App comparison

Subscription apps for Shopify,
compared without the marketing spin

Most subscription apps look similar on the surface — recurring orders, customer portal, dunning. The real difference shows up in the bill at the end of the month. We built SimpleSubscription because every other option either took a cut of revenue or charged enterprise prices for basic features.

Start Free Trial

30-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime

Monthly Revenue

$24,580

+12.5%

Active Subs

847

+23

Churn Rate

3.2%

-0.8%

New subscription - Premium Box2m ago

Billing success - $49.005m ago

Churn risk detected - Sarah M.12m ago

+30%

Revenue growth
in the first 90 days.

2.4x

More repeat customers
with flexible subscription pricing.

5 min

From install to live.
No developer needed.

Zero advertisement budget.
Subscriptions sell themselves.

How It Works

A storefront widget that doesn't need a developer

Drop the subscribe-and-save block onto any product page from the theme editor. No code, no theme forks, no agency invoice.

Theme app extension — works on every Online Store 2.0 theme
Reads price directly from Shopify's selling plan, so cart and widget always match
Configurable copy, intervals, and discount tiers per product or collection

What actually matters

The features every subscription app should include

Recurring billing, a customer portal, failed payment recovery, and analytics are table stakes. Charging a percentage of revenue for those is not.

Subscribe & Save

Let customers subscribe on any product page. Flexible discounts, multiple frequencies, and annual billing — all from a clean widget that matches your theme.

Customer Portal

Branded self-service portal where subscribers edit their subscription, earn rewards, share referral codes, and handle everything themselves — no support tickets needed.

Smart Cancellation Flows

When a subscriber tries to cancel, show personalized offers — a discount, a pause, a free gift. Multi-step flows with survey, retention offers, and save rate tracking.

Payment Recovery

Automatically retry failed payments with smart dunning sequences. Recover revenue that would otherwise be lost to expired cards and billing failures.

Real-Time Analytics

Track MRR, churn rate, LTV, subscriber growth, and billing success in one dashboard. Cohort retention, product performance, and revenue forecasts.

Bundles & Boxes

Curated subscription boxes, mystery boxes, and mix-and-match bundles. Let customers build their own recurring orders — or surprise them with a new selection every cycle.

Email & SMS Notifications

Automated emails for order confirmations, upcoming renewals, payment failures, and winback. SMS via Twilio, Nexmo, or AWS SNS.

Loyalty & Rewards

Reward repeat subscribers with points, tiers, and referral codes. Longer subscription = bigger discounts. Built-in retention tool that Recharge and Loop charge extra for.

Easy Migration

Switch from Loop, Recharge, Skio, or Bold in minutes. Import via API, CSV, or migrate automatically. Zero downtime.

See it in action

Every tool you need to launch, grow, and retain subscribers — built into one app. Go ahead, click around — everything below is interactive.

Analytics

Real-time subscription analytics

MRR, churn rate, subscriber growth, LTV, and billing success — all in one dashboard. No spreadsheets, no guesswork.

Revenue trends and forecasts
Churn breakdown: active, passive, expired
Product performance and cohort retention

Analytics Overview

7d30d90d

MRR

$12,480

+8.3%

Churn

2.1%

-0.4%

LTV

$186

+12%

Active

847

+23

ProductSubscribersRevenue

Premium Coffee312$12,168

Vitamin Bundle286$6,864

Snack Box249$7,470

Customer Portal

A customer portal your subscribers will love

Branded self-service portal where customers manage their subscriptions. Skip deliveries, pause, swap products, update payment methods, and change delivery frequency - all without contacting support.

Reduces support tickets by 60%
Smart cancel flow retains 35% of cancellations
Fully customizable to match your brand

My Subscriptions

Manage your subscription orders

2 active

$63.00/month

Premium Coffee Box

Every month · $39.00

Next delivery: Apr 15

Active

SkipPauseSwapManage

Vitamin Bundle

Every 2 weeks · $24.00

Active

Retention

Smart cancel flows that save subscribers

When a customer tries to cancel, show them personalized offers — a discount, a pause, a free gift. Convert cancellations into retained revenue.

