Considerations and payment gateways for subscription products

Review the following considerations for using subscription products on your store.

Payment gateways and customer payment details

• You must use one of the supported payment gateways for subscriptions.
• Customers generally need to use a supported payment method that can be billed for recurring subscription payments. Local, manual, or non-credit-card payment methods might not be available for subscriptions.
• Customer payment information is stored securely by Shopify. You can't access your customers' full credit card information after it's been entered.
• If a customer deletes a payment card from their Shop Pay account, then any active subscriptions linked to that card continue until the customer cancels them separately. Learn more about deleting cards and subscriptions.

Sales channel and order compatibility

• Subscription products are supported only on the online store, Shopify POS, Shop, and custom storefront sales channels.
• Subscriptions can't be used with draft orders.

Billing, shipping, and delivery

• Customers are billed for their purchase the day after the subscription is due at 10:00 am in your store's local time.
• You can use shipping and delivery options to deliver subscription orders, including local delivery and pickup in store.

Discounts and gift cards

• Automatic discounts that you create in the Discounts section of your Shopify admin can be applied to subscription orders, ensuring that each order receives the specified discount.
• Shopify Scripts that apply discounts to subscription costs or shipping rates apply only to the first payment.
• Gift cards that are used to pay for subscriptions apply only to the first payment.

App compatibility and permissions

• The order edits API doesn't support subscriptions.
• Bundles aren't compatible with the Shopify Subscriptions app.
• Users require a role with the apps and sales channels store permission to access subscription app.

To use third-party subscription apps, your store must use one of the following payment gateways:

• Shopify Payments
• PayPal Express
• Authorize.net
• Adyen
• Stripe

Payment gateway availability depends on your region and the gateway's terms of service.

Shopify Payments

Consider the following benefits and limitations of using Shopify Payments with third-party subscription apps:

• Automatic card updates reduce payment failures or declines, especially when customers receive new cards.
• Customers can use accelerated checkouts, such as Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal, to purchase subscriptions.
• Customers can use only Shop Pay on some stores.
• Apple Pay support for subscriptions is limited to Visa and Mastercard.

PayPal Express

Consider the following benefits and limitations of using PayPal Express with third-party subscription apps:

• Customers can use the PayPal Express gateway and PayPal as a wallet option.
• Third-party transaction fees are charged if Shopify Payments isn't activated on your store.

Authorize.net

Consider the following benefits and limitations of using Authorize.net with third-party subscription apps:

• PayPal is the only wallet option available to customers. Google Pay and Apple Pay aren't supported.

Adyen

Consider the following benefits and limitations of using Adyen with third-party subscription apps:

• The Adyen payment app supports subscriptions through Shopify Checkout-integrated subscription apps.
• Not every Adyen payment method can be used for subscription products. Recurring billing requires a payment method and Adyen configuration that support recurring payments, so local, manual, and non-credit-card payment methods might be unavailable.
• Access to the Adyen payment app is limited to organizations with an existing Adyen approval. This access restriction applies to the Adyen payment app, not to subscriptions.
• If you need to migrate existing subscriptions to Adyen, then contact your Customer Success Manager or Shopify Sales Representative to discuss migration options.

Stripe

Consider the following benefits and limitations of using Stripe with third-party subscription apps:

• Available only to select merchants.
• You might be able to use Stripe as a wallet option if your store can't use Shopify Payments.

When a customer's card expires or is replaced, automatic card updates might be supported for Shopify Payments or other payment gateways.

Shopify Payments integration

• Automatic card updates: Shopify Payments collaborates with major card networks to automatically update saved card details when customers receive new cards.
• Benefits:
  • Reduces the likelihood of payment failures or declines.
  • Minimizes the need for you to collect new card details when a card is replaced.
• Availability: Automatic card updates are widely supported in the United States for major card networks, with international support varying.

Other supported payment gateways

If you use another supported gateway, then you might need customers to update their payment details manually to continue being charged. You should confirm with your payment gateway whether you can automatically receive updated payment details from major card networks.

