This blog compares 7 Shopify subscription apps: Recharge, Appstle, Seal, Loop, Recurpay, Joy, and Skio across subscription logic, retention tooling, analytics, pricing, and reviews.
Shopify natively supports basic recurring billing but lacks advanced subscription capabilities, deeper automation, and detailed analytics needed to scale ecommerce subscription programs.
For retention, Recharge, Loop, Skio, Appstle, Seal, Recurpay, and Joy all provide some combination of payment recovery (dunning), self-serve portals, and cancellation flows, but depth varies by plan.
Pricing structures differ across these apps: Seal is flat (no transaction fees), Recharge is monthl transaction fees, and other subscription apps charge a mix of monthly charges + revenue cap & fees.
Overall, Appstle Subscriptions is a good choice for a Shopify subscription app, prioritizing unified checkout, mature retention tooling, and detailed analytics.
Introduction
Shopify subscription apps help merchants run recurring revenue programs like subscribe-and-save, prepaid plans, subscription boxes, and bundled subscriptions. In this guide, I’ve reviewed some of the best subscription apps on Shopify, such as Recharge, Appstle, Seal, Loop, Recurpay, Joy, and Skio, and compared their subscription features, customer portal controls, retention tooling, integration with a Shopify bundle builder app, pricing & rating. Post that, I’ve created a detailed breakdown of their features & created a comparison table for easy reference. Let’s dive in.
✅ $599/mo base ✅ + transaction fees ✅ Enterprise custom
Detailed Review: Top Shopify Subscription Apps
1. Appstle Subscriptions
Appstle Subscriptions is a feature-dense Shopify subscription app supporting both simple replenishment and advanced subscription logic such as build-a-box and loyalty rewards.
Key Features of Appstle Subscriptions
Subscribe-and-Save (auto & prepaid)
Build-a-box subscriptions
Curated and static bundles
Mixed cart (one-time + subscription)
Free trials and gift subscriptions
Tiered loyalty discounts & referrals
Product swap automation
Inventory forecasting & SKU sync
Cancellation flows with incentives
Dunning and failed payment retries
Quick checkout subscription links
API & Shopify Flow integration
Revenue-capped pricing tiers
Pros
Extremely broad feature coverage
Strong build-a-box and bundling logic
No transaction fees on higher plans
Highly customizable portal and widgets
Cons
In-built bundles are limited in design & layout
Discount logic can be complex for prepaid plans
Feature depth increases setup complexity
Revenue caps on lower tiers
* Integrated with Easy Bundle Builder for creating Subscription Bundles
Pricing
Free (up to $500 subscription revenue)
Starter: $10/mo
Business: $30/mo
Business Premium: $100/mo+
2. Seal Subscriptions
Seal Subscriptions is a Shopify subscription app that focuses on affordability with flat pricing and no transaction fees while covering most core subscription use cases.
Key Features of Seal Subscriptions
Pay-per-delivery & prepaid plans
Subscription boxes
Tiered discounts & free gifts
Magic-link customer portal
Custom shipping rules
Inventory forecasting
Cancellation flows
Bulk actions (higher plans)
API & webhooks
Pros
No transaction fees
Low monthly pricing
Strong core subscription coverage
Cons
UI can feel dated
Prepaid logic is less flexible
Support speed varies
* Integrated with Easy Bundle Builder for creating Subscription Bundles
Pricing
Free (50 subs)
$24.95 → $199/month
3. Loop Subscriptions
Loop Subscriptions is a Shopify Subscription app that offers a dynamic pricing model, gamified retention, and advanced cancellation logic.
Key Features of Loop Subscriptions
Dynamic & usage-based pricing
Build-a-box bundles
Membership subscriptions
Gamified customer portal
Multi-step cancellation flows
Dunning with up to 15 retries
Advanced analytics & LTV tracking
Bulk workflows & permissions
API & webhooks (Pro plan)
Pros
Highly flexible pricing models
Strong retention mechanics
Detailed analytics
Cons
Transaction fees on paid plans
Feature depth requires onboarding
Smaller ecosystem than Recharge
* Integrated with Easy Bundle Builder for creating Subscription Bundles
Pricing
Free
$99/mo + 1%
$399/mo + 0.75%
4. Recurpay Subscriptions
Recurpay is a Shopify subscription app preferred for its flexibility, support of diverse billing logic, and multiple payment methods.
Key Features of Recurpay Subscription
Prepaid & pay-as-you-go plans
Mixed cart checkout
Trials
Subscription bots (discounts, swaps)
Custom shipping rules
Multilingual widgets
Analytics & insights
API & webhooks
COD support
Pros
Flexible payment logic
Strong developer support
Multilingual by default
Cons
Higher transaction fees on the free tier
UX is less smooth compared to other Shopify subscription apps
Import issues reported by some users
* Integrated with Easy Bundle Builder for creating Subscription Bundles
Pricing
Free + 3.5%
$19/mo + 2%
$349/mo + 1%
5. Recharge Subscriptions
Recharge Subscriptions is a mature Shopify subscription app built for scaling brands, offering unified checkout, automation, retention tooling, and deep ecosystem integrations.