Multi-step cancel flow with survey
Offer pause, skip, discount, or free gift
Track save rate and revenue saved

Step 1 of 4

We're sorry to see you go

Help us improve — why are you cancelling?

Too expensive

Don't need it anymore

Switching to another product

Quality not as expected

Continue

Guided Growth

A structured path to subscription success

Most apps dump every feature on you at once. SimpleSubscription guides you through 6 stages — complete milestones, unlock the next level, grow at your own pace.

Launch

Install the widget, create plans, enable the customer portal, and import existing subscribers.

Retain

Automatic subscriber discounts, product swap, smart cancel flow, dunning, and frequency optimizer.

Upsell

Bundles, checkout and cart upsells, cross-sell carousel, and one-time add-ons to boost AOV.

Engage

Free trials, gift subscriptions, loyalty ladder, rewards points, referrals, and winback campaigns.

Customize

White-label portal, custom email and SMS providers, translations, auto-tagging, and Shopify Flow triggers.

Scale

Memberships, churn predictions, A/B testing, and advanced subscription analytics.

Progress is tracked automatically as you set up features — no manual input needed

Compare

How SimpleSubscription stacks up

Recharge takes 1.49% + 19c per transaction. Loop and Skio charge similar percentages on enterprise tiers. SimpleSubscription is a flat $79/mo from day one — your revenue stays yours.

Feature

Recharge

Loop

Skio

Monthly price

From $79

From $99

From $499

Transaction fees

1.49% + 19¢

1% + 20¢

Paid add-ons

None

Multiple

None

Free trial

30 days

14 days

30 days

Subscribe & Save

✓

Annual subscriptions

✓

Limited

✓

Subscription bundles

✓

Gift subscriptions

✓

Checkout upsell

✓

Membership plans

✓

✗

Customer portal

✓

Skip, pause, swap

✓

Self-service payment updates

✓

Multi-language portal

✓

Limited

✗

Smart cancel flow

✓

Failed payment recovery

✓

Loyalty ladder

✓

✗

Rewards points

✓

✗

Winback campaigns

✓

✗

Refer-a-friend program

✓

✗

Churn predictions

✓

✗

Frequency optimizer

✓

✗

MRR & churn dashboards

✓

Built-in A/B testing

✓

✗

Advanced forecasts

✓

✗

REST API

✓

Webhooks & Shopify Flow

✓

Cross-sell recommendations

✓

✗

Customer auto-tagging

✓

✗

Guided growth journey

✓

✗

Setup without developer

✓

Limited

✓

Free migration

✓

$500+

—

Zero downtime migration

✓

✗

Savings Calculator

See how much you save vs other apps

Based on $50 average order value. Most subscription apps charge 1%+ per transaction on top of monthly fees.

Subscribers

Other apps cost /mo

SR cost /mo

You save /mo

500

$99 + ~$300 fees

$79

$320

1,000

$99 + ~$600 fees

$79

$620

5,000

$299 + ~$3,000 fees

$239

$3,060

10,000

$499 + ~$6,000 fees

$399

$6,100

Even with just 1,000 subscribers you save $620/mo — that's $7,440/year back into your ad budget.

Pricing

Simple pricing. No transaction fees.

Three plans, 30-day free trial on all. Pick the one that fits your business.

MonthlyAnnual Save 20%

Starter

$79/month

$950 billed annually · save $238/yr

Unlimited subscribers

Everything to launch subscriptions

Subscribe & Save widget
Annual subscription billing
Self-service customer portal
14 languages supported
Passwordless login (magic link)
Automatic transactional emails
Portal branding (colors & logo)
Bulk subscription actions
Smart cancellation flow
Failed payment recovery
Frequency optimizer
Free migration & API/CSV import
MRR & revenue analytics

Start 30-Day Free Trial

No credit card required · Cancel anytime

Already using another app? Switch in 4 steps.