When your customer selects an available shipping method on an order that includes subscriptions, that shipping method applies to the initial delivery of any subscriptions in the order as well as any one-time purchases. After the initial delivery, recurring shipments for subscriptions revert to the default shipping method for subscriptions.

When an order includes subscriptions, the Shipping method section includes the following additional sections:

• The First shipment section, where customers can select a shipping method for their order. This selection applies to the initial delivery of all items in the order, including subscriptions and one-time purchase items.
• The Recurring payments section, which displays the shipping method, transit time, cost, and delivery frequency for each recurring shipment included in the order.

Your customers can choose from all available shipping rates that apply to the products in their order for the initial delivery.

The initial delivery shipping rate depends on whether the order contains only subscriptions, or both subscriptions and one-time purchase items, and on the origin of the shipping methods that apply to subscriptions. Consider the following factors:

• If you created shipping profiles in your Shopify admin for your subscriptions, then a single shipping rate applies to the entire order.
• If you created shipping profiles in your third-party subscriptions app, then the shipping rate is applied based on the following factors:
  • When the order contains a combination of subscriptions and one-time purchases, the app's shipping rate is added to the customer's selected shipping rate for the one-time purchases.
  • When the order contains subscriptions only, the third-party app's shipping rate applies to the order.

After the initial delivery, recurring shipments default to the least expensive available shipping method. Recurring shipments are billed and fulfilled separately, even if they have overlapping delivery dates. The delivery frequency of a recurring shipment excludes the estimated delivery window of the shipping method. For example, if a subscription ships on the 15th day of the month, and the shipping method has a 5-day delivery time, then the customer will receive their order in 19 days.

If your subscription delivery frequency is set to a specific day of the week or month, then the initial delivery still ships on that day of the week regardless of the order shipping method that was selected. For example, if your customer places an order on the first day of the month that includes a subscription that ships on the 15th day of every month, and selects an express 2-day shipping method, then the subscription ships on the 15th day of the month. The initial delivery ships with the express shipping method on the 15th, followed by recurring shipments with the default subscription shipping method.

Example of a checkout with subscriptions

For example, your store sells travel mugs and whole bean coffee by the pound. Your customers can purchase whole bean coffee by the pound as a one-time purchase, or as a subscription. You don't ship subscriptions on specific days of the week or month.

Your customer adds the following products to their cart:

• a coffee mug
• a pound of coffee to be delivered every 2 weeks

The customer proceeds to the checkout, which displays the following shipping methods in the First Shipment section:

• an Express method with a 1–2 day delivery time for $20 USD
• a Standard shipping method with a 5–8 day delivery time for $10 USD

The customer broke their favorite travel mug, and wants to get a replacement as soon as possible, so they choose Express shipping. They're charged $20 USD for the entire order.

In the Recurring Payments section, the customer can review the following shipping information for the pound of coffee in their order:

• the Standard shipping method and 5 to 8 business days delivery time
• that the cost of the initial delivery is Included, followed by a $10 USD charge every 2 weeks

The customer receives both the travel mug and a pound of coffee in 2 days, because the initial delivery shipping method was Express and your store doesn't ship subscriptions on a specific day of the month. Two weeks after placing their first order, they're charged $10 USD for the next pound of coffee, and then receive it after 5 days because the default least expensive shipping method was Standard.

If an order includes subscriptions, then the following additional information displays on the checkout:

• Delivery frequency displays under each subscription line item.
• The Shipping method section displays a shipping selection for the initial delivery, as well as additional information for the recurring shipments of subscriptions.
• The checkout displays a purchase option agreement. By proceeding to payment or reviewing their order, your customer confirms that they understand that they're purchasing a subscription.
• If the Require a confirmation step setting is checked in Settings > Checkout, then the order review page displays a notice reminding the customer that their order contains recurring charges for their subscriptions.

Your online store checkout includes specific wording for orders that contain subscriptions or other purchase options.

