Top 5 Subscriptions Apps on Shopify in 2023

Want to start your own subscription service on Shopify? Wondering which subscription app on Shopify is the best in 2023? If you’re considering adding a subscription service to your Shopify store or website and launching a subscription ecommerce venture, this guide is for you. We'll introduce subscription services on Shopify, discuss the advantages of subscriptions, and list the top 5 subscription apps to use on Shopify in 2023.

In 2022, the global subscription ecommerce market was valued at 96.61 billion USD and is expected to grow to 2419.69 billion USD by 2028, indicating the significant potential of subscription-based ecommerce in 2023 and beyond.

Whether you’re selling coffee beans, socks, or skincare products online, running a subscription service on Shopify is one of the best possible ways to turn one-time shoppers into repeat loyal customers on your Shopify website.

So, what are subscription e-commerce businesses on Shopify?

In short, subscription online stores or websites give customers a simple, personalized, and convenient option to buy the products or services they require and receive them on a regular, recurring basis. As a result, one-time customers become recurring clients on your website.

Subscriptions are a business strategy that first began with magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Today, e-commerce businesses on Shopify and all other platforms have caught on, recognizing the value and convenience of a recurring service across many industries, including food and beverage, clothing, cosmetics, digital services, and more.

There’s a reason why e-commerce subscription services are so popular on Shopify, and it comes down to how the subscription model provides benefits for both Shopify merchants and website visitors and customers.

Subscription membership to products and services is proven to increase revenue and positively impact online businesses. While customers get to enjoy a service that provides recurring access to exclusive content and goods that adds value and convenience to their lives.

Shopify merchants who provide subscription services to their customers will have considerable long-term benefits as the subscription commerce industry expands.

Some of the benefits of running a subscription-based Shopify online store or business include: 

• Recurring revenue
• Increased customer lifetime value and loyalty
• Improved cash flow
• Competitive advantage

Shopify subscription apps can be installed on almost any Shopify theme, some apps offer automatic installation while other might require some tech support. Subscription apps can also be installed on all Shopify plans without any limitations.

Now here are our Top 5 Choices For Subscription Apps on Shopify in 2023:

Top 5 Shopify Subscriptions Apps in 2023

1. Appstle Subscriptions App

Shopify rating: 4.9 stars (2034 reviews) – The most-rated subscription app on Shopify as of May 2023.

Appstle Subscriptions is a top Shopify subscription app in 2023 that allows merchants to offer subscription-based products to their customers. Appstle is one of the best subscription apps on Shopify and comes with a wealth of features at a relatively affordable cost to merchants

With this subscription app on Shopify, you’ll be able to provide customers with great subscription plans using the Shopify checkout process, where users can select how long they wish to subscribe and at what interval they would like to receive your products or services.

Appstle’s subscriptions app also enables unlimited and personalized emails to keep shoppers up-to-date with their subscription packages, invoice details, etc. The subscription Shopify app’s emails are also a smart way for merchants to engage with the shoppers to promote new products and upsell their subscriptions. The subscription Shopify app provides merchants with plenty of insight into performance with its intuitive and detailed performance tracker. You’ll also be able to easily create your subscription services plan through the admin panel or the product page.

Shopify Subscriptions Apps - Appstle app includes the following features:

• Sell regular and prepaid subscriptions. Enjoy Features like free trials, build a box, and more
• Offer tiered discounts, custom shipping, and gifts, and create customer loyalty features
• A feature-rich customer portal with one-click login
• Drive conversion with 'Appstle Menu’, an experience-focused menu template
• Maximize ROI with features like upsells, bundling, bulk automation, retention tools, and more

How much does Appstle subscriptions app cost on Shopify?

• Free plan: Free forever until your store reaches $500/month in subscription revenue. 0% transaction fees.
• Starter: $10/month or $96/year and save 20%
• Business: $30/month or $288/year and save 20%
• Business Premium: $100/month or $960/year and save 20%

Ecommerce Insight – Karim Abbas

“One of the best advantages of using Appstle subscriptions app on Shopify is that they have 0% transaction fees and offer a Free plan at first, giving merchants the flexibility to test things out. They are also well trusted for their hands-on 24x7x365 support”

2. Recharge Subscription App 

Shopify rating: 4.6 stars (1378 reviews)

Recharge Subscription App is another Shopify app that prides itself on its ability to help brands maximize the value of their shoppers. This top Shopify subscription app is made to improve retention and offers flexible subscriptions to build brand loyalty. You’ll also be able to launch a subscription in 15 minutes, or less upon downloading the app.

As soon as you install the Recharge subscription app, you’ll be able to create subscriptions and customize them to match your brand. You’ll also be able to allow customers to manage their subscription orders quickly and easily. With the Recharge subscription app, customers can combine one-time products and subscription products within one cart, maximizing your earnings.

