A subscription app does more than put a recurring purchase button on a product page. It also shapes what happens when a customer needs to skip a delivery, a payment fails, or a store changes providers. Those details can matter more than the first month's app fee.
Quick Answer
Start with the free Shopify Subscriptions app if you sell straightforward repeat purchases and its customer controls fit your workflow. It handles basic subscription plans and self-service, though Shopify says its own app is not compatible with bundles.
If you need a different workflow, compare apps against the specific gap. Appstle and Seal have low-cost entry options with different usage limits. Loop adds bundle and cancellation tools on paid plans. Recharge has a low-price plan with lifetime-customer eligibility and a more expensive Starter plan. Skio and Stay AI have higher published entry prices; review their features and total fees against a real operational need. Bold offers prepaid subscriptions and several percentage-fee tiers.
These are starting points, not test-based winners. Check gateway eligibility and migration before committing to a plan.
Subscription Decision Matrix
| App | A useful starting point for | Portal, bundles and payment recovery | Main boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Subscriptions | Stores with simple repeat purchases | Basic subscription management and customer self-service; Shopify's own app is incompatible with bundles | Free app; Shopify plan and payment processing still cost money. Check gateway eligibility. |
| Recharge | Merchants comparing a basic portal with cancellation and failed-payment tools | Starter lists portal, cancellation prevention and failed-payment recovery; Plus lists customizable bundles | The $25 plan has cumulative lifetime-customer eligibility; transaction fees and upgrade terms matter. |
| Appstle Subscriptions | Stores that prefer revenue-based plan thresholds | Free tier lists a native customer portal and payment retry; Business lists build-a-box | Subscription-revenue ceilings apply; confirm overage, add-ons and payment processing. |
| Loop Subscriptions | Brands evaluating bundles alongside a cancellation flow | Free plan lists a portal; Starter lists fixed and custom bundles, dunning and cancellation offers | Free tier is limited to 50 active subscriptions; paid plans add transaction fees. |
| Skio | Established brands evaluating a configurable subscription experience | Scale lists a portal, build-a-box, cancellation flows and payment recovery | Higher published fixed fee plus transaction charges; verify billing scope and migration. |
| Seal Subscriptions | Smaller programs comparing a subscription-count limit | Listing describes a portal and subscription controls; paid tier adds more options | A recurring invoice requiring customer payment is different from an automatic charge. Confirm the required setup and plan. |
| Stay AI | Brands evaluating cancellation and payment-recovery workflows | Listing describes a customer portal and retention tools; verify specific features and access in the proposed plan | Published entry price is higher; transaction fee basis and exact retry rules need confirmation. |
| Bold Subscriptions | Stores comparing prepaid plans and tiered transaction rates | Launch lists prepaid subscriptions, dunning and configurable frequencies | Confirm transaction fee basis and how prepaid changes are settled. |
How We Evaluated
We compared Shopify App Store listings, vendor help pages and Shopify documentation around five decisions: what the customer can change, how failed payments are handled, whether a specific bundle works, what triggers fees, and what happens to contracts and payment methods during migration.
ATFE has not hands-on tested these apps or verified their reliability, recovery rates, merchant support or commercial results. Features are vendor descriptions, not proof of performance. Where a listing does not establish a plan entitlement or billing definition, confirm it before signing.
1. Recharge
Where it fits
Recharge is a candidate when the store needs more than a basic subscription button. Its Shopify listing lists a customer portal, cancellation prevention and failed-payment recovery on Starter; customizable bundles appear on Plus. Those features should be compared with the actions your customers and support agents actually need, rather than treated as a guarantee that fewer people will cancel.
Price and trade-offs
The Shopify App Store lists the 25–50 plan at $25/month and Starter at $99/month plus 1.49% and $0.19 per transaction. Recharge's billing help page also lists 1.25% plus $0.19 for Starter under Shopify Checkout Integration; the reason for the difference is unclear. Confirm the rate in your own terms before comparing costs. The billing documentation says the lower plan is for eligible new merchants and counts cumulative lifetime distinct subscription customers, including inactive and test customers. Above 50, eligible stores transition to Starter; a later drop in active customers does not reverse that move.
