Subscription Apps: 6 Concerns and a Smart Alternative

Subscription apps for Shopify can be useful if you’re trying to enhance the platform’s basic features by adding subscription capabilities.

However, before you decide to commit to a subscription plugin, you should be aware of the potential hurdles you’ll have to overcome: 

🚧 Anticipate instability. Except for Shopify Subscriptions, which is Shopify’s official subscription plugin, the others are created by third-party developers. This means you need to anticipate a degree of instability since Shopify and your chosen plugin will evolve at different paces. 

🚧 Manage nuanced billing. Each app handles subscriptions and billing differently. To keep up, you might try using multiple subscription apps simultaneously. Unfortunately, this might cause conflicts, forcing you to choose between features and making your business miss out on important functionality. 

🚧 Prepare for high costs. We’ve found the average cost of running a subscription business with plugins is more than six times higher compared to an all-in-one subscription program. By trying to make Shopify fit your new subscription model, you may end up spending significantly more than you should. 

🚧 Expect increased failure points. Each plugin added to your Shopify store introduces additional potential points of failure. The more plugins you use, the greater the likelihood of experiencing technical issues, which can disrupt your subscription service and lead to customer dissatisfaction. 

🚧 Tackle added complexity and maintenance. Managing multiple subscription plugins requires significant effort in terms of setup, ongoing maintenance, and troubleshooting. This can divert your focus from other critical aspects of your business. 

🚧 Navigate multiple support teams and documentation. In this case, less is definitely more. By having more than one support team and multiple sets of documentation, your issue resolution will become more complex, resulting in longer downtimes and frustration for both you and your customers.

🤫 As promised, here’s our secret approach… 

Subbly is a single-platform solution that offers a wide range of features that can adapt to any subscription business. 

Instead of grappling with numerous expensive plugins, you can set up your entire subscription business on Subbly. 

Getting the same level of functionality through Shopify plugins can cost you as much as $469/month on average, versus $74/month on average for Subbly’s all-in-one solution. 

To see the benefits yourself, have a look at our latest prices here and compare them against the cost of managing multiple Shopify plugins.

The Best Shopify Subscription Apps: Features & Reception

There are countless subscription apps on the Shopify App Store, but which ones are the best? Here’s our list of the most notable contenders:

1. Subbly 

While Subbly isn’t on the Shopify App Store, its checkout functionality can be easily integrated into any Shopify store. 

It’s a straightforward solution that ensures your subscription products are sold through an interface that includes all the functionality you need. 

From upsells that increase your average order value to coupon codes that attract and retain customers, Subbly has you covered. 

For more details, check out our full guide to integrating Subbly into Shopify.

Key features

• Embeddable checkout is available on all plan tiers. 
• 14-day free trial. 
• API and developer tool access. 
• Support for multiple payment gateways. 
• Customizable branding and visuals. 

Subbly is perfect for subscription business owners who are seeking an alternative to purchasing multiple apps or plugins for their subscription management needs. 

If your business is centered in subscriptions, then having an all-in-one solution like Subbly can streamline your operations and simplify your workflow. 

💎 Tired of using plugins? If you have an existing subscription business and switch to Subbly, you can use the platform for 6+ months for free!

2. Smartrr Subscriptions 

Despite being the new kid on the block, Smartrr Subscriptions is adored by its customers, with one saying that they are “responsive, innovative, and growing alongside us.” 

Their main critique is the challenge of setting up Smartrr for a headless site, where the front-end presentation layer is decoupled from the back-end Shopify platform. 

However, it’s not unusual for this separation to lead to configuration issues.

Key features

• Easy subscription setup. 
• Native loyalty rewards to encourage repeat purchases.
• Create bespoke bundles to increase average order value (AOV). 
• Advanced analytics. 
• Get access to a dedicated customer success manager (CSM). 

Smartrr appears to be in the early stages of its business, which means you may get more personalized support. However, the company might not always have the capacity to address every issue.

3. Bold Subscriptions

Bold Subscriptions allows you to add multiple subscription plans to individual products, collections, or your entire store. This flexibility enables you to set pricing options and track and fulfill orders efficiently. 

