A Beginner's Guide to Subscription Offers

A Beginner's Guide to Subscription Offers


Summary


An offer is the container for everything you sell on a product page: the recurring choices, the bundle deals, or both. Inside an offer sit options, and each option is one choice the customer can pick. A subscription option is a recurring choice (for example "Delivery every month, 10% off"). A bundle option is a bundle deal (for example "Buy 3, save 15%").


This guide covers both halves. The first part explains what an offer is, how to create, publish, copy and delete one, and how to choose which products it applies to. The second part walks through every setting on a subscription option. Bundle options have their own guide: Bundle types.


When to use this guide


Use this guide if you are just getting started, if you are looking up what a setting on a subscription option does, or if something about an offer is not behaving the way you expected (see Common questions at the end).


To follow along, go to Supr Bundles & Subscriptions > Offers and open an offer.


Table of contents


Offers



Subscription options



Reference



What is an offer?


An offer defines what customers can buy on a product page. Each offer has:


  • Offer name: your name for the offer, shown in the Offers list. Customers do not see it unless you turn on Offer title on the Design page (under Elements), which prints the offer's name above the widget.
  • Options: one or more choices the customer sees. Subscription options are recurring purchase choices (frequency, discount, terms). Bundle options are bundle deals (quantity break, Buy X Get Y, fixed bundle, or build your own bundle). One offer can hold both.
  • The one-time purchase row: the "buy once" choice that sits next to your subscription options.
  • Applies to: the products the offer is shown on.
  • Status: Published (live on your store) or Draft (hidden).


Everything lives on one page: Supr Bundles & Subscriptions > Offers. There is no separate Plans or Bundles page. What older versions of the app called subscription plans are now offers, each holding its subscription options.


The Offers list shows each offer's Type, how many Products it covers, its options (Options), and its Status.


Offer types


When you create an offer, you pick its type:


  • Subscription sells a product on a recurring basis, usually for a discount.
  • Bundle gives shoppers a better price for buying more, or for buying a set of products together. Bundles can be bought one-time or on subscription, so this is not a subscription-only offer type.
  • Bundle + Subscription holds bundle options and subscription options together, so shoppers can pick a pack and subscribe to it.


You can change the type later in the offer's Offer type card. Switching to a type with subscription options adds a starter subscription option if the offer has none, and switching to a type with bundle options adds a starter bundle option.


How to create an offer


  1. Go to Supr Bundles & Subscriptions > Offers and click Create offer.
  2. Under What do you want to offer?, click Choose on Subscription, Bundle, or Bundle + Subscription.
  3. For Bundle and Bundle + Subscription, pick a starting point under Choose a bundle type (quantity breaks, Buy X get Y, fixed bundles, build your own, gifts and add-ons), or click Start from scratch at the top. For Subscription, pick the kind of subscription under What kind of subscription? (see Subscription types).
  4. In Offer details, set the Offer name and choose what the offer Applies to (see Assigning products to an offer).
  5. Set up your options:
    • Subscription options: set the Subscription name (the heading customers see above the options), then edit the starter option or click Add subscription option for each frequency you want to sell. Every setting is covered from What is a subscription option? onwards.
    • Bundle options: see Bundle types.
  7. Click Make default on the choice you want pre-selected (see Setting the default option).
  8. Click Save in the save bar at the top of the page.


The offer goes live on the first save, because new offers start as Published. To prepare an offer without showing it yet, set Status to Draft before you save (see Publishing and drafts).


What a new offer starts with


  • A Subscription offer starts with the Subscription name "Subscribe & Save" and one subscription option, "Delivery every month": every 1 month, 10% off, set up as the subscription type you picked. The one-time purchase row sits above it and is pre-selected.
  • A bundle template starts with the options that template describes.
  • Start from scratch on a bundle offer starts with the single option at the top and one discounted Double bundle option underneath it.
  • Applies to starts on Specific products with nothing picked, so choose your products before you expect to see the offer on your store.


Every part of that is yours to change.


The widget also has to be switched on for your store: Design > Enable widget (the Home setup guide has the same step). See How to Enable the Subscription Widget in the Online Store.


Assigning products to an offer


In the Offer details card, Applies to decides which products show the offer. There are three choices:


All products

  • The offer applies to every product in your store, now and in the future.


Specific collections

  • Click Browse (or the search field) and pick one or more collections. Every product in them is covered.
  • Manual collections stay in step on their own.
  • Automated collections are marked with an Automated collection badge. After their contents change, open the offer and click Sync now in the Automated collections box. Save any edits first, the button is disabled while you have unsaved changes.


Specific products

  • Click Browse (or the search field) and pick products.
  • To limit a product to some of its variants, untick variants in the picker, or click the variant count on the product's row (for example 2/3 variants).
  • Remove a product with the X on its row.


Click Save when you are done. Until the save finishes attaching them, new products show Not set up for subscriptions yet. Save to apply it.


Good to know:


  • Switching between Specific products and Specific collections empties the list, because products and collections cannot be mixed. Switching to All products and back keeps your list.
  • A saved offer with an empty list shows the warning This offer applies to nothing and does not appear anywhere on your store.
  • A product with Shopify's Only sell this product as a subscription setting shows a Subscription-only badge.
  • Adding a Shopify bundle product brings its component products into the offer automatically.


For the full detail, including Shopify bundle products and the collection sync, see Applying subscriptions to specific products and collections.


A product in more than one offer


A product can be covered by several offers, directly or through All products or a collection. This is the usual reason a product shows options you did not expect, or the same choice twice.


  • Subscription options: the product shows the subscription options of every offer that covers it, each group under its own offer's Subscription name. Give each offer a different Subscription name: two offers with the same Subscription name can merge into one group on the product page.
  • The order of those groups is set on the Design page under Add-on settings > Plan group order, which lists your offers by their Subscription name. That order also applies at checkout.
  • The default choice: if any of the offers pre-selects a subscription option, the product opens on a subscription option, even when the other offer pre-selects the one-time purchase.
  • Bundle options: a product shows the bundle options of one offer only. Keep each product in a single offer that has bundle options.
  • The one-time purchase row: its wording belongs to each offer, so keep the one-time rows of overlapping offers worded the same.


