Shopify Limitations for Subscriptions (Essential Subscriptions app)

Some subscription rules are set by Shopify, not by the app. They apply to every subscription app. This page lists the ones merchants ask about most, so you know what to expect before you launch.

Shopify can change these rules. The Shopify pages at the bottom are the latest word.

Payment methods and gateways

A subscription needs a payment method that can be charged again later, without the customer at checkout. To use a subscription app like this one, your store must use one of these payment gateways:

Shopify Payments
PayPal Express
Authorize.net
Adyen
Stripe

Which ones you can use depends on your country and the gateway's terms.

Gateway	Good to know
Shopify Payments	Customers can use Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal. Some stores only get Shop Pay. Apple Pay works for subscriptions with Visa and Mastercard only. Saved cards can update automatically when a customer gets a new card. This is widely supported in the US. Support in other countries varies.
PayPal Express	Customers can pay with PayPal. If Shopify Payments is not active on your store, third-party transaction fees are charged.
Authorize.net	PayPal is the only wallet. Apple Pay and Google Pay are not supported.
Adyen	Only for businesses Adyen has already approved. Not every Adyen payment method works for subscriptions.
Stripe	Only available to select merchants.

Other things to know:

Local, manual and non-card payment methods might not be offered for subscriptions.
Customers can't buy subscriptions with Shop Pay Installments.
With a gateway other than Shopify Payments, cards may not update by themselves. The customer may need to update their card when it expires.
If a customer deletes a card from their Shop Pay account, subscriptions on that card keep going until the customer cancels them separately.
Shopify stores card details. You can't see a customer's full card number.

When the bank asks for extra verification (for example 3D Secure) on a renewal, the app emails the customer a link to complete it. The subject is Action required to complete your subscription payment. This email is always sent. See When Customers Are Charged, and What Happens When a Payment Fails.

Not sure your gateway works? Place one test subscription order before you launch.

Where subscriptions can be sold

Shopify supports subscriptions on the online store, Shopify POS, the Shop channel and custom storefronts.
Essential Subscriptions does not support Shopify POS. You can't sell its subscriptions in person.
Products sold only as a subscription, with no one-time option, can be sold only on the online store.
Subscriptions can't be added to draft orders (orders you create in the Shopify admin). To set up a subscription for a customer yourself, use Create subscription in the app. See How to Create a Subscription for a Customer Manually.
B2B doesn't support subscriptions.

At checkout, Shopify shows a short text telling the customer the cart has an automatically renewing subscription. It can't be removed on any plan. On any plan you can edit the cancel text and cancellation instructions, in the theme content editor. Editing the agreement label and the consent text needs Shopify Plus.

Renewals vs the first order

Some things only apply to the first order. Renewals work differently.

Topic	First order	Renewals
Gift cards	Can be used.	Not used. Gift cards cover the first payment only.
Store credit	Can be used.	Not used.
Automatic discounts (made in Shopify admin > Discounts)	Can apply.	Can apply to each subscription order.
Shopify Scripts discounts	Apply.	Not applied. First payment only.
Shipping method	The customer picks it at checkout.	The cheapest available shipping method.

Discount codes

When a discount code is used on a subscription, Shopify saves a copy of it on the subscription.
If you expire or turn off the code later, it still applies to subscriptions that already used it.
When you create a discount code, the Purchase type section lets you choose one-time purchases, subscriptions, or both.
The recurring payments setting on the code is the only way to limit how many payments it applies to. A free shipping code can be limited to the first payment.
Buy X get Y: the "get" product must be a one-time purchase.

Shipping

The shipping method picked at checkout covers the first delivery. After that, renewals use the cheapest available shipping method.
Each renewal is billed and shipped on its own, even when delivery dates are close together.
Local delivery and pickup work. If the customer picks one, it applies to the whole order, one-time items and subscriptions alike.
Each subscription keeps the shipping price it was created with. Changing your shipping rates in Shopify does not update subscriptions that already exist.

Currency

If you sell in several currencies, renewals keep the exchange rate from the customer's first order.

Products and plans

Shopify bundles (bundles made with Shopify's bundles feature) can't be sold as subscriptions. The app's own Volume bundles are something else. They are pack sizes of a normal product.

Orders and refunds

Cancelling or refunding an order does not cancel the subscription. If the customer wants to stop, cancel the subscription in the app as well. See How to Manage Subscriptions.
Editing an order does not change the subscription. To change future orders, edit the subscription in the app.
On a pay as you go order you can change subscription quantities, change discounts, remove a subscription product and add one-time items. You can't add a new subscription product or duplicate the order.
On a prepaid order you can change discounts and add one-time items. You can't change quantities or duplicate the order.
A prepaid order shows as Scheduled until each delivery date, then Unfulfilled. You can fulfil a delivery early with Fulfill early. Stock for a delivery is reserved on its date, not when the order is placed.
A prepaid order can be cancelled only while nothing has been fulfilled. After that you can refund it in full or in part.
High-risk first orders: if the first order is flagged as high risk, fulfil it or cancel it. Renewals fail while it stays unfulfilled.
Stock: if a product on a subscription tracks inventory and can't be oversold, keep it in stock for upcoming renewals. How the app retries out-of-stock orders is in Subscriptions app Billing and Inventory Settings.

Uninstalling

The app charges each renewal. While it is uninstalled, no renewals are charged.
48 hours after you uninstall, Shopify cancels the app's subscriptions that have not ended. That includes active, paused and failed ones.
Shopify also deletes the subscription data created in the app 48 hours after you uninstall. Customer payment details are not deleted.