At the same time, your customers can view and modify their subscription status with ease. 

Key features

• All basic features are included in their Core plan. 
• 60-day free trial. 
• API and developer tool access. 
• Cancellation flows and dunning tools. 
• Multiple payment gateways are supported. 

Bold Subscriptions is particularly useful if you want a flexible and comprehensive solution for managing and selling subscriptions on your Shopify store. 

They are also very responsive to merchant feedback. For example, when a user recently complained about prepaid subscriptions not being catered to, Bold Subscriptions added this feature within two weeks. 

This feature may have been in the works for some time, but it shows their commitment to addressing user needs. 

4. PayWhirl Subscription Payments

PayWhirl Subscription Payments integrates with your Shopify themes and allows for unlimited subscriptions on all plans.

PayWhirl also offers free migration from ReCharge, Appstle, Seal, Bold, Loop, and other providers. If you’re looking for a hassle-free transition, then they make it easy to switch. 

Key features

• Multiple pricing tiers. 
• Configurable customer portal. 
• Cancellation flows, dunning tools, and other customer retention boosters. 
• Customizable customer notifications. 
• Subscription analytics with exportable data. 
• Multilanguage and international currency support. 

This is an excellent choice for business owners with customers in diverse regions who need to accommodate various currencies and languages. 

However, it’s important to note that PayWhirl does not support layaway-style payment plans. If this feature is required for your business model to work, then PayWhirl may not be the right choice. 

5. Recharge Subscriptions

Recharge Subscriptions enables full customization of your Shopify store portal interface and offers a flexible API along with a wide range of integrations.

This means you can make your store fit your brand perfectly and easily connect it with other tools your business relies on. 

Key features

• Customizable customer portal. 
• Manage subscriptions via SMS. 
• API access and integration library. 
• Processing recurring payments and multicurrency support. 
• Build-a-box capabilities. 
• Unified Shopify checkout interface. 

If your business needs advanced customization, automation, or specialized features that aren’t readily available, Recharge Subscriptions could be a good match. 

While many users praise their service as a class act, some have raised concerns about their increasing prices. 

In 2024, they raised their standard offering to $99, which may not be ideal for small businesses seeking basic subscription functionality.

6. Seal Subscriptions

Seal Subscriptions offers a simple and intuitive user interface, making it easy for you to set up and manage your subscribers without extensive technical knowledge. 

One user in a review commented, “This product is truly user-friendly, no frills attached,” while another mentioned, “The seamless user interface makes managing subscriptions a breeze.” 

Key features

• Recurring payments management. 
• The customer portal is accessible via magic links. 
• Configurable subscription discounts to retain customers. 
• Subscription widget optimized for mobile. 
• Zero transaction fee on subscription orders. 

If you’re new to online stores, then Seal Subscriptions might be a great place to begin because of its straightforward setup and user-friendly interface. 

If you’d like to save on their plans, consider taking out an annual subscription, which comes with a 30% discount for all tiers. 

7. Appstle Subscriptions

Appstle’s powerful recurring billing and payment features make it a top contender for any subscription business that’s in the process of evaluating Shopify subscription apps. 

You can easily create various subscription programs and leverage loyalty features to enhance customer engagement throughout their journey. 

Key features

• Sell prepaid subscriptions as well as regular, recurring ones. 
• Advanced and secure customer portal. 
• Tiered discounts and other subscription revenue boosters. 
• 0% transaction fee on all plans. 
• Customizable subscription widget (available on some plans). 
• Automation tools.
• 24/7 support on all plans. 

Appstle provides analytics and reporting tools, allowing you to gain valuable insights into your subscription business and make data-driven decisions.

You can also set up various loyalty programs to boost your customer engagement, which can help increase retention and reduce churn. 

Appstle is ideal for business owners who want excellent customer support. 

8. Recurpay Subscription App 

Recurpay has built a good reputation for its reliable subscription management features and attentive customer support. 

Their Live Chat feature lets you connect directly with an agent for quick assistance, and according to reviews, their agents have a good sense of humor, which can lighten a frustrating situation.