To stop the overlap, check each offer's Applies to (the Products column on the Offers list helps) and take the product out of the offer that should not sell it. To show different options on different products, make one offer per product group, each with Specific products or Specific collections, rather than one offer on All products.


Setting the default option


The default is the choice that is already selected when the widget loads on the product page. If you want shoppers to land on Subscribe & Save rather than on the one-time purchase, or on your three-pack rather than the single, this is the setting to change.


How to set it


  1. Go to Supr Bundles & Subscriptions > Offers and open the offer.
  2. Click Make default on the row you want pre-selected. This works the same way for a subscription option, a bundle option, the single option, and the one-time purchase row. The current default shows a Default badge instead.
  3. Click Save.


The Make default button sits on the row itself in the list of options, so there is no need to open the option.


One default at a time


Subscription options and the one-time purchase row compete for the same slot, so making one the default clears whichever was the default before. The customer can still switch to any other choice.


On a Bundle + Subscription offer the two sides are independent: the bundle option default decides which pack the shopper starts on, and the subscription side default (a subscription option or the one-time purchase row) decides whether that pack starts as a subscription or as a one-time purchase. Set both if you want, for example, "3-pack, monthly" pre-selected.


Common setups


  • Subscribe & Save pre-selected: make your best subscription option the default. This is the usual choice for consumables and refills.
  • A bundle pre-selected: make the three-pack or the best-value box the default, and pair it with a badge such as Most popular.
  • One-time purchase pre-selected: where a new offer starts, and what to go back to if customers are subscribing by accident.


If you would rather remove one-time buying altogether instead of just moving the default off it, see How to remove the one-time purchase option for a product.


Things worth knowing


  • Order and default are separate. Dragging options changes the order they are listed in; it does not change which one is pre-selected.
  • Hiding the one-time row moves the default. If the one-time purchase row was the default and you hide it, the first subscription option becomes the default.
  • Deleting the default option moves the default to the first remaining option, unless the one-time purchase row is the default.
  • Pick a default every shopper can see. An option with Customer eligibility turned on is hidden from visitors who are not logged in, and a subscription option with Restrict to specific bundle options is hidden while other bundle options are selected. A default that is hidden cannot be pre-selected, so the widget falls back to another choice.
  • Each offer carries its own default. To give one product a different default from the rest, put that product in its own offer (and take it out of the first one). See A product in more than one offer for what happens when offers overlap.
  • Existing subscribers are unaffected. Changing the default only changes what new shoppers see first.
  • Check it on the storefront. Reload a real product page in your online store to confirm the right choice is highlighted.


Widget preview


The offer editor shows a widget preview beside your options. Click an option in the preview and the editor opens that option.


  • The preview shows the offer you are editing on a sample of its products, even if a product is covered by more than one offer.
  • On the live storefront, customers see every offer that targets that product.
  • Colours and styles can differ slightly from your live store, which also uses your theme's styling.
  • To change how the widget looks (colours, layout, badges, labels), click Open Design under the preview, or go to Supr Bundles & Subscriptions > Design. See The Subscription Widget. Widget text in other languages is covered in Translations.


The preview being right does not prove the storefront is. If the live product page shows something different, see Common questions.


Publishing and drafts


Every offer has a Status, set in the card at the top right of the editor:


  • Published: the offer is live on every product it applies to. New offers start as Published and go live on the first save.
  • Draft: the offer is taken off every product, bundle options and subscription options alike. Its settings are kept, and customers who already subscribed keep renewing as normal.


To pause an offer, or hide it while you work on it, set Status to Draft and click Save. Set it back to Published and save to sell it again. You do not need to remove its products. The Offers list shows each offer's status.


Scheduling an offer


Under Status, Schedule takes an optional Start and End, each a date and an hour in your own time zone. Use it for a seasonal offer or a launch:


  • Start: the offer is saved as a Draft and published automatically at that hour, within about five minutes.
  • End: the offer is switched to Draft automatically at that hour. Customers who subscribed while it ran keep renewing as normal.


Each date applies once. If you publish or draft the offer by hand after it has started, the schedule does not change it back; saving the offer again with new dates sets them going again. If an offer cannot go live at its start (for example a bundle option with no products), it stays a draft and the editor shows why.


For published offers to appear, the widget must be switched on for your store: Design > Enable widget, which turns on the app embed in your theme editor (click Save there). If the Design page says Your widgets are not live yet, that is the step that is missing.


Copying an offer


  1. On the Offers list, tick the offer (or several).
  2. Click Copy offers, then Copy in the dialog.


Each copy gets its own options and the same products, and " copy" is added to its Offer name and Subscription name. Copies start as Draft, without the original's schedule, so they never go live beside the original by surprise. Change the copy's products, then set it to Published when it is ready. Rename its Subscription name too, because customers see that name.


To copy one option inside an offer, click Duplicate on the option's row. The copy is added with " copy" at the end of its name and is never the default.


Deleting an offer


  1. On the Offers list, tick the offer (or several).
  2. Click Delete offers, then Delete in the dialog.


Deleting can't be undone. The offer's subscription options and bundle options disappear from your store, and customers who already subscribed keep their subscriptions. To stop selling an offer for a while, set it to Draft instead. See How to delete a subscription offer for removing one option and for existing subscribers.


What is a subscription option?


A subscription option is one recurring purchase choice a customer can pick on your product page: a delivery frequency, a discount, and the terms that come with it. For example, one offer might show both a "Delivery every month, 10% off" option and a "Delivery every 3 months, 15% off" option.


When a customer chooses an option and completes checkout, a subscription is created with the details of that option. It governs billing, fulfillment, and how long the subscription lasts. Each subscription keeps its own copy of those terms, so later changes to the option only affect new customers.


To learn more, see A Beginner's Guide to Subscription Contracts.


The Subscription name above the options is the heading customers see for the whole group, for example "Subscribe & Save". Bundle options sit in the same offer and are covered in Bundle types.


Before your options show up on the storefront, check that:


  • The offer is Published and its Applies to covers the product.
  • The widget is switched on (Design > Enable widget).
  • The option is not limited by Customer eligibility or Restrict to specific bundle options.


