle. It comes with a 0% transaction fee, lets you easily set up subscriptions, and provides you with weekly summary reports. As for the free version, we recommend the Seal Subscriptions App. It also has no transaction fees, and you can use it without a subscription revenue limit.
By choosing the right app for your store, you can propel your business to success within the largely competitive e-commerce landscape.
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