Key Features of Recharge Subscriptions
Unified checkout (subscriptions + one-time)
Recurring & prepaid subscriptions
Subscription product widgets
Curated and custom bundles
No-code customer portal
Upsell & cross-sell offers
AI-powered payment retry (dunning)
Smart cancellation prevention flows
Automated win-back campaigns
Loyalty & referral programs (Plus)
Gifting subscriptions
Advanced analytics & benchmarks
JavaScript SDK & Storefront API
Pros
Unified checkout reduces friction
Strong automation and retention tooling
Enterprise-grade API support
Large ecosystem and integrations
Cons
High monthly and transaction fees
Loyalty features are locked to the Shopify Plus plan
Support experience varies by plan
* Integrated with Easy Bundle Builder for creating Subscription Bundles
Pricing
Starter: $99/mo + 1.49% + $0.19
Plus: $499/mo + 1.34% + $0.19
Enterprise: Custom
6. Joy Subscription
Joy Subscription is a Shopify subscription app that prioritizes ease of use and fast deployment for subscription and bundle offers.
Key Features
Subscribe-and-Save plans
Subscription boxes
Product bundles
Frequently bought together widget
Customer portal
OTP login
Dunning management
Multilingual support
Custom SMTP
Pros
Easy setup
Good widget customization
Strong value for SMBs
Cons
Technical migrations can be slow
Limited advanced automation
Revenue caps on lower tiers
* Integrated with Easy Bundle Builder for creating Subscription Bundles
Pricing
Free (up to $1k revenue)
$29/mo + 1.5%
$99/mo + 1%
7. Skio Subscriptions
Skio Subscriptions is a Shopify subscription app built for high-volume DTC brands needing advanced lifecycle automation and premium support.
Key Features
Build-a-box subscriptions
Passwordless customer portal
Lifecycle automation
Multi-step cancellation flows
SMS reminders (SkioSMS)
Real-time analytics & segmentation
AI upsell carousel
Zero-downtime migrations
Dedicated success managers
Pros
Best-in-class support
Advanced retention tooling
Strong SMS capabilities
Cons
Very high monthly cost
Not suitable for early-stage brands
Transaction fees apply
Pricing
$599/mo + transaction fees
Enterprise: Custom
Why You Need a Subscription App On Shopify
Shopify natively comes with its own set of limitations and here I am reffering to its native Subscriptions app. Creating a subscription program is complicated and best left to an app creator for this very purpose. Here are the limitations of Shopify:
No build-a-box or bundle subscriptions
No loyalty or referral logic
Basic cancellation and dunning only
Limited analytics (no LTV or cohort data)
No advanced automation or workflows
Restricted API and POS support
Conclusion
In this review of top Shopify subscription apps, I evaluated apps like including Appstle, Recharge, Seal Subscriptions, Loop Subscriptions, Recurpay, Joy Subscriptions, and Skio Subscriptions. I assesed them based on subscription logic, retention tools like dunning and customer portals, analytics depth, pricing structures, and user ratings from thousands of reviews. Appstle and Recharge stand out as clear winners for their robust features and scalability, with Seal Subscriptions as a strong second option due to its flat pricing and no transaction fees. That said, the best choice depends on your store's needs, so anyone running a Shopify store should test these apps during their free trials or starter plans before committing to a final decision.
Hurrify customers to buy within a given timeframe with a sales countdown timer & improve conversions
Another popular Shopify checkout app is Checkout Promotions. The app comes with the ability to leverage a collection of highly robust visibility rules that help show customers one-click post purchase upsell promotions after an order payment has been made. Some of its key features include:
Features
AI recommended and manual recommendations for upselling.
Complete branding control.
Checkout Upsell for increasing AOV.
AI recommended and manual recommendations for upselling.
Pricing
Development
Free
Monthly Plan
$99/ month
Plus Plan
$99/ month
Plus Plan
$99/ month
FAQs: Shopify Subscription Apps
Get answers to common questions about Shopify subscription apps, including setup, pricing, and how to manage recurring payments efficiently.
How to make subscription bundles in Shopify?
2. Does Shopify have a built-in subscription feature?
3. How do I set up recurring payments on Shopify?
What should I look for in pricing for a Shopify subscription app?
Do Shopify subscription apps integrate with other tools like email marketing?
How does a Shopify subscription app improve customer retention?
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Sid B
Sid is the founder of Skai Lama and The Indian Dream Podcast. He is passionate about building SaaS and talks about eCommerce Growth, 0-1 Startups, Building Businesses and Brands, and Shopify.
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