Creating a subscription option


Click Add subscription option and choose its type (see Subscription types). Click an option's row to open it. Each option has these settings:


  • Subscription type: what kind of subscription the option is. Its own settings show under the discount. See Subscription types.
  • Option name: the option's name, shown to customers on the product page, in the cart and at checkout, for example "Delivery every month". Each option in an offer needs its own name.
  • Description: an optional line shown with the option, for example "Receive a delivery every month. Cancel anytime." It supports HTML. Where and how it shows depends on your design on the Design page.
  • Repeat order every and Order intervals: how often the customer receives an order, for example 1 Month or 2 Week. Order intervals can be Year, Month, Week, or Day. On a pay per order option this is also how often they are charged.
  • Discount: the subscriber discount, see Discounts.
  • Additional settings: everything else, shown as chips under headings. See Additional settings.


Each option's row also has:


  • a drag handle to change the order options are listed in,
  • Make default to pre-select it (see Setting the default option),
  • Duplicate to copy the option, and Delete to remove it.


Changes take effect when you click Save.


An offer can hold as many subscription options as you like, so one offer with an option per frequency (for example every 2, 4 and 6 weeks) is the usual setup. Keep choices you want to compare side by side as options in one offer, rather than in separate offers.


Subscription types


Like bundle options, each subscription option has a type, chosen when you add it and changed any time with Subscription type at the top of the option. The type's own settings show under the discount; changing the type turns the old type's settings off. The option's row shows its type.


  • Standard: delivered on a schedule, usually for a discount.
  • Free trial: the first order free or discounted, then the option's own price. See Free trial.
  • Starter, then refills: sell a starter product once, then keep delivering its refill. See Starter product, then refills.
  • Rotating products: each order ships the next step of a list. Under Which variant ships, choose Follow the customer's choice (the customer keeps the options you tick under The customer keeps their, for example their size, and each step is a product or a colour) or The same variant for everyone (each step is one exact variant). Click Add products, pick the products and their variants, then drag the steps into the order they ship. The first step is the one bought at checkout. Choose what happens After the last step (start again, stay on the last one, or expire the subscription) and the price it charges.
  • Subscription box: a new selection every week or every month, set ahead on the Set up boxes page and shown to customers before it ships or kept a mystery until it arrives.


Each type's settings run as a journey, which you can also open in Grow > Journeys. Changing the discount after some orders is set under the discount itself, see Discounts. Loyalty rewards and Change frequency after are in Additional settings.


Discounts


The Discount toggle sets the price benefit for subscribers. It applies automatically at checkout and on every renewal, and the widget shows the discounted price. A new option starts with it on, at 10%.


Turn it on and pick a Discount type:


  • Percentage: a percentage off each product's price (Value in %). It scales with whatever is in the subscription, so it is the safest choice.
  • Amount off: a fixed amount off each product (Value per product). "$5 off" means $5 off every item, so a subscription with three items saves $15.
  • Fixed price: sets each product to this exact price (Value per product), replacing its own price. Use it when every product in the offer should cost the same on subscription, or to give each subscription tier its own price.


Turn the toggle off for no discount: the option then sells at the product's normal price.


To change the discount from a set order on, click Add discount change under the discount, for example 10% off the first 3 orders, then 15% off. Enter After (how many orders get the discount before), the New discount type and its Value. Click Add discount change again to change it later, for example 20% off from the 7th order. Checkout shows the first change, unless the option has a free trial or a refill, which show their own. It runs as a journey for this option, listed in Grow > Journeys. Subscriptions already past a change move to the latest one they have reached after their next order.


Amount off and Fixed price apply per product, not to the order total. If a subscription can contain several different products, or a bundle, Percentage is usually what you want. See How subscription discounts work.


If a subscription option uses Fixed price and a bundle option in the same offer sets its own price (fixed or amount off) with Apply discount to subscriptions on, the offer will not save and tells you why. Use a percentage bundle option, or turn off Apply discount to subscriptions on that bundle option.


Changing an option's discount only affects new subscribers. To change what existing subscribers pay, see Changing prices for existing subscribers.


Additional settings


Under the type's settings, each option lists the rest of its settings as small chips under headings (Display, Price and payment, Schedule, Availability, Loyalty, Cancellations and pauses). A chip names its setting and, once it is on, shows On or its value (for example Prepaid subscription 3 orders). Click a chip to open the option's Additional settings section with that setting already expanded. Each setting has its own switch, and turning it on shows its fields:


  • Benefits: perks listed with this option on the widget. See Benefits.
  • Prepaid subscription: customers pay up front for several orders. See Pay per order or prepaid.
  • Minimum commitment: customers must stay for a number of orders before they can cancel or pause. See Minimum commitment and automatic expiry.
  • Automatic expiry: the subscription ends by itself after a number of orders. Same section.
  • Renew on specific dates: every renewal on a date you choose. See Renew on specific dates. Not shown when Order intervals is Day.
  • Customer eligibility: only logged-in customers, or customers with or without certain tags. See Customer eligibility.
  • Free gift: a free product for customers who subscribe on this option. See Free gift.
  • Retention flows: the cancellation flow and pause flow for this option. See Loyalty and retention flows.
  • Sell in fixed quantities: only multiples of a set quantity. See Sell in fixed quantities.
  • Limit active subscriptions: a cap on how many active subscriptions this option can have. See Limit active subscriptions.
  • Bundle products only, Bundle deal only and Restrict to specific bundle options: how the option works next to bundles. See Subscription options on bundle offers.


The Make default button is not in here. It sits on the option's row, see Setting the default option.


Benefits


Benefits lists perks under the option on the widget, for example "Free shipping on every order" or "Cancel anytime".


  1. Open the option, click Benefits and turn it on.
  2. Type the first benefit. Click Add benefit for each extra line, and the delete icon to remove one.
  3. Click Save, then reload your product page.


Where benefits appear depends on the design you picked on the Design page:


  • Aurora shows the benefits of every option, all the time.
  • Lure and Checkbox show only the benefits of the option the shopper has chosen, and switch them when another option is picked.
  • The other designs do not show subscription option benefits.


To show benefits only for the chosen option, switch to Lure or Checkbox, see The Subscription Widget. Your offers and benefits stay as they are.