Recharge says its transaction-fee calculation includes shipping, tax and refunded orders, and that platform and processor charges are separate. Confirm which orders apply to your contract and whether SMS or other services add costs. This structure is a poor fit for a comparison based only on active subscribers or net revenue.
2. Appstle Subscriptions
Where it fits
Appstle is worth comparing when a store wants a low fixed starting price and expects to grow within revenue thresholds. The listing describes payment retry and a Shopify-native customer portal on the free plan. It lists build-a-box on Business, so a store that needs a customizable subscription box should price that tier rather than assume it is included for free.
Price and trade-offs
The listing shows a free tier up to $500 in monthly subscription revenue, Starter at $10/month up to $5,000, and Business at $30/month up to $15,000. Paid plans list 0% app transaction fees and a 14-day trial; add-ons may cost extra. These revenue ceilings are not counts of subscribers. Confirm what revenue is counted, what happens when you pass a limit and which plan includes the portal actions you need. A 0% app fee does not remove payment processing charges.
3. Loop Subscriptions
Where it fits
Loop Subscriptions is a separate product from Loop Returns. Its listing puts a customer portal on the free plan, while the Starter plan lists fixed and build-your-own bundles, dunning and cancellation offers. It is a useful shortlist option if those paid features match the customer's actual journey.
Price and trade-offs
Free covers 50 active subscriptions; Starter is $99/month plus 1% per transaction, and Pro is $399/month plus 0.75%. Paid plans list a 14-day free trial. Ask which transactions are included in the percentage calculation and how a change in active subscriptions affects the plan. Customers' available portal actions depend on configuration; a feature list alone does not establish what your store will permit.
For migrations, Loop says order history and analytics are not transferred as part of the subscription migration. Plan access to historical exports before switching.
4. Skio
Where it fits
The Skio listing describes a no-code customer portal, build-a-box, a cancellation flow builder and payment recovery. Consider it when these workflows justify a larger fixed subscription budget and your team has enough volume to evaluate their operational value.
Price and trade-offs
The listing shows Scale at $599/month plus 1% and $0.20 per transaction; it also lists an annual billing option. Confirm the transaction fee basis, contract, migration requirements and any trial directly in the terms offered to your store. A higher price is not evidence of better outcomes.
Recharge acquired Skio; the two products currently have separate listings. Do not assume their plans or migration paths will merge.
Skio's migration overview describes copying subscription data and coordinating the disabling of old billing. Payment handling varies by processor. Ask the migration team how it will prevent duplicate charges for your setup.
5. Seal Subscriptions
Where it fits
Seal is a candidate for a smaller subscription program where a low fixed fee and a subscription-count allowance matter. Its listing includes a free plan and a $5.95/month plan with up to 100 subscriptions; the latter lists a passwordless portal and subscription-management features.
Price and trade-offs
The listing describes 0% app transaction fees on the paid tier and a 30-day trial. Shopify and payment processing remain separate. Confirm how the subscription limit is counted and what happens when it is exceeded.
Check the billing workflow before launch. Seal describes recurring invoices that ask the customer to follow a payment link; that is not the same thing as charging a saved payment method automatically. If your product requires automatic renewal, verify the supported gateway and configuration rather than relying on the word “recurring.”
6. Stay AI
Where it fits
Stay AI markets subscription retention tools and a customer portal. It may merit a closer look for a store with an established subscription program that needs to assess cancellation and payment-recovery processes. Request a demonstration of the exact customer and support-agent actions available on the plan you would buy.
Price and trade-offs
Its Shopify listing shows $499/month plus 1% and $0.19 per transaction, with a 30-day free trial. The listing does not resolve the transaction fee basis for every store; verify it in the contract, along with any additional costs and gateway restrictions.
Stay AI describes smart payment retry, but its official descriptions differ on retry counts. Treat the applicable retry rules as unconfirmed until the vendor clarifies your setup. An AI label or retry feature does not establish how many payments a store will recover.