The subscription disclosure

When a cart contains a subscription product, checkout includes the following default disclosure:

Your cart contains an automatically renewing subscription. By clicking "Pay now," you expressly and affirmatively agree that you will be automatically charged the recurring amount(s) shown in your cart (plus shipping and taxes) until the subscription(s) ends or you cancel. You may cancel anytime by going to your account or contacting the store. Please see the cancellation policy.

The disclosure is assembled from 6 parts. Each row in the following table is a fragment of the disclosure, in the order that it displays at checkout.

Parts of the checkout subscription disclosure, where to edit each part, and the plan each part requires.

Part	Checkout wording	Where to edit	Variable	Plan required to edit
1	Your cart contains an automatically renewing subscription. By clicking	Theme content editor > Checkout & system > Checkout payment > Purchase options subscription agreement label	None. This label contains the variables for the other parts.	Shopify Plus only
2	Pay now	Your checkout button text	{{ button_label }}	Any plan
3	you expressly and affirmatively agree that you will be automatically charged the recurring amount(s) shown in your cart (plus shipping and taxes) until the subscription(s) ends or you cancel.	Theme content editor > Checkout & system > Checkout payment > Purchase options subscription consent text	{{ consent_text }}	Shopify Plus only
4	You may cancel anytime by going to your account or contacting the store.	Theme content editor > Checkout & system > Checkout payment > Purchase options subscription cancel text	{{ cancel_text }}	Any plan
5	Please see the	Theme content editor > Checkout & system > Checkout payment > Purchase options subscription cancellation instructions	{{ cancellation_instructions }}	Any plan
6	cancellation policy	Settings > Policies > Purchase options cancellation policy	{{ cancellation_policy_label }}	Any plan

Two labels are frames that pull in wording from other labels. Purchase options subscription agreement label includes the {{ consent_text }} and {{ cancellation_instructions }} variables. Purchase options subscription cancellation instructions includes the {{ cancel_text }} and {{ cancellation_policy_label }} variables.

Edit subscription disclosure wording

Before you edit the subscription disclosure, review any custom wording with your legal team. Refer to the table in The subscription disclosure to identify the label that controls the wording to change. For example, to change how customers cancel a subscription, edit Purchase options subscription cancel text instead of the agreement label.

You can reach the subscription labels from your theme content editor or from your checkout settings. Labels that you don't edit keep the default Shopify wording, so you can customize one part of the disclosure without editing the others. Editing the agreement label and consent text (parts 1 and 3) requires the Shopify Plus plan. Your changes apply to your checkout's default language, so if your store is translated into multiple languages, then update your translations after you edit the disclosure.

Steps:

After you save your changes, add a subscription product to a cart in your store and go to checkout. Read the disclosure as a customer would. Your custom wording should display where you expect it, and every part of the disclosure should be in order, with nothing repeated. If the checkout displays the default Shopify wording instead of your custom wording, then a variable might be missing from the label that holds it.

Move existing purchase options agreement wording to the subscription labels

The Purchase options agreement label used to supply the disclosure for subscription checkouts. Subscription checkouts now use the 4 Purchase options subscription labels (parts 1, 3, 4, and 5 in the table), and text that you customized in Purchase options agreement label doesn't carry over to them. Refer to the table in The subscription disclosure to decide which part of the subscription disclosure your wording replaces.

The Purchase options agreement label is still in use for non-subscription purchase options, including pre-orders, try before you buy, and deferred payment plans. Don't delete wording from the Purchase options agreement label unless you also want to change the wording for those purchase options.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store.

2. In the theme that you're editing, click the icon, and then click Edit default theme content.

3. Search for Purchase options agreement label, and then copy the wording that you customized.

4. Paste each piece of your wording into the matching subscription label, and keep every variable in place. On plans other than Shopify Plus, you can migrate only the wording that belongs to the cancel text and cancellation instructions labels. Parts 1 and 3 keep the default Shopify wording.