Each line gets the same icon, set for your whole widget on the Design page under Elements (Benefits, Benefit icon, Benefits heading). Per-line icons, such as a tick for one line and a cross for another, are only available on the one-time purchase row. Benefits are translatable in Settings > Translations under Offers.


Benefits are text only. The price benefit comes from Discounts, and free shipping has to be set up in Shopify, see How to set up free subscription shipping.


Pay per order or prepaid


A subscription option is pay per order unless you turn on Prepaid subscription.


Pay per order (the default)


The customer is charged for each order when it is created, on the option's schedule. An option that repeats every 1 Month charges and creates an order every month. This is the most common setup.


If you ship a multi-month supply in one box (for example a 3-month supply every 3 months), you want pay per order, not prepaid: set the option to repeat every 3 Month, and sell a 3-month-supply variant (or use Sell in fixed quantities). One order is created and charged every 3 months.


Prepaid


The customer pays once, up front, for several orders that are then delivered on the option's schedule.


  1. Open the option, click Prepaid subscription and turn it on.
  2. Set Orders covered with each payment (at least 2).
  3. Optionally tick One-off (single prepaid, no auto-renew).


Example: an option that repeats every 1 Month with 3 orders covered by each payment charges the customer once every 3 months and delivers every month.


  • Without One-off, the subscription charges again for the next batch of orders when the prepaid ones are used up.
  • With One-off, the customer pays once and the subscription ends after the last prepaid delivery. This is how you set up gift subscriptions.


For the delivery schedule, rescheduling prepaid deliveries, and more examples, see Prepaid Subscriptions.


Minimum commitment and automatic expiry


Two independent settings, both chips on the subscription option, control how long a subscription lasts. Both count orders, including the first order the customer places at checkout.


Minimum commitment


Turn it on and set Minimum orders. Until the subscription has reached that many orders, the customer cannot cancel or pause it from the customer portal: the buttons are shown but disabled, and the portal tells the customer how many orders are left.


  • Minimum orders 3 = the first order plus 2 renewals before the customer can cancel or pause.
  • You can still cancel or pause the subscription for them from the admin at any time.
  • Whether customers can change dates during the commitment is a portal setting: Settings > Customer portal > Change dates before commitment period ends.
  • It is not a payment guarantee: a customer can still let a card expire or block a charge.


Automatic expiry


Turn it on and set Orders before it ends. The subscription ends automatically after that many orders.


  • Orders before it ends 6 = a 6-box series: the first order plus 5 renewals.


On a prepaid option, each payment is one order covering several deliveries, so both settings count payments there. A One-off prepaid option always ends after its single payment.


Both settings only apply to new subscriptions: customers who already subscribed keep the terms they bought. For examples, payment plans, and what the minimum does and does not do, see Requiring a minimum number of payments before cancellation.


Renew on specific dates


By default, a subscription renews on the date the customer bought it: someone who subscribes to a monthly option on the 10th is charged on the 10th of each month. Renew on specific dates moves renewals onto a date you choose instead, such as the 1st of the month. Every renewal is then charged and delivered on that date.


How to turn it on


  1. Go to Supr Bundles & Subscriptions > Offers, open the offer, and open the subscription option.
  2. Click Renew on specific dates on the option and turn it on.
  3. Pick the date. The fields depend on the option's Order intervals:
    • Week: a Renewal day (for example, Thursday).
    • Month: a Day of month, from the 1st to the 31st (for example, the 15th).
    • Year: a Month and a Day (for example, September and the 15th).
  5. Choose what happens to the First order (see below), then Save.


Renew on specific dates is not available when Order intervals is set to Day. It only affects new subscriptions: existing subscribers keep their current schedule. A monthly option can only pick a day of the month, so a pattern like "the first Thursday of every month" is not possible.


Every few months vs once a year


On an option that repeats every few months, renewals keep the Day of month you picked, but the months follow when each customer joined. On an option that repeats every 3 months on the 1st, a customer who joins in September renews on 1 December, 1 March, and so on, while a customer who joins in October renews on 1 January, 1 April, and so on. An option set to every 12 months works the same way: each customer renews once a year, in a month that depends on when they joined.


To put every customer on the same calendar date, set Order intervals to Year and pick the Month and Day, for example January and the 1st.


First order


First order decides what happens to the order the customer places at checkout:


  • Fulfil immediately (the default): the first order is ready to ship straight after checkout, like any regular order. The next charge falls on your chosen date, on the last one within one interval of the purchase, so the first cycle is usually shorter than the ones after it. For example, on an option that repeats every 3 months on the 1st, a customer who subscribes on 10 September pays on 10 September, the order ships right away, and the next charge is on 1 December.
  • Wait for the next date: the first order is held as scheduled and becomes ready to ship on the next chosen date. The next charge is one full interval after that date. For example, on an option that repeats every 12 months on the 1st, a customer who subscribes on 22 September 2026 pays on 22 September 2026, the order ships on 1 October 2026, and the next charge is on 1 October 2027.


Renewing on specific dates never delays the first payment. Shopify always charges the first order in full at checkout. Wait for the next date only holds back the first shipment until the next renewal date. The customer has already paid for it. To take a card now and charge it later, see Collect a card now, charge on a later date.


Cutoff window


When First order is Fulfil immediately and Order intervals is Week or Month, you also see these two settings. Yearly options have no cutoff.


Cutoff window (days before renewal)
A first order placed within this many days before a renewal date does not get that date as its first renewal. Set it to 0 to turn the cutoff off.


If the first order falls within the cutoff

  • Schedule it for the next billing cycle: the first order is held as scheduled until that renewal date, and the next charge is one interval after it.
  • Fulfil it immediately, schedule the next for the following cycle: the first order ships right away, the renewal date inside the cutoff is skipped, and the next charge is one interval after it.


Example scenarios


These examples show when the first order ships and when the next charge falls. All of them use an option that repeats every 1 Month with Day of month set to the 15th. In every example the customer pays for the first order at checkout, on the day they subscribe.


Example 1


  • First order: Wait for the next date


A: Customer subscribes on 1 July
The first order is set to scheduled.
On 15 July, the order is automatically set to unfulfilled (ready to ship).
The next charge is on 15 August.


