The subscription economy has grown rapidly over the past few years and is now a $120 billion market. In other words, more and more businesses are charging their customers recurring monthly fees for access to exclusive content, products, or services.
Websites selling digital subscriptions have been around for a long time, but they didn’t take off until recently. This is because e-commerce sites like Amazon and Etsy made it easy to sell digital goods online through third-party software. Nowadays, with consumers becoming aware of their personal data and its value of it in a marketplace context, subscriptions are growing even faster than before. If you want your WordPress site to be a part of this trend and drive revenue from users who sign up for monthly access to premium features and services, keep reading for our top recommendations.
Do you have a membership site, an e-commerce business, or a blog with frequent new content? If the answer is yes, then you should consider adding a subscription option to your WordPress site. A subscription plugin can help you monetize your website efficiently while also providing additional benefits to your users.
Users today prefer to pay for access to premium content instead of ads or sponsored posts. Therefore, many websites are switching from an advertising-based model to subscriptions. In this article, we’ll be discussing everything you need to know about the best WordPress and WooCommerce subscriptions plugins in 2022. Let’s get started!
Why Run a Subscription-Based Business?
Subscriptions have a lower upfront cost when compared to other models of online sales, such as one-time purchases. They also establish recurring revenue for your business. In fact, most businesses that use subscriptions see their revenue growth over time. Subscription businesses also tend to have a better customer retention rate than other models. This is because customers are less likely to leave their subscriptions behind compared to purchasing a one-time item. Subscriptions are also beneficial for customers. These types of business models allow customers to receive discounts for committing to a subscription and give them access to new and exclusive content. Subscriptions also make it easier for consumers to budget for their purchases.
What Is a WordPress Subscription Plugin?
Subscription plugins let you sell recurring access to your digital products and services on your website. They allow you to create and manage an online store where your customers can sign up for a subscription to gain access to your products or services. WordPress subscription plugins are designed to work with the WooCommerce e-commerce plugin. Once you install the plugin, you can set up shop and start taking recurring payments immediately. The best subscription plugins offer everything you need to start selling subscriptions on your WordPress site. You can use them to create recurring events and content, set up payment plans, and accept recurring payments from customers.
Advantages of the subscription model
The subscription model has a number of advantages for both the business and the customer. First, it is easy for the customer to make their payments. For example, it is much easier for them to pay for a monthly service than to make one lump-sum payment for a year’s worth of services. Subscriptions also make it easy for customers to stay on top of how much they are spending. They don’t have to purchase an item and then keep track of when it’s due to pay it off. Instead, they simply pay a set amount every month. Subscriptions also have great tax benefits. Businesses that run a subscription-based model will receive advance tax credits. They can use these credits to reduce the amount of tax that they owe. Finally, the subscription model is predictable. Both businesses and their customers know what to expect. Businesses know exactly how much money they’ll receive each month, and customers know how much they have to pay each month.
The Best WordPress and WooCommerce Subscription Plugins
To find out which WordPress and WooCommerce subscription plugins will best fit your business model, you need to know what your current and future business goals are. For example, if you want to launch a subscription service, you’ll need to know what kind of content or products you want to provide, how often you want customers to receive those products or services, and how much each item costs. Once you’ve identified these factors, you can begin to shop for subscription plugins that will fit your needs and provide the functionality you’re looking for. Key features may include flexible plans, coupons, free trials, ability to use your existing payment processor, payment threshold, payment retries, and more.
WordPress and WooCommerce Subscriptions Plugins come with a wide range of features and functionalities that allow you to create recurring events and content, set up payment plans, and accept recurring payments from your customers. We’ve compiled a list of the best WordPress and WooCommerce Subscription Plugins, so you know which ones to choose for your website. Keep reading to learn more about these plugins and how they can help you increase your site’s revenue.
WooCommerce Subscriptions official plugin
Website: WooCommerce Subscriptions, Documentation , Price: $199.00/year
Of course, when it comes to e-commerce, the most obvious choice is WooCommerce and their official plugin for recurring payments – WooCommerce Subscriptions. No matter what products you sell – physical or digital, it probably will fit well into your business model.