Key features

• Seamless support and powerful subscription APIs.
• Multicurrency flexibility.
• Subscription migration assistance.
• Customer portal control.
• Discounts, free shipping, and multiple frequency options for customers. 

However, it’s important to note that certain limitations exist within Recurpay, such as the inability to update payment information or manually create new orders with payment details, which may affect your customer support efforts. 

Overall, Recurpay might be the right choice for your business if you prefer a customer-centric app that helps you kickstart your subscription offerings. 

9. RecurrinGO! Subscriptions App

Headquartered in Lithuania, RecurrinGO is known for its innovative solutions. 

For instance, they maintain a “what’s new” section on their website, regularly introducing fresh features and inviting user feedback for further enhancements. 

Key features

• Sell subscriptions and abonnements.
• Automatic charges and recurring invoices.
• Intuitive customer portal for retention and engagement.
• Flexible discount options and pay-per-delivery.
• Offer pre-set or range bundles for higher AOV.

If you’re managing a large-scale subscription business, this could be your most cost-effective choice, with a flat monthly fee capped at $199 and no transaction fees. 

This ensures that your monthly costs won’t exceed $199, no matter how much your revenue grows.

If you’re using their free plan, keep an eye on your billing to avoid getting charged unexpectedly; some users mentioned this as a problem they’ve encountered. 

10. Subify Subscriptions App 

If you’re seeking a subscription app to support your global business, Subify is an ideal choice. 

It caters to businesses worldwide, offering a wide variety of languages including Polish, Korean, Dutch, and Portuguese. It even offers both traditional and simplified Chinese to extend your reach. 

Key features

• Customizable widget templates tailored to your store’s design.
• Quick setup with auto-adding widget for seamless integration.
• Intuitive customer portal for easy subscription management. 
• Responsive support team with rapid response times (less than 1 minute).
• Dedicated customer success managers to guide you. 

The majority of their reviews highlight their responsiveness, helpfulness, and efficiency in resolving issues. 

However, it’s important to note that the app lacks integration with ActiveCampaign. If this is your preferred marketing platform, this app may not be the best choice for you.

11. Shopify Subscriptions

Despite being the namesake app, Shopify Subscriptions has the lowest user rating among all the listed apps.

They claim their app is designed for simple use cases, so it might not be great for businesses with more complex subscription needs. 

Key features

• Auto-billed subscriptions with flexible renewal frequencies.
• Ability to cancel, skip, or pause subscriptions.
• Customizable email templates for order confirmations and payment reminders.
• Reporting to analyze subscription performance.
• Transfer existing subscription contracts to Shopify Subscriptions.

This app seems as if it’s still under development, but if you’ve had good experiences with Shopify apps before, you might want to give it a try. 

Try an All-in-One Subscription Management Platform

Using multiple plugins increases the risk of encountering issues, as more components could potentially cause things to derail fast. 

However, Subbly provides all the subscription management features you need in one package, significantly reducing this risk.

Feel free to browse the Shopify app store and see for yourself—to date, there isn’t a single plugin that can provide as many features as an all-in-one platform like Subbly. 

The same holds for BigCommerce subscription apps, WordPress membership plugins, Magento subscription plugins, and Webflow subscription e-commerce solutions.

Here’s what our customers have to say: 

📬 “It was easy to migrate to Subbly from a WordPress site, powered by Shopify and Bold, and it’s been great so far — our MRR is already up 13%! I’m also grateful to the team for helping me with the process — I had always heard that Subbly has the best help center and they were right. It is hands-down one of the best parts of Subbly.” – Jill Lodato, Founder of Kids Baking Club

📬 “Subbly really is built subscription-first. Whereas you would need a lot of plugins and third-party apps to get started on other platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce, on Subbly, it’s all built right in. It really ends up saving you money because you don’t have to pay for a lot of apps.” – Charmaine Merriweather, Founder of HUES Book Box

📬 “I migrated as I wanted an all-in-one replacement for my Shopify/Bold setup. Subbly’s in-house support answered all my questions in a fraction of the time that it would have taken Bold’s impossible chatbot to connect me with a live agent.” – Mike Greco, Founder of Coin & Currency Club