B: Customer subscribes on 16 July
The first order is set to scheduled.
On 15 August, the order is automatically set to unfulfilled (ready to ship).
The next charge is on 15 September.


Example 2


  • First order: Fulfil immediately
  • Cutoff window (days before renewal): 0


Set the cutoff window to 0 to always have the first renewal (second order) happen on the closest chosen date.


A: Customer subscribes on 1 July
The first order is set to unfulfilled immediately.
The next charge is on 15 July.


B: Customer subscribes on 15 July
The first order is set to unfulfilled immediately.
The next charge is on 15 August.


C: Customer subscribes on 16 July
The first order is set to unfulfilled immediately.
The next charge is on 15 August.


Example 3


  • First order: Fulfil immediately
  • Cutoff window (days before renewal): 15
  • If the first order falls within the cutoff: Schedule it for the next billing cycle


A: Customer subscribes on 1 July
The first order is set to scheduled.
On 15 July, the order is automatically set to unfulfilled (ready to ship).
The next charge is on 15 August.


B: Customer subscribes on 16 July
The first order is set to unfulfilled immediately.
The next charge is on 15 August.


Example 4


  • First order: Fulfil immediately
  • Cutoff window (days before renewal): 15
  • If the first order falls within the cutoff: Fulfil it immediately, schedule the next for the following cycle


A: Customer subscribes on 1 July
The first order is set to unfulfilled immediately.
The next charge is on 15 August.


B: Customer subscribes on 16 July
The first order is set to unfulfilled immediately.
The next charge is on 15 August.


Example 5


  • First order: Fulfil immediately
  • Cutoff window (days before renewal): 31
  • If the first order falls within the cutoff: Fulfil it immediately, schedule the next for the following cycle


Set the cutoff window to 31 days (or 7 for a weekly option) to always have the first renewal (second order) happen one cycle after the closest chosen date.


A: Customer subscribes on 1 July
The first order is set to unfulfilled immediately.
The next charge is on 15 August.


B: Customer subscribes on 16 July
The first order is set to unfulfilled immediately.
The next charge is on 15 September.


Collect a card now, charge on a later date


Renewing on specific dates cannot postpone the first payment on its own. To take the customer's card at signup and charge them for the first time on a date you choose, combine two settings:


  1. Create a Shopify discount of 100% that is limited to the first payment of a subscription. Offering a free trial or discounted first order walks through it.
  2. On the subscription option, turn on Renew on specific dates, pick the date you want to charge on, and set First order to Fulfil immediately.


The customer checks out for $0 and their card is saved. The first real charge falls on your chosen date, following the Fulfil immediately rule above, and every renewal after it bills normally. For example, on an option that repeats every 1 Year on 1 January, a customer who subscribes on 22 September 2026 pays $0 that day and is first charged on 1 January 2027.


A $0 order is still created at signup. It appears in Shopify admin > Orders and, with Fulfil immediately, it is ready to ship straight away. Decide what it is for: ship it as a welcome pack or sample, or archive it without shipping anything.


If you want the first charge one full interval after signup rather than on a fixed date, you do not need Renew on specific dates at all: the first-payment discount on its own gives a $0 first order, and the next charge comes one interval later.


Customer eligibility


Customer eligibility limits who can choose the option, for example members, wholesale buyers or VIPs.


  1. Open the option, click Customer eligibility and turn it on.
  2. Under Who can subscribe, choose:
    • All logged-in customers
    • Customers with at least one of these tags
    • Customers without any of these tags
  4. For the tag choices, enter the Shopify customer tags in Customer tags, separated by commas (for example vip, wholesale).
  5. Click Save.


With any of these choices, the option is hidden from every visitor who is not logged in, including you when you check your own store logged out. If an option is missing on your storefront, check this setting first.


Where it is offered


Where it is offered chooses the places an option appears. Open the option, click Where it is offered, turn it on, and untick what it should stay out of:


  • Product page: the widget on your product pages. Untick it for an option you only want customers to switch to later, such as a cheaper retention frequency.
  • Customer portal: the list of options a customer can change their subscription to. Untick it for an option you only sell on the product page.


The option summary shows Everywhere, Product page only, Portal only or Admin only. A subscription already on an option keeps it whatever you choose here, you can always move a subscription to it from Subscriptions, and a quick subscribe link that names it still works.


Free trial


Free trial makes a subscriber's first order free, or a percentage off, and charges the option's own price from the second order on. Set the option's Subscription type to Free trial and set:


  • First order discount: 100% is a free first order. Shipping is charged as usual.
  • First paid order after: when the second order comes, for example 14 days after the first, in days, weeks or months. Leave it empty and the second order follows the option's own frequency. After it, the option's frequency applies.
  • Once per customer (on by default): a signed-in customer who already had this option's trial cannot start it again. Each option counts on its own, so the same customer can still take a trial on another option. Checkout refuses it with a message you can reword under Design > Add-on settings > Limit text and translate under Settings > Translations > Widgets. Guest checkouts are not checked.


Checkout shows the first payment and the price after it, for example "First payment $0.00, then $12.60 every month". On the product page the option shows the first order's price; turn on Subscription price details under Design > Add-on settings so its Later orders price line shows the price after the trial. A trial applies to checkouts only: a subscription you create or move in the admin, or a customer switching options in the portal, pays the option's own price.


A trial cannot be combined with a refill: an option is one type. If the option also has a loyalty program, check that rewards which change the price still make sense after the trial.


Journeys on an option


The settings of an option's type, its loyalty rewards and its frequency change each run as a journey. Journeys you build yourself under Grow > Journeys (for advanced automation, with conditions and events) can run on an option too. When some do, a Journeys list at the bottom of the option counts them and warns when two of them change the same thing after the same order; open it and click a journey to see it, or Edit journey to change it.


Change frequency after


To move subscribers to another option of the same offer once they have placed a number of orders, for example every month for the first 3 orders and then every 2 months, open the option they start on and click Change frequency after under Schedule in its additional settings. Set After (the number of orders, the first one included) and Move to (the option they continue on). It is offered when the offer has more than one subscription option.


