How to Set Up Recurring Payments on Shopify

Recurring payments turn one-time buyers into subscribers, giving a Shopify store predictable revenue and stronger customer retention. They're transactions that happen automatically on a set schedule — a monthly subscription box, a replenishment order, or a recurring service fee. Shopify supports them through its subscriptions system, and this guide walks through setting them up in five steps, from creating a plan to improving the checkout experience.

Understanding Shopify subscriptions and recurring payments

What are Shopify subscriptions?

Shopify Subscriptions lets customers buy a product or service on a repeating schedule — weekly, monthly, yearly, or another interval the store chooses. The customer agrees to a price and frequency, and payment is taken automatically from their saved payment method at each interval. Customers manage their own subscriptions from their account: updating shipping details, changing payment methods, or canceling.

How recurring payments work

Recurring billing runs on subscription plans. A plan defines the products included, the delivery frequency, the duration, and any discount. Plans are created either in the free first-party Shopify Subscriptions app or directly from a product's purchase options in the Shopify admin. Once a customer subscribes, Shopify charges their payment method on the schedule the plan defines.

Benefits

Recurring revenue is more predictable than one-off sales, which makes planning easier. Subscriptions also lift retention — keeping a customer costs far less than acquiring a new one — and the automated billing removes manual work while giving customers a low-friction way to reorder what they already want.

Step 1: Set up a subscription plan

Before creating a plan, confirm the store is eligible for the Shopify Subscriptions app: it shouldn't already run a third-party subscription app, it needs a compatible theme, and it needs a supported payment gateway (covered in Step 3). Subscription products are supported on the online store, Shopify POS, Shop, and custom storefront sales channels.

To create a plan in the Subscriptions app, go to Subscriptions > Plans in the Shopify admin, click Create new plan, name it, choose the products, set the delivery frequency, add a discount if desired, and save. The same can be done from a product page: under Purchase options, choose Add purchase option > Create new option. During setup, the app adds a subscription policy and the related email notifications to the store so customers understand the terms. If the first-party app doesn't fit, the Shopify App Store has many third-party subscription apps to compare on features, pricing, and reviews.

Step 2: Customize subscription products

Once a plan exists, tune how each product is sold. A product's subscription details appear in the Subscriptions section of its page in the admin (Products > select the product), where they can be viewed and edited.

Each product can be sold as a subscription only or as both a subscription and a one-time purchase — controlled by the Sell product as a subscription only checkbox on the product page. Discounts can be targeted too: on the discount-code page, the Purchase type setting lets a discount apply to subscription purchases, one-time purchases, or both, which is a useful lever for encouraging sign-ups.

Step 3: Configure payment settings

Choose a supported payment gateway

Recurring billing only works with gateways that support subscriptions. The first-party Shopify Subscriptions app supports Shopify Payments, PayPal Express, and Authorize.net; third-party subscription apps may support additional processors such as Stripe. Shopify Payments is the simplest option and adds an automatic card updater that reduces failed payments when customers get new cards, plus accelerated checkouts like Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. If Shopify Payments isn't activated, third-party transaction fees apply. Note that local payment methods like Klarna can't be used for subscriptions.

Automate payment capture

To avoid missed payments, set capture to run automatically: go to Settings > Payments, open Payment capture, choose Automatically when the order is fulfilled, and save. Recurring charges are then processed without manual intervention.

Store payment information securely

Shopify stores customers' payment details securely for future charges and applies its built-in fraud-prevention tools, so recurring transactions stay protected and compliant with industry standards.

Step 4: Manage subscriptions

Track subscription data

To see how plans are performing, add the Purchase option filter or column to sales reports. This surfaces subscription performance alongside other sales data and supports better decisions about plans and pricing.

Handle cancellations and refunds

Customers will sometimes cancel or request refunds, and Shopify makes those manageable. The important part is having clear, fair policies and communicating them up front so there are no surprises.

Uninstalling a subscription app

If a third-party subscription app is ever removed, be careful with data. Per the Shopify Help Center, subscription data an app created (excluding subscription contracts and customer payment information) is deleted 48 hours after uninstalling, and without a backup that loss can be permanent. Confirm the app's data-retention policy and back up before uninstalling.

Step 5: Improve the customer experience

Show subscription details at checkout

Customers should see exactly what they're committing to. At the shipping step, Shopify shows the shipping cost per delivery and the subscription frequency; with multiple subscription items, those appear under each line. At the payment step, customers must confirm they understand they're purchasing a subscription before they can complete the order — an important safeguard against confusion and disputes.

Set up the customer portal

A customer portal gives subscribers self-service access to their account: viewing subscription details, changing frequency, updating payment methods, and canceling. Making self-management easy reduces support load and tends to keep customers subscribed longer.

Manage free-shipping discounts

Free shipping is a strong incentive for subscriptions. With a free-shipping discount, a store can apply it to the first payment only, a set number of payments, or all future subscription payments, and existing discount codes can be edited to include subscription rules.

Next steps

Set up well, recurring payments on Shopify give a store dependable revenue and customers a convenient way to reorder. The work is mostly upfront — a clear plan, a supported gateway, and a transparent checkout — after which the billing runs itself. First Pier is an ecommerce agency in Portland, Maine that builds and optimizes Shopify storefronts, including subscription and recurring-payment setups. For help, get in touch.