Shopify Subscriptions: Recharge or Shopify in 2025?

Recharge vs. Shopify Subscriptions: The Recurring-Revenue Choice

E-commerce merchants rely on monthly recurring revenue, and subscriptions are the quickest way to secure it. Shopify stores have more than one path, so this article compares Recharge with Shopify's own free subscription tool. Recharge, at 99 dollars a month, ships a deep feature set; Shopify Subscriptions, free to every store, keeps it lean. Both work, but their fit could not differ more.

Recharge: The 99-Dollar Heavyweight

Recharge arrives with a hefty price tag: 99 dollars monthly, or 499 for its Plus tier. It is built for merchants who need control—custom flows, detailed analytics, tight ties to Shopify, Klaviyo and other tools. Pause options, tiered billing and churn dashboards sit under one roof. The app holds a 4.6-star average from nearly two thousand Shopify reviews, and brands such as Soylent manage thousands of subscribers through it.

The price is not light, yet for stores scaling subscriptions into a core revenue stream, Recharge delivers the muscle.

Shopify Subscriptions: The Free Featherweight

Shopify Subscriptions costs nothing to install. It lets merchants set plans, collect payments and move on. Customisation is thin—pause or cancel are the main controls—and only basic sales tracking is included. The app carries a 3.1-star rating from 126 reviews, where merchants praise the price but note gaps in shipping logic and failed-payment handling.

“Application doesn't work. I created a plan, but tests failed and customers ended up placing single orders instead of subscriptions.”

For a small coffee roaster or niche apparel line, the tool is simple and effective—no bells, just essentials.

Merchant Fit: Scale or Scrimp

Recharge shines on flexibility. It hands over gift options, dynamic pricing and an API for complex integrations—ideal for established brands managing retention and tweaking flows. Shopify Subscriptions sticks to basics within the Shopify ecosystem. If depth matters, Recharge wins; if speed and zero cost matter, Shopify is the pick.

Cost often seals the deal. Recharge's 99-dollar fee, plus one percent of each subscription transaction, demands commitment. Shopify's free install (also one percent if the store is not on Shopify Payments) asks for no up-front spend. In 2025 the choice is clear: Recharge for long-haul sophistication, Shopify for a fast start. Both get the job done; pick based on how big you plan to play.