The move happens after the order that reaches the number, and from the next order the subscription uses the new option's frequency and price, just as if the customer had switched in the portal. It shows on the subscription's timeline. A subscription the customer or you already moved to another option is left alone, and nothing moves while Pause Supr has renewals paused. Subscriptions that are already past the number when you turn it on move at the next check, which runs every 30 minutes.


Free gift


Free gift gives a free product to customers who subscribe on this option, and no other. For example, a free shaker with your 6 month option only. Customers who pick another option, or buy one-time, do not get it. The settings are the same as the free gifts on a bundle option, plus a choice to give the gift for a set number of orders.


  1. Open the option, click Free gift and turn it on.
  2. Click Add a gift and pick the product. A product with several variants is one gift, and customers choose the variant on the product page. Variant shown first sets the one they start on.
  3. Set the gift's Quantity and Gift applies to:
    • First order only: the gift ships with the first order, then comes off the subscription.
    • A set number of orders: enter the Number of orders (2 or more, the first order included). After that many orders the gift comes off the subscription. For example, 3 means the first order and the next two renewals.
    • Every order (ongoing): the gift stays on the subscription and ships with every renewal.
  5. Set How gifts are given: Give every gift adds each gift, and Let the customer choose turns the gifts into a list customers pick from, with Gifts the customer picks setting how many. Add more gifts than the number customers pick, or every gift is added.
  6. Set When a gift is out of stock: Show this option as sold out or Skip the gift and still sell. This one setting covers every option in the offer, bundle options' gifts included.
  7. Click Save.


On the Lure, Aurora and Checkbox designs the gift shows under the option the same way it does on a bundle option: the product's image and name, its normal price struck through, and the word Free. Customers who choose their gifts pick them there, along with the variant. The other designs do not show the gift, so pick one of these three on the Design page if you want shoppers to see it. The widget preview in the offer shows the gift too.


The gift is added to the cart on the subscription, at no charge, from Add to cart and Buy it now alike. While an option with a gift is selected, the express payment buttons (such as Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay) are hidden, because they cannot add the gift. Buy it now stays. The gift is only free alongside a product from this offer on that option, and only up to the quantity you set.


The gift's wording uses the same labels as bundle gifts, under Design > Labels: Price on a free gift (the word Free), Free gift heading, single pick and Free gifts heading (shown when customers choose), and Unavailable product.


For a reward that starts later, such as a free product on the 3rd order, use a loyalty program instead. See Loyalty programs.


Loyalty and retention flows


Loyalty


To reward subscribers on this option the longer they stay, click Loyalty rewards under Loyalty in its additional settings. Pick Rewards by (Order number or Amount spent), then add orders or tiers and their rewards in place. An option already on a loyalty program from before keeps its Loyalty program setting there. See Loyalty programs.


Retention flows


Turn on Retention flows to choose the Cancellation flow and Pause flow customers on this option go through in the customer portal. Shop default uses your store's default flow. Flows are created under Grow > Cancellation flows and Grow > Pause flows. See Cancellation and pause flows.


Sell in fixed quantities


Sell in fixed quantities makes customers buy this option in multiples of a set quantity, for example packs of 3.


  1. Open the option, click Sell in fixed quantities and turn it on.
  2. Set Quantity (a whole number of 2 or more, 2 by default).
  3. Click Save.


To sell multipacks where each pack size has its own price, a Bundle + Subscription offer with quantity break bundle options (1, 2, 3 packs) is usually the better tool, and it works one-time and on subscription. See Bundle types.


Limit active subscriptions


Limit active subscriptions caps how many active subscriptions this option can have in total. Use it for limited-run boxes or capacity you cannot scale, for example "100 subscribers a month".


  1. Open the option, click Limit active subscriptions and turn it on.
  2. Set one or both:
    • Max per option: the most active subscriptions on this option, across all products and customers.
    • Max per product: the most active subscriptions on this option for any one product.

Leave a field empty for no limit.

  1. Click Save.


When a limit is reached, the add to cart button shows Subscription limit reached and is disabled for that option, and checkout refuses it too. Change the wording on the Design page under Add-on settings > Subscription limit reached text.


This is a store-wide cap, not a limit per customer. There is no setting that stops one customer from having more than one subscription. Stock is still needed for every renewal.


Subscription options on bundle offers


On a Bundle + Subscription offer, three settings on the subscription option decide how it works with the bundle options.


Restrict to specific bundle options


Only offer this subscription option on the bundle options you tick. It appears only when the offer has bundle options. The single option is in the list too.


  • Leave it off and the option is offered on every bundle option.
  • As the customer switches bundle options, the widget hides the subscription options that bundle option does not offer.
  • Tick at least one bundle option. With none ticked, the subscription option is not offered anywhere, and a bundle option left with no subscription option shows the one-time purchase alone.


Example: a different frequency and discount for each pack


You sell 1, 2 and 3 bottles, and want 1 bottle every 3 weeks at 15% off, 2 bottles every 6 weeks at 18% off, and 3 bottles every 9 weeks at 20% off.


  1. Create a Bundle + Subscription offer with the single option and quantity break bundle options "2 bottles" and "3 bottles".
  2. Add three subscription options: every 3 Week at 15%, every 6 Week at 18%, every 9 Week at 20%.
  3. On each subscription option, turn on Restrict to specific bundle options and tick only its pack: the single option, "2 bottles", or "3 bottles".
  4. If your bundle options carry their own discount and you do not want it added on top for subscribers, turn off Apply discount to subscriptions on those bundle options.
  5. Save, then click through the packs on your product page.


Each pack now shows only its own frequency. To offer a subscription on the single unit only, restrict your subscription options to the single option. To make a pack one-time only, turn on One-time purchase only in that bundle option's own settings (or Subscription only for the opposite). See Bundle types.


Bundle deal only


The option never appears as a choice of its own. It only shows while a bundle option that offers it is selected, so use it together with Restrict to specific bundle options. Most offers do not need it, because restricting an option already hides it on the other bundle options.


Bundle products only


Only shows this option on Shopify bundle products: products built from other products, for example with the Shopify Bundles app. It has nothing to do with bundle options. Turned on for an ordinary product, it hides the option there, so leave it off unless you sell Shopify bundle products.