Currently, more than 70k run this plugin on their websites, and probably twice as much used it at some point in time. When you come to most respectful agencies to build a subscription model site, they will recommend you Woo Subscriptions. Because of the bunch of functions that come from the box and the huge ecosystem of extensions around core solutions. On the WooCommerce marketplace, you can find more than 10 extensions dedicated exclusevely to extending Subscription capabilities. Those extensions let you create subscriptions from your regular products, set special discounts for recurring payments, add prepaid plans for each subscription, extend user account,s and many more. Not to mention the fact that you may
Don’t forget the fact that plugins help you achieve the major milestones but most likely won’t resolve all of your issues. That’s why it’s important to keep in mind the flexibility and ability to adapt the codebase to your needs. For that, you’d need to have proper documentation and all possible hooks to customize the features and plugin’s outcome.
| Features | WooCommerce Subscriptions | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Simple + Variable products | ✔️ | Provides its own product type + can be used with other types with the help of extra plugins |
| Free Trials & Sign-Up Fees | ✔️ | Full control over each product and variations |
| Switching between subscriptions | ✔️ | Between subscription variations, grouped subscriptions, subscription plans, product bundle |
| Subscription management from a user account | ✔️ | Users can: suspend, reactivate, cancel or make an early renewal |
| Multiple Subscriptions / Mixed cart | ✔️ | Can purchase different subscription products or non-subscription in the same transaction |
| Customer Emails | ✔️ | For almost all possible cases: renewal orders, subscription switches, expired and canceled subscriptions, etc. |
| One time purchase | ❌ / ✔️ | With the help of an extension for the Subscriptions plugin |
| Discounts and Coupons | ❌ / ✔️ | Specific coupons for subscription products by default + discounts with additional extension |
| Subscription for Bundled Products | ✔️ | You can create a subscription box with different products by default or use an extra extension |
| Synchronized renewals & Prorating payments | ✔️ | Sync renewal dates for each product separately. Prorating for sync renewals or when switching |
| Customization level | ✔️ | Has all needed hooks + a huge ecosystem of plugins built to extend default capabilities |
| Money back | 30 days | No question refund. Secured by WooCommerce and Automattic themself |
More extensions you should try to extend WooCommerce Subscriptions capabilities:
All Products for WooCommerce Subscriptions
A ground-breaking add-on for WooCommerce Subscriptions that lets you add subscription plans to your existing products. The extension also makes it possible to:
- add products and carts to existing subscriptions;
- offer subscription options in the cart page;
- sell personalized subscription boxes, thanks to its integration with Product Bundles and Composite Products.
Prepaid for WooCommerce Subscriptions
Prepaid for WooCommerce Subscriptions is a great addition to WooCommerce Subscriptions, which helps you increase revenue by offering prepaid options for your subscription products. Other vital features:
- deliver subscription products on a different schedule to billing (e.g. pay annually, ship monthly);
- custom canceling scenarios to prevent users from dropping subscriptions;
- several prepaid plans for simple and variable subscriptions.
Discounts for WooCommerce Subscriptions
Discounts for WooCommerce Subscriptions is the first specialized tool to manage the pricing of recurring payments for the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin. List of features:
- Two ways to assign discounts for simple and variable subscriptions: fixed prices and percentage discounts;
- Individual discounts based on user roles;
- Discounts rules for existing subscriptions;
- Integration with All Products for Subscriptions implies the use of Simple, Variable, or Bundles products.
YITH Subscription plugin
Website: Yith Subscriptions, Documentation, Price: €199.00/year
This easy-to-use subscription plugin is great for bloggers or any other website owner who wants to offer recurring payment options for content, products, and other services. YITH Subscription comes with a wide variety of features, so it’s flexible enough to be used by all types of websites. It can be used to sell digital or physical goods, access to exclusive content, special discounts, and more. YITH Subscription is a great choice if you host your site on WordPress + WooCommerce, and if you want to get started quickly with a subscription model for your site. YITH Subscription is currently second popular solution for WP and Woo subscriptions, so it’s a tried and trusted resource you can use to tap into the subscription economy with ease. The developers have also made it very easy to set up the plugin, which means you can have your subscription model up and running in a few hours. YITH Subscription also comes with a range of customization options, so you can tweak the look and feel of your subscription pages as you see fit.