7. Bold Subscriptions
Where it fits
Bold's listing includes prepaid subscriptions, configurable frequencies and dunning on Launch. It is a candidate if prepaid orders are central to the store, but map what happens when a customer changes the contents of a prepaid subscription partway through its term.
Price and trade-offs
The listing shows Launch at $24.99/month plus 2%, Grow at $49.99/month plus 1%, and Scale at $74.99/month plus 0.9%, with a 30-day trial. Confirm which transaction amounts count toward those percentages and whether other charges apply.
For a prepaid product swap, Bold's prepaid guidance says a price difference is not automatically collected or refunded. Confirm the exact workflow, staff permissions and any customer action required before offering swaps.
Pricing and Cost Model
Published Shopify App Store prices below are US-dollar monthly rates checked in October 2026. Annual options, taxes, local availability, negotiated contracts and later changes can alter the amount. Payment processing and the Shopify plan are separate unless your actual contract states otherwise.
| App / plan example | Fixed monthly app fee | App transaction charge | Allowance, trial and cost questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Subscriptions | Free | No app fee listed | Shopify plan and payment processing remain; confirm eligibility. |
| Recharge 25–50 / Starter | $25 / $99 | 25–50: no app transaction fee as listed; Starter: Shopify listing says 1.49% + $0.19; Recharge billing help says 1.25% + $0.19 for Shopify Checkout Integration. Confirm your rate. | 25–50 has lifetime-customer eligibility; 60-day trial listed. Confirm order scope, SMS and other charges. |
| Appstle Free / Starter / Business | $0 / $10 / $30 | 0% app transaction fee listed on paid tiers | Monthly subscription revenue limits $500 / $5,000 / $15,000; paid plans list 14-day trial. Confirm overage and add-ons. |
| Loop Free / Starter / Pro | $0 / $99 / $399 | Starter: 1%; Pro: 0.75% per transaction | Free: 50 active subscriptions; paid plans list 14-day trial. Confirm fee basis and threshold handling. |
| Skio Scale | $599 | 1% + $0.20 per transaction | Annual option also listed. Fee basis and trial terms require confirmation. |
| Seal Free / $5.95 plan | $0 / $5.95 | Paid tier lists 0% app transaction fee | Free lists up to 50 subscriptions; $5.95 plan lists up to 100 and a 30-day trial. Confirm how limits are counted. |
| Stay AI monthly | $499 | 1% + $0.19 per transaction | 30-day trial listed. Confirm fee basis, additional costs and retry rules. |
| Bold Launch / Grow / Scale | $24.99 / $49.99 / $74.99 | 2% / 1% / 0.9%, respectively | 30-day trial listed. Confirm transaction fee basis and prepaid-change handling. |
To compare quotes, give every provider the same expected order count, order values, one-time items, taxes, shipping, refund volume and markets. Ask each to identify its chargeable transactions and fee base. Then add its fixed charge, percentage and per-transaction charges to separately quoted processing and add-on costs. Without a common confirmed billing base, calculating a single “cheapest app” would be misleading.
A free app tier may still be expensive if it forces an upgrade as revenue, active subscriptions or cumulative customers rise. Those measures are different: 50 active subscriptions, 50 lifetime customers and $500 monthly subscription revenue cannot be substituted for one another.
How to Choose
- Confirm the purchase and payment path. Check the gateway, country, checkout and subscription product combination against Shopify's requirements and each app. Platform-level support is not proof that a particular app and gateway work together for your store.
- Write down customer actions. Can the customer skip a shipment, change an address or swap a product? Can staff undo a mistaken change? Ask which actions are allowed on the plan and how permissions are configured.
- Describe the bundle. A fixed bundle, a customer-built box and a prepaid series can have different billing and inventory consequences. Show the provider your exact example, including a mixed cart with one-time products.
- Map a failed payment. Identify who receives each notification, what can be changed, whether a retry is automatic, and when a person should intervene. Rules and actual outcomes vary.