Products that are in an offer only because they sit inside one of its bundle options (the items of a fixed bundle or a build your own bundle pool) do not show that offer's subscription options on their own product pages. To sell one of them on subscription by itself, add it to an offer that sells it directly.


Starter product, then refills


Some products are bought once and refilled forever: a kit with the bottle, a machine with its pods, a starter pack with its pouches. The Starter, then refills subscription type sells that as a single subscription. The customer buys the starter product on the product page, and from the second order on the subscription delivers and charges for the refill instead.


Set it up on the subscription option:


  1. Set the option's Subscription type to Starter, then refills.
  2. Click Choose refill product and pick it. If it has more than one variant, choose the Refill variant.
  3. Set Price from the second order. This is what each unit of the refill costs, every order after the first. It is the amount charged, not a discount, so it does not stack with the option's own discount.
  4. Click Save.


What the customer sees:


  • On the product page they buy the starter product at its usual subscription price, discount included.
  • At checkout Shopify shows both prices, the amount due today and the amount each renewal will be, so the change is agreed before they pay.
  • Their first order ships the starter product.
  • From the moment that order is placed, their subscription (in the customer portal, in your admin, and in subscription emails) shows the refill product at the refill price. Every renewal bills and ships the refill.


The refill product still needs to exist as a normal Shopify product with stock, because it is what gets fulfilled from the second order on. It does not need its own offer, and you can keep it hidden from your catalog if you only sell it as a refill.


Both halves are required. Until the refill product and its price are both set, the option shows a warning and behaves like an ordinary subscription, renewing the starter product at its own price.


This is one switch, after the first order. A different product every month (a rotating or sequenced box) is not supported: change the products on a subscription by hand, or add products at milestones with a loyalty program. If you want the refill named on the product page itself, next to the subscription option, that is a theme customization rather than a setting: contact support and we can look at your theme.


The one-time purchase row


Alongside your subscription options, the offer carries the one-time purchase row. It is Shopify's native one-time purchase rather than a subscription option, so it has its own controls on its row:


  • Make default: pre-select it, exactly as you would a subscription option. See Setting the default option.
  • The up and down arrows: put it at the top or the bottom of the subscription options.
  • The eye icon: hide or show it on your store. A hidden row shows a Hidden badge.
  • Click the row to open it and write its Name, Description, and One-time benefits.


On a new offer the row starts shown, above your subscription options, and pre-selected. Move it, or hand the default to a subscription option, whenever a subscription-first layout suits your product better.


The row's wording belongs to the offer


The name, the description and the benefit lines are written on each offer. Two offers can word the one-time purchase differently, and a product shows the wording of the offer selling it.


  • Name: leave it blank to use your store-wide wording from Design, under Labels.
  • Description: shown under the row. Leave it blank to show none.
  • One-time benefits: turn it on and add up to three lines with Add benefit. Each line has its own icon: a check (Circle with check, Simple checkmark, Badge with check), a cross (Circle with cross, Simple cross, Badge with cross), No icon, or Custom icon (paste inline SVG or an image URL). A cross is handy for what buying once does not include, such as "No subscriber discount".
  • All of it is translatable in Settings > Translations: choose the Offers group, then the offer.


The one-time purchase row can be hidden but not deleted, and hiding it is only a visual nudge: direct add to cart links and other apps can still buy once. To stop selling a product as a one-time purchase for certain, use Shopify's Only sell this product as a subscription setting. See How to remove the one-time purchase option for a product.


Common questions


Getting started


Where did the Plans page and subscription options go? The old link gives a 404.
Everything is on Offers now. Each offer holds its subscription options and its bundle options. If an old setup still shows on your store but is not in Offers, contact support.


How do I set up a monthly subscription, or let customers choose monthly, every 2 months or every 3 months?
Click Create offer, choose Subscription, and add a subscription option per frequency (set Repeat order every and Order intervals on each, plus its discount). Pick the products under Applies to and click Save. See How to create an offer.


Which frequencies can I offer? Yearly, weekly, every 30, 60 or 90 days?
Any of them: Order intervals can be Day, Week, Month or Year, with any number in Repeat order every. Give each option a clear name, since that is what customers read.


What does "Delivery every 4 months" mean for when the next order happens?
The next order is created and charged 4 months after the purchase date, then every 4 months after that, unless the option uses Renew on specific dates.


Can the offer have an internal name only I see?
Yes. The Offer name is yours; customers see the Subscription name and the option names. The offer name only reaches the storefront if you turn on Offer title on the Design page.


The default choice


How do I make Subscribe & Save selected by default instead of one-time purchase?
Open the offer, click Make default on the subscription option you want, and save. See Setting the default option.


Customers are subscribing by accident. How do I make one-time purchase the default again?
Open the offer, click Make default on the One-time purchase row, and save. If the product is also in another offer that pre-selects a subscription option, change that offer too.


How do I pre-select a particular bundle, like the three-pack?
Open the offer, click Make default on that bundle option, and save.


Can two options be the default at the same time?
No. One choice per offer is pre-selected, so setting a new default clears the old one. On a Bundle + Subscription offer, the bundle default and the subscription default are separate and can both be set.


I set a default but the storefront still opens on something else.
The default has to be visible to that shopper: check Customer eligibility and Restrict to specific bundle options on the option, and whether the product is also in another offer (see A product in more than one offer). Then save and reload the product page.


Several offers and options


Why does my product show two sets of subscription options, or the same choice twice?
The product is covered by two offers, directly or through All products or a collection. Each offer shows its own options. Take the product out of one of them. See A product in more than one offer.


Why is the subscription showing on products I did not add?
The offer, or another offer, covers them through All products or a collection. Check Applies to on each offer, and after changing an automated collection click Sync now in the offer.


How do I show different options or bundles on different products?
Make one offer per product group, each set to Specific products or Specific collections, instead of one offer on All products.


How do I change the order my subscription options appear in?
Drag the options in the offer and save. If a product shows options from several offers, the order of the offers is set on the Design page under Add-on settings > Plan group order.


Can each subscription tier (for example Basic, Pro, Elite) have its own price?
Yes. Put the tiers as subscription options in one offer, and give each option its own Discount, for example Fixed price for an exact price. Separate offers for each tier are harder to order and to keep consistent.