Free migration from Recharge, Loop, Skio, or Bold. Zero downtime.

Step 1

Connect

Upload a CSV export or connect via API. We fetch all your subscription data automatically.

Step 2

Review

Preview every subscription in a staging area. Verify billing dates, pricing, and product mappings before anything goes live.

Step 3

Activate

Happy with what you see? One click to go live. Not happy? Cancel and nothing ever changed.

Step 4

Done

Subscriptions are live. Customers get portal access. Billing continues seamlessly — zero downtime.

Migrating from Recharge?

We transfer all subscriber data, payment methods, subscription contracts, and billing dates. Recharge charges $500+ for migration — we do it free. Learn more about switching from Recharge →

Migrating from Loop?

Full migration from Loop Subscriptions including subscriber data, contracts, and payment methods. Learn more about switching from Loop →

Migrating from Skio?

We connect directly to Skio's GraphQL API to import all your subscriptions, customers, and payment methods. Save up to 90% vs Skio's enterprise pricing. Learn more about switching from Skio →

Migrating from Bold or another platform?

We support migration from any subscription platform via API or CSV import. Upload your subscriber data, review everything in staging, and go live with one click.

FAQ

Common questions about Shopify subscription apps

Is there really no transaction fee?

Zero. We never charge a percentage of your revenue. You pay a flat monthly price based on your plan.

How long does migration take?

Most migrations from Loop, Recharge, or Bold complete in under 30 minutes. We support CSV import and API migration with zero downtime.

Can I try before I buy?

Yes — every plan comes with a 30-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

What happens if I exceed my subscriber limit?

We'll notify you and help you upgrade to the right plan. No surprise charges.

Do you support Shopify's native subscription APIs?

Yes. We use Shopify's Subscription Contract API, selling plans, and checkout extensions. Fully native integration.

Can customers manage their own subscriptions?

Yes. The branded customer portal lets subscribers edit their subscription, earn rewards, share referral codes, and handle everything themselves — no support tickets needed.

Does the widget work with my theme?

Yes. The Subscribe & Save widget automatically adapts to your store's design. You can also customize colors, text, and layout from the app settings.

What payment gateways do you support?

We work with Shopify Payments and any gateway that supports Shopify's subscription APIs. Your customers check out through Shopify's native checkout — no third-party payment pages.

Do you offer dunning / failed payment recovery?

Yes. Our smart dunning system automatically retries failed payments on an optimized schedule, sends reminder emails to customers, and recovers revenue that would otherwise be lost.

Can I sell subscription bundles or build-a-box?

Yes. Create curated boxes, mix-and-match bundles, or let customers build their own recurring orders from your product catalog. Available on the Premium plan.

How does the free trial work?

You get full access to all features in your chosen plan for 30 days. Cancel anytime upfront. After the trial, billing starts automatically.

What's the difference between plans?

Starter covers the essentials — subscriptions, portal, widget, and basic analytics. Pro adds bundles, upsells, loyalty, and winback campaigns. Premium unlocks memberships, churn predictions, A/B testing, forecasts, and referral program.

Do you charge transaction fees?

No. SimpleSubscription never charges transaction fees on any plan. You only pay Shopify's standard payment processing.

Can I upgrade or downgrade anytime?

Yes! Switch between plans at any time. When upgrading, you'll be billed the prorated difference. Downgrades take effect at the next billing cycle.

Can I migrate from another app?

Yes! We support migration from Recharge, Bold, Loop, Skio, and CSV imports. Most migrations complete in under 30 minutes.

Is there a subscriber limit?

No. All plans include unlimited subscribers. Whether you have 10 or 100,000 subscribers, the price is the same.

Comparing subscription apps for Shopify: what actually differs

The top Shopify subscription apps — Recharge, Loop, Skio, Appstle, and SimpleSubscription — all offer recurring billing, a customer portal, and dunning. The meaningful differences emerge in pricing model, feature depth, support responsiveness, and how the apps handle edge cases at scale. Here is an honest look at how the category breaks down.