| Features | Yith Subscriptions | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Simple + Variable products | ✔️ | Both available, no option to use another type of products |
| Free Trials & Sign-Up Fees | ✔️ | Can be set for each product separately |
| Switching between subscriptions | ❌ / ✔️ | Only between variations of one product |
| Subscription management from a user account | ❌ / ✔️ | Users can only cancel their current subscription |
| Multiple Subscriptions / Mixed cart | ✔️ / ❌ | Can purchase different subscription products, but no chance to control mixed checkout |
| Customer Emails | ✔️ | A wide range of e-mail notifications for both admins and customers |
| One time purchase | ❌ | No way to set one-time purchases for subscription products |
| Discounts and Coupons | ❌ / ✔️ | Only specific coupons for subscription products by default, no special discounts available |
| Subscription for Bundled Products | ❌ | Subscription plans can be created only for simple and variable subscription products |
| Synchronized renewals & Prorating payments | ✔️ | Management of store subscriptions by synchronizing all recurring payments to the same day + prorating those payments |
| Customization level | ❌ / ✔️ | Has integrations with some other Yith plugins and very limited hooks capabilities (to be triggered whenever subscription is created, updated, or deleted |
| Money back | 30 days | Under Yith Refund policy |
Subscriptio plugin
Website: Subscriptio, Documentation, Price: $69.00/year ($93.00 with extended support to 1 year)
Subscriptio can be set in two major versions 2nd and 3rd. Since 3rd version is a completely new plugin (developers offer migration from outdated version), we will take a closer look at the most recent 3rd version. The plugin allows you to create and manage recurring payments from simple subscriptions. Key features include flexible plans, coupons, free trials, the ability to use your existing payment processor, payment threshold, payment retries, and more. Subscriptio is ideal for small eCommerce stores that want to add subscription functionality to their sites. It easily integrates with WooCommerce, and allows you to create plans and add different types of content (e.g. eBooks, videos, and webinars) to each subscription plan. Subscriptio also has strong visual and customization features, which makes it easy to customize the subscription page layout. It’s also very affordable, so it won’t cost you a ton of money to get started.
| Features | Subscriptio | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Simple + Variable products | ✔️ | Both simple and variable products can be configured as subscriptions |
| Free Trials & Sign-Up Fees | ✔️ | Can be set for each product separately |
| Switching between subscriptions | ❌ | No way to switch between different subscriptions |
| Subscription management from a user account | ✔️ | Users can only cancel their current subscription + suspend it and reactivate afterward |
| Multiple Subscriptions / Mixed cart | ✔️ / ❌ | Possible to purchase multiple subscriptions and any quantity of each subscription, but not the mixed products in the cart |
| Customer Emails | ✔️ / ❌ | Not for all use cases, but enough for most common cases |
| One time purchase | ❌ | No way to set one-time purchases for subscription products |
| Discounts and Coupons | ❌ | No specific coupons or specialized discounts are available |
| Subscription for Bundled Products | ❌ | Subscription plans can be created only for simple and variable subscription products |
| Synchronized renewals & Prorating payments | ❌ | No chance to sync renewals to a particular dates and pro-rate payments. |
| Customization level | ❌ / ✔️ | Some basic action & filter hooks allow developers to extend their functionality |
| Money back | ??? | You can ask developers directly, if not – raise a dispute and have Envato investigate the matter. Refunds are not guaranteed |
WooCommerce Subscriptions Pro by WP Swings
Website: Subscriptions For WooCommerce Pro, Documentation, Price: $99.00/year
This plugin handles subscriptions a bit differently from the regular approach. They let users subscribe for a specific period right on the product page, and the only thing admin needs to set is the period of renewals.