How do I give each pack size its own frequency or discount?
Use Restrict to specific bundle options on each subscription option. See the worked example.


How do I offer the subscription only on the single unit, not on the 2 and 3 packs?
On each subscription option, turn on Restrict to specific bundle options and tick only the single option. Or turn on One-time purchase only on the pack bundle options.


How do I show a subscription on my bundle only, not on the products inside it?
Point the offer at the product that carries the bundle options. Products that are only in the offer as part of a bundle option do not show its subscription options on their own pages. Bundle products only is for Shopify bundle products, not for bundle options.


Can I copy an offer?
Yes: tick it on the Offers list and click Copy offers. The copy keeps the original's status and products, so set it to Draft or change its products straight away. See Copying an offer.


Wording


How do I add benefit lines like "Cancel anytime" or "Free shipping" under a subscription option?
Click Benefits on the subscription option, turn it on and add a line per benefit. See Benefits.


Can each benefit line have its own icon, like a tick or a cross?
On the one-time purchase row, yes. Subscription option benefits all use the one icon chosen on the Design page. You can suggest per-line icons on the Feature requests page.


How do I change texts like "Subscribe & Save" or "Save 10% on every delivery"?
The group heading is the offer's Subscription name, and each option has its Option name, Description and Benefits. Store-wide wording such as discount badges and headings is on Design > Labels. Other languages are in Settings > Translations.


Why does the cart or checkout repeat the subscription name, like "Subscribe and save, Subscribe and save"?
Some carts and checkouts show both the offer's Subscription name and the option's name. When both say the same thing, it reads twice. Give them different wording, for example "Subscribe & Save 15%" for the Subscription name and "Delivery every month" for the option. See What shoppers see in the cart and at checkout.


Terms and limits


How do I stop customers subscribing just for the discount and cancelling straight away?
Turn on Minimum commitment on the option and set Minimum orders (it counts the first order). Say so in the option's description. See Minimum commitment and automatic expiry.


Can I limit a product to a fixed number of subscribers, for example 100?
Yes, with Limit active subscriptions (Max per option or Max per product). See Limit active subscriptions.


Can I stop a customer from having more than one subscription, or more than one in the cart?
No. The limit above counts all customers together, and Shopify lets subscriptions be combined in one cart.


Can I sell an expensive product as a payment plan, in monthly instalments?
There is no instalment mode, but a subscription option with Automatic expiry comes close. See Requiring a minimum number of payments before cancellation.


I ship a 3-month supply at once and charge every 3 months. Should that be prepaid?
No, use pay per order with an option that repeats every 3 months. Prepaid is one payment covering several separate deliveries. See Pay per order or prepaid.


Can renewals happen on a specific weekday, or on the first Thursday of each month?
Weekly options can: pick a Renewal day under Renew on specific dates. Monthly options can only pick a day of the month, so "the first Thursday" is not possible.


Can I schedule renewals in specific months like September, December, March and June?
Not on options that repeat every few Month or Week: you choose the day, but the months follow when each customer joined. Year options are the exception, since they take a fixed Month and Day. See Renew on specific dates.


If I set First order to Wait for the next date, is the customer charged later?
No. Shopify always charges the first order in full at checkout. To take a card now and charge it later, see Collect a card now, charge on a later date.


Can I deliver every day but skip Sundays?
Not automatically. A daily option (every 1 Day) works, and can be prepaid (for example 30 orders per payment), but it cannot skip weekdays, and Renew on specific dates is not available for Day options.


Can a subscription send a different product each month?
Only one switch is built in: Starter product, then refills. A rotating product each cycle is not supported. You can change a subscription's products by hand from Subscriptions.


Can I charge a bigger first payment, like a setup fee or starter kit, then a smaller monthly price?
Yes, with the Starter, then refills subscription type: the starter product is charged first, then the refill at the price you set. For a cheaper or free first order instead, see Offering a free trial or discounted first order.


Can I force customers to buy a refill subscription together with the main product?
Not as a checkout rule. Sell them together with a Fixed bundle option set to Subscription only, or use the Starter, then refills subscription type.


Changing, pausing and deleting


Can I pause or hide an offer temporarily?
Yes. Open it, set Status to Draft, and save. Set it back to Published to sell it again. See Publishing and drafts.


What happens to existing subscribers if I edit or delete an offer or an option?
Nothing. Each subscription keeps its own copy of the terms, so edits and deletions only affect new purchases. To change existing subscribers, edit them from Subscriptions, see Changing prices for existing subscribers.


Troubleshooting


My options aren't showing on the storefront.
Check that the offer is Published, that Applies to covers the product, and that the widget is on (Design > Enable widget). Then check Customer eligibility (it hides the option from logged-out visitors) and Restrict to specific bundle options on each option. See also The subscription widget is not displayed in my store.


Only some of my options show, or their details look mixed up.
Run the checks above for each option, and check whether the product is in another offer. If everything looks right, contact support with the product's URL.


The preview in the offer editor looks right, but the live product page does not.
The preview shows only this offer, on sample data. Save the offer, check it is Published, and reload the live product page without extra parameters in the URL. If it still differs, it is usually a theme detail: contact support and share your store password if your store has one.


Saving fails with "Two subscription options are named ...".
Each option in an offer needs its own Option name. Rename one of them and save again.


Saving fails and says a bundle option sets its own price while a subscription option sets a fixed price.
Use a percentage discount on that bundle option, or turn off its Apply discount to subscriptions. See Discounts.


Tips and best practices


  • Use option names that say the benefit (for example "Every 3 months, save 15%") so customers can compare at a glance.
  • Make your best-value option the default, and pair it with a badge.
  • Start with one monthly subscription option, then add frequencies as you learn what customers prefer.
  • Keep related choices as options in one offer, and each product in one offer, so the widget stays easy to scan.
  • Give each offer its own Subscription name.
  • Prepaid options are great for seasonal boxes and gifts.
  • If you set a Minimum commitment, say so in the option's description so it is clear before checkout.
  • Set a new offer to Draft while you build it if you are not ready to sell it.



Updated on: 10/05/2026

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