- Calculate at your expected scale. Include plan thresholds and the cost of payment processing, communications, migration and team time. Ask for the terms that apply to the next tier as well as today's tier.
- Keep adjacent systems in their roles. A customer service platform can help agents manage conversations; the subscription app and its permissions determine which contract actions are available. A marketing email platform has a different role from the notices needed to manage a subscription.
Migration and Evaluation
A migration is more than copying a customer list. Before moving a live program, ask both providers to document these items for your store:
- Subscription contracts: which active, paused, canceled and prepaid contracts are recreated, which fields carry over, and which cannot be moved. Skio says its migration creates copies rather than taking over contracts created by another app.
- Payment credentials: whether the existing token can be used with the destination gateway and account, and whether customers need to re-enter payment details. A same-store app switch and a move to another store or processor can have different requirements; Shopify's payment-method migration guidance explains separate payment-method considerations.
- Next charge: reconcile the amount, date, discount, shipping, tax and fulfillment frequency for representative subscriptions. Confirm which system will charge each customer during cutover.
- History and reporting: export order history and analytics you need for service or reporting. Loop specifically says those are not migrated in its process; other vendors may differ.
- Customer and staff access: check portal links, account login, notices, support permissions and the steps needed to pause or cancel after cutover.
ATFE recommends a controlled evaluation: prepare a backup and reconciliation list, agree on a cutover and recovery plan, and validate a small representative set in an authorized test environment where possible. Include a failed payment, a skipped order, a prepaid subscription and a mixed cart if they matter to your business. Do not assume a test proves every live contract will move correctly.
Coordinate the exact order for disabling old billing and enabling new billing with the relevant providers. Leaving both billing paths active can risk duplicate charges; disabling the old path too early can risk missed renewals. Do not uninstall the old app merely because a new portal looks ready. App-specific uninstall behavior varies, and Shopify's own app must not be treated as identical to every third-party app. Decide in advance how to restore service or handle customers if the migration cannot be completed; rollback may require additional work and is not guaranteed.
When Not to Buy
If your store only needs straightforward repeat deliveries, test whether Shopify's free app covers the required frequency, customer controls and gateway. A paid app is difficult to justify when the team cannot name the missing workflow or afford the fees at the next tier.
Likewise, postpone a switch if you cannot yet establish which contracts and payment credentials will move, who will reconcile the next charge, or how customers will receive support during cutover. Staying with the current system while you resolve those questions can be less disruptive than moving for an attractive introductory rate.
FAQ
Is Shopify Subscriptions free?
Shopify lists its own app as free. Your Shopify plan, payment processing and other services can still have charges. Shopify says the app is not compatible with bundles; confirm your specific setup before choosing it.
Do all Shopify subscription apps support the same payment gateways?
No universal compatibility is established here. Shopify publishes platform-level gateway requirements, while app, region, checkout, account and migration conditions can differ. Check the exact combination with the provider.
Can customers skip or change their subscriptions?
Many apps describe customer self-service, but the available actions and permissions vary by app, plan and configuration. Verify the exact steps your customers and agents need rather than assuming every portal allows the same changes.
Can I move existing subscribers without asking them to re-enter payment details?
Sometimes, but not always. It depends on the source and destination, payment processor, account, token access and migration route. Confirm which credentials transfer and which customers need to act before setting a cutover date.
Does a failed-payment retry guarantee recovery?
No. Retry tools can attempt a charge under their configured rules, but a customer may need to update payment details or contact support. ATFE has not measured recovery performance for the apps in this guide.
Editorial Methodology and Sources
This guide uses publicly available Shopify and vendor documentation and pricing listings reviewed in October 2026. Vendor feature descriptions are attributed to the vendor; suitability judgments are editorial assessments. ATFE did not install or hands-on test the products, conduct a migration, or verify their performance claims. Prices, eligibility and features can change.
Primary references: Shopify Subscriptions, Shopify subscription requirements, Shopify payment migration, Recharge listing and billing, Appstle, Loop and migration, Skio and migration, Seal, Stay AI, and Bold.