5. Leave Purchase options agreement label as it is, so your non-subscription purchase options keep their wording.

6. Click Save, and then review your checkout with a subscription product in the cart.

Don't paste the full old sentence into Purchase options subscription agreement label. That label already pulls in the consent and cancellation wording through its variables, so adding the full sentence can repeat the same information to customers.

Common subscription disclosure wording issues

If checkout includes duplicate subscription disclosures or the default Shopify wording instead of your custom wording, then review the following common causes.

Other subscription checkout wording

The theme content editor also includes agreement labels for other purchase option flows, and the recurring totals wording that displays in checkout and in the order summary. These labels aren't part of the subscription disclosure. Editing any label in the following table requires the Shopify Plus plan.

Other subscription and purchase options checkout wording. Every label in this table requires the Shopify Plus plan to edit.

Theme content editor label	Checkout wording
Checkout payment > Subscription agreement label	One or more items in your cart is a deferred or subscription purchase. By continuing with your payment, you agree that your payment method will automatically be charged at the price and frequency listed on this page until it ends or you cancel. All cancellations are subject to the {{ cancelled }}
Checkout payment > Subscription agreement label html	I understand that I'm agreeing to a subscription. It will renew at the price and frequency listed until it ends or is <a class="link--small" data-modal="true" data-title-text="{{ subscription_policy }}" href="{{ policy_href }}">cancelled</a>
Checkout payment > Subscription card update agreement label	Changing the payment method will update your subscription and future recurring payments
Checkout payment > Purchase options card update agreement label html	By updating your payment method, you authorize payments for any recurring or deferred purchase according to this store's <a class="link--small" data-modal="true" data-title-text="{{ cancellation_policy }}" href="{{ policy_href }}">cancellation policy</a>
Checkout payment > Purchase options agreement label	One or more items in your cart is a deferred or recurring purchase. By continuing with your payment, you agree that your payment method will automatically be charged at the price and frequency listed on this page until it ends or you cancel. All cancellations are subject to the {{ cancellation_policy_label }}
Checkout payment > Purchase options agreement label html	I understand that one or more items in my cart is a deferred or recurring purchase. By continuing, I agree to the <a class="link--small" data-modal="true" data-title-text="{{ subscription_policy }}" href="{{ policy_href }}">cancellation policy</a> and authorize you to charge my payment method at the prices, frequency and dates listed on this page until my order is fulfilled or I cancel, if permitted
Checkout payment > Purchase options agreement label wallets	By continuing with your payment, you agree to the future charges listed on this page and the cancellation policy
Checkout payment > Purchase options and vaulting agreement label	One or more items in your cart is a deferred or subscription purchase. By continuing with your payment, you agree that your payment method will automatically be charged at the price and frequency listed on this page until it ends or you cancel. All cancellations are subject to the {{ cancellation_policy_label }}
Checkout subscriptions recurring total intervals day/week/month/year > One	day/week/month/year
Checkout subscriptions recurring total intervals day/week/month/year > Other	{{ count }} days/weeks/months/years
Checkout subscriptions > Recurring totals	{{ total_price }} every {{ interval }}
Checkout subscriptions > Recurring totals with initial order shipping discount	First payment {{ total_price_with_discount }}, then {{ recurring_total }}
Checkout subscriptions recurring totals with policies first cycles > One	First payment {{ total_price }}
Checkout subscriptions recurring totals with policies first cycles > Other	First {{ count }} payments {{ total_price }} each
Checkout subscriptions recurring totals with policies > Following cycles	, then {{ total_price }} every {{ interval }}
Checkout order summary > Recurring subtotal label	Recurring subtotal
Checkout order summary > Recurring total label	Recurring total
Checkout order summary > Recurring total multiple label	This order has a recurring charge for multiple items

You can track subscription data in select reports. To view the data, you need to add the Purchase option filter or column. Subscription data is available in all sales reports.

If you uninstall a subscription app, then any subscription data, excluding subscription contracts and customer payment information, that you've created in the app is deleted after 48 hours. If the app has a backup mechanism in place, then you can restore this data at a later date.