Shopify Subscriptions vs Recharge: Which One to Use

Shopify Subscriptions vs Recharge comes down to one trade-off: Shopify's own app is free and covers the basics, while Recharge charges a monthly fee plus a cut of every subscription order in exchange for retention tools the free app does not have.

Both run on Shopify's native checkout and subscription infrastructure, so the choice is less about technology than about how much your subscription program needs to do.

Shopify Subscriptions vs Recharge: what is the difference?

Shopify Subscriptions is a free app built and supported by Shopify that handles recurring orders, discounts and skip, pause or cancel. Recharge is a paid subscription platform that adds cancellation flows, failed payment recovery, upsells and, on its higher plan, bundles and loyalty.

According to Shopify's help center, the free app lets you create subscriptions that renew weekly, monthly or yearly, apply dollar, percentage, buy X get Y or fixed-amount discounts, show a subscription widget on your store, send order notifications and track active, paused and canceled subscriptions. Customers manage their subscriptions from their Shopify customer account, and the app also sells subscriptions on Shopify POS.

Recharge goes further on retention. Its pricing page lists smart cancellation prevention, failed payment recovery, win-back offers, upsell and cross-sell tools, gift subscriptions and prepaid subscriptions on its entry plan.

Shopify Subscriptions vs Recharge: how much does each cost?

Shopify Subscriptions has no app fee. Recharge's Starter plan costs $99 a month plus 1.49% and 19¢ per transaction, and its Plus plan costs $499 a month plus 1.34% and 19¢ per transaction on a 12-month term, according to Recharge's pricing page.

Recharge's fees apply to every transaction it processes and come on top of your Shopify plan and payment processing, which you pay with any app. Shopify's developer documentation confirms that Shopify bundles can't be sold with subscriptions, which is why bundle-based programs usually need a dedicated app.

Here is what the difference looks like on a store with $30,000 a month in subscription revenue and a $40 average order, so 750 subscription orders. These figures are our own calculation from the published rates, before payment processing:

• Shopify Subscriptions: $0 in app fees.

• Recharge Starter: $99 + $447 (1.49%) + $142.50 (19¢ × 750) = $688.50 a month, or about $8,262 a year.

At that volume, Recharge has to recover more than $8,000 a year in saved cancellations and recovered payments to pay for itself against the free app.

When is Shopify Subscriptions enough?

Shopify Subscriptions is enough when you sell a few replenishable products, want simple subscribe-and-save discounts and do not need cancellation flows or failed payment recovery beyond the basics.

It is also the easiest to run: it lives in your Shopify admin, uses Shopify customer accounts and is supported by Shopify directly. If you are testing whether your customers want subscriptions at all, starting free removes the risk.

When is Recharge worth the fees?

Recharge is worth its fees when your subscription base is large enough that retention tools change the numbers: cancellation offers, smart payment retries and win-back campaigns that save more revenue than the platform costs.

Run the calculation above with your own revenue and order count. Then compare it with the subscribers you lose each month to cancellations and failed payments. If Recharge's tools would save a meaningful share of them, the fee makes sense. If your churn is low or your program is small, it usually does not.

What if neither fits your products?

If your customers do not reorder the same product on a schedule, neither app solves the real problem. Subscriptions work for replenishment. For fashion, jewelry, eyewear or fragrance, a paid membership that turns a monthly fee into store credit fits the way people actually buy.

Subscribfy runs product subscriptions, paid membership and loyalty in one app on Shopify's native checkout. Its Starter plan is free up to 100 active subscribers, and the Standard plan costs $49 a month plus 0.49% and 19¢ per product subscription, with a 30-day free trial and migration assistance, per Subscribfy's pricing page. On the same 750-order example, that is $49 + $147 + $142.50 = $338.50 a month.

For a full side-by-side, read our Recharge vs Subscribfy comparison, or see how the main apps compare in our guide to the best Shopify subscription apps.

Proof from a non-replenishment brand: Pair Eyewear sells glasses, which nobody wants auto-shipped. With its Pair+ membership, members show a 216% increase in lifetime value, and membership accounts for 38% of total revenue (case study).

Not sure whether subscriptions, membership or both fit your catalog? Bring your monthly order volume to a 30-minute call and we will run the numbers with you. Book the call.

Frequently asked questions

Is Shopify Subscriptions really free?

Yes. The app has no fee of its own. You still pay your Shopify plan and payment processing, as with any subscription app.

Can I move from Recharge to Shopify Subscriptions?

Shopify's App Store listing says existing subscription contracts can be transferred into Shopify Subscriptions. Check with your current provider how active subscriptions and payment methods move before you switch.

Does Recharge charge on every order?

Yes. Recharge's pricing page states that usage fees apply to all transactions processed by Recharge each month, on top of the monthly plan fee.

Can I sell bundles as a subscription with Shopify Subscriptions?

Not with Shopify's own bundles. Shopify's developer documentation states that its bundles can't be sold with subscriptions, so bundle subscriptions need an app that builds its own bundles.

If you want a second opinion on which model fits your store, bring your order data to a call. If the free app is enough for you, we will say so. Book a 30-minute call.