Pricing models: the biggest differentiator

Subscription apps use one of three pricing models: percentage of revenue, flat monthly fee, or a hybrid (flat base + lower percentage). Percentage models appear cheap at low revenue but scale poorly. A 1.49% fee at $10k MRR costs $149/mo — already more expensive than most flat-fee competitors. At $50k MRR that same rate costs $745/mo.

Recharge: 1.49% + $0.19 per transaction on Standard; enterprise pricing on Pro
Loop Subscriptions: flat monthly tiers + 0.75% on higher-volume plans
Skio: percentage-based, typically 1–2% depending on plan
SimpleSubscription: flat $79/mo (annual) — zero per-transaction fees

Customer portal quality varies significantly

The self-service portal is what your subscribers interact with every month. Portal quality — speed, mobile layout, available actions, and branding flexibility — differs meaningfully across apps. Portals that require login via magic link (email only) convert better than portals requiring a full account. Portals that allow address changes, payment method updates, swaps, skips, and pauses in a single screen reduce support tickets far more than those that split these across multiple pages.

Integration depth and Shopify native features

Apps built on Shopify's native Subscription API benefit from native checkout, which keeps customers on the store's checkout experience without redirects. This improves conversion and ensures compatibility with Shopify's own payment methods, Shop Pay, and Shopify Markets for multi-currency. Apps that implement their own checkout layer gain flexibility but sacrifice some native integrations.

Native Subscription API apps use Shopify checkout — no redirect
Shop Pay compatibility requires Shopify's native selling plan structures
Shopify Markets (multi-currency) works natively with API-compliant apps

Analytics and operational tooling

Recharge and Loop have historically had stronger analytics dashboards, built up over years of enterprise usage. Newer apps have closed the gap significantly, and SimpleSubscription offers cohort retention, churn prediction, and MRR/LTV dashboards built in on all plans — without locking these behind enterprise tiers. The key questions to ask any app: Can you filter MRR by product? Can you see billing success rate over time? Can you get a CSV export of at-risk subscribers?

Migration and switching costs

Switching subscription apps is painful if done poorly — it risks cancelling active subscriber contracts and forcing customers to re-subscribe. Good apps provide automated migration tooling that maps existing contracts, selling plans, and payment methods to their own data structures before cutover. Free migration assistance is now a standard offering, but the quality of the underlying tooling varies. Ask specifically how the app handles customers who have paused subscriptions or upcoming billing dates at migration time.

Verify the app can import paused and prepaid contracts — not just active ones
Confirm payment methods transfer without requiring customer re-entry
Test with a small cohort before migrating the full subscriber base

Try SimpleSubscription free for 30 days

No credit card to start. Free migration from Recharge, Loop, or Skio if you switch.

Start Free Trial on Shopify

30-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime · Save 20% with annual billing

Subscription apps for Shopify,compared without the marketing spin

A storefront widget that doesn't need a developer

The features every subscription app should include

Subscribe & Save

Customer Portal

Smart Cancellation Flows

Payment Recovery

Real-Time Analytics

Bundles & Boxes

Email & SMS Notifications

Loyalty & Rewards

Easy Migration

See it in action

Real-time subscription analytics

A customer portal your subscribers will love

Smart cancel flows that save subscribers

A structured path to subscription success

How SimpleSubscription stacks up

See how much you save vs other apps

Simple pricing. No transaction fees.

Already using another app? Switch in 4 steps.

Connect

Review

Activate

Done

Common questions about Shopify subscription apps

Comparing subscription apps for Shopify: what actually differs

Pricing models: the biggest differentiator

Customer portal quality varies significantly

Integration depth and Shopify native features

Analytics and operational tooling

Migration and switching costs

Try SimpleSubscription free for 30 days

Subscription apps for Shopify,
compared without the marketing spin