WooCommerce Subscriptions Pro brings subscription functionality to your existing WooCommerce products. It allows you to create customizable plans and set up recurring payments from simple to complex subscriptions. Subscriptions Pro also allows you to create flexible pricing plans that allow you to offer different types of content to customers based on their subscription level. WooCommerce Subscriptions Pro is ideal for eCommerce stores that want to add recurring payments to their sites and offer digital products or services as part of their subscription plans. One of the best features of WooCommerce Subscriptions Pro is its ability to integrate with third-party tracking and marketing software. This feature makes it easy to integrate your subscription plans with your customer relationship management (CRM) software, marketing automation software, and other tools you may be used to track and grow your business.
| Features | WooCommerce Subscriptions Pro by WP Swings | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Simple + Variable products | ✔️ | Both simple and variable subscription products |
| Free Trials & Sign-Up Fees | ✔️ | Can be set for each product separately |
| Switching between subscriptions | ✔️ | No way to switch between different subscriptions |
| Subscription management from a user account | ✔️ / ❌ | Users can only cancel their current subscription + suspend it and reactivate |
| Multiple Subscriptions / Mixed cart | ❌ | Possible to purchase multiple quantities, but not a few subscriptions and other products together |
| Customer Emails | ✔️ / ❌ | Not for all use cases, but enough for most common cases; there is a notification about the next renewal though |
| One time purchase | ❌ | No way to set one-time purchases for subscription products |
| Discounts and Coupons | ✔️ / ❌ | Coupons for Initial fees and recurring total, no specific discounts for such products |
| Subscription for Bundled Products | ❌ | Subscription plans can be created only for simple and variable subscription products |
| Synchronized renewals & Prorating payments | ❌ | No chance to sync renewals to a particular date, but there is an option to prorate payments in case of early cancel |
| Customization level | ❌ | Very basic plugin for specific cases, not the greatest in terms of customizations and adjustments for devs |
| Money back | 30 days | Refund reasons are not so clear, and the refund policy feels tricky |
SUMO Subscriptions
Website: Sumo Subscriptions, Documentation, Price: $49.00/year ($65.50 with extended support to 1 year)
SUMO Subscriptions is a powerful subscription plugin that allows you to create and manage recurring payments for simple subscriptions. It also comes with a wide variety of features, so it’s flexible enough to be used by a lot of different businesses. SUMO Subscriptions is a great choice if you host your site on WordPress, and if you want to get started quickly with a subscription model for your site. SUMO Subscriptions is currently used by over 3000 people across the internet, so it’s a tried and trusted resource you can use to tap into the subscription economy with ease. The developers have also made their own SUMO universe, where you can find solutions for variety of other non-subscription related cases. Unfortunately SUMO Subscriptions doesn’t have a wide a range of customization options, but if you are okay with the default options they have to offer – it’s great deal for reasonable price.
| Features | SUMO Subscriptions | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Simple + Variable products | ✔️ | Simple, variable, and grouped product subscriptions |
| Free Trials & Sign-Up Fees | ✔️ | Free trial and paid trial supported |
| Switching between subscriptions | ❌ | Only switching between identical variations (with the same period, length, and cost) |
| Subscription management from user account | ✔️ | Users can do a lot from the account, even change the quantity of products subscribed to |
| Multiple Subscriptions / Mixed cart | ✔️ / ❌ | Possible to purchase multiple subscriptions in one cart, but not the different types of products |
| Customer Emails | ✔️ / ❌ | Not for all use cases, but enough for most common cases; there is a notification about the next renewal though |
| One time purchase | ❌ | No way to set one-time purchases for subscription products |
| Discounts and Coupons | ❌ / ✔️ | Sign Up Fee Coupon and Recurring Fee Coupon types f |
| Subscription for Bundled Products | ❌ | No bundle products support; however you can set a subscription for grouped product type |
| Synchronized renewals & Prorating payments | ✔️ | Prorate amount can be charged for a synchronized Subscription |
| Customization level | ❌ | The most basic plugin from the list, hard to customize if you need more than there already is |
| Money back | ??? | You can ask developers directly, if not – raise a dispute and have Envato investigate the matter. Refunds are not guaranteed |
Conclusion
The subscription economy is expected to grow even more in the coming years. Subscriptions have now become a staple feature of many blogs and eCommerce sites, and the plugins listed above can help you offer recurring payments to your customers. Whether you want to sell digital goods or access to exclusive content, there’s a subscription plugin for you.
Now you can compare features Subscription plugins have to offer, their ecosystems, and what current customers say about them and decide which one is right for your business. Those solutions will fit well no matter what you are looking for – a great level of customizations, simple setup, UI\UX preferences, or out-of-the-box readiness.
1 Comment
whoiscall · October 1, 2023 at 5:25 am
Thanks for the article!