Shopify Subscriptions Apps - Recharge subscription app features include:

• Customer Portal - Customize the interface of the store's customer portal.
• RechargeSMS - Allow customers to manage their subscriptions via SMS.
• Robust and Flexible API - Fully customize your subscription experience.
• Build a box - Leverage Recharge Bundles for cross-sells and upsells.
• Unified Checkout - Single checkout process no matter the contents of the cart.

How much does Recharge subscription app cost on Shopify?

• Standard: 99/month with 1.25% + 19¢ per transaction.
• Pro plan: $499/month with 1% + 19¢ per transaction

3. Seal Subscriptions ℠ & Loyalty App

Shopify rating: 4.9 stars (716 reviews)

Increase your revenue with the Seal Subscriptions app on Shopify. This top subscription app boasts an incredible amount of features and ease of use, and a great support team behind the subscription app to help you in any situation.

To get started, you must install the subscription app and create your first subscription rule to start generating recurring revenue.

With the Seal Subscriptions app, you will have full control over your subscribers, your product and service subscriptions, you will be able to implement discounts, mitigate churn rate, and so much more.

Shopify Subscriptions Apps - Seal Subscription app features include:

• Sell classic & prepaid subscriptions, with discounts, free trial & more
• Offer tiered discounts, custom shipping, gifts, & more with loyalty features
• Your customers can easily access subscriptions with magic links
• Get insight into your business with great statistics, a payment calendar, and more
• Use the white-label branding with custom email domains! 

How much does Seal Subscription app cost on Shopify?

• Free plan: Free for life, 0% transaction fees, limited to up to 150 subscriptions.
• SuperSale: $4.95/month or $41.58/year and save 30% with 0% transaction fee, limited to up to 750 subscriptions.
• Rising: $7.95/month or $66.78/year and save 30% with a 0% transaction fee, limited to up to 1500 subscriptions.
• Star Legend: $20/month or $168/year and save 30% with a 0% transaction fee, limited to up to 15,000 subscriptions

4. Ongoing Subscriptions App

Shopify rating: 5.0 stars (123 reviews)

Shopify retailers who want to boost sales and retain customers may want to consider using the Ongoing Subscription app. With this subscription app, merchants can provide their online customers with the opportunity to "subscribe and save”, an option that will automatically charge them on a recurring basis for your products and services. 

Another highlight of the subscription app is its Build-a-Box feature, a feature of the subscription app that enables users to subscribe to multiple products simultaneously, raising the average order value of your shop. Additionally, the Ongoing subscription app provides sales incentives including product bundling, minimum order requirements, and frequency-based discounts. Who doesn’t love a discount?

Shopify Subscriptions Apps - Ongoing Subscription app features include:

• Easily create a subscription product in minutes with discount incentives
• Build a Box lets customers mix & match products with a bundle & save upsell
• Automatic recurring billing which charges the customer regularly
• Automatically schedules subscription orders which pop up in your Shopify orders
• Failed payment recapture, including a suite of automatic emails for billing

How much does Ongoing Subscription app cost?

• Starter plan: Free to install, with a 3% transaction fee and unlimited subscriptions.
• Pro: $99/month, with a 2% transaction fee, and unlimited subscriptions.
• Enterprise: $299/month 1% transaction fee, and unlimited subscriptions.

5. Native Subscriptions App

Shopify rating: 4.6 stars (90 reviews)

The Native Subscriptions app on Shopify is clever and dependable, a great solution that will help you generate the subscriptions and recurring customers that you’re looking for. Shopify merchants who are trying to grow their sales and keep customers use this subscription app for its ease of use and great functionality.

It has everything you need, and you can even use this subscription app to add a special widget with weekly, monthly, and yearly subscription options next to your "Add to Cart" button. Customers can also easily and without any hassles, choose to create, skip, pause, or cancel their subscriptions at any time. This makes it a great service for your customers who can easily subscribe and unsubscribe whenever they wish.

The software makes it simple for you to manage your subscription orders by seamlessly integrating with your shopping cart, checkout process, and order management system. 

Shopify Subscriptions Apps - Native Subscription app features include:

• Create subscriptions and recurring billing easily to increase total revenue.
• User-friendly for both merchants and customers to manage the subscriptions.
• Allows you to set fixed or percentage discounts on subscription products.
• Create daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly frequency for subscription products.
• Analytics that shows you updates of active paused, & canceled subscriptions.

How much does Native Subscription app cost on Shopify?

• Standard: Free to install, with a 1% transaction fee on subscription orders with all features and unlimited orders. Maximum charge of $49 per month for unlimited orders/products
• PRO plan: $25/month or $250/year and save 17% with 0% transaction fees with all features for unlimited orders/products

Shopify & Subscriptions Apps

One of the top ecommerce platforms of 2023, Shopify is a powerful and easy-to-use ecommerce solution that allows businesses of all sizes to build and manage their ecommerce businesses. With its range of robust features and tools, Shopify has empowered its merchants by providing them with the best tools and resources they need to succeed in the ever-evolving world of ecommerce and multi-channel commerce.

Some of the standout features of  Shopify include its ease of use, sophistication, and adaptability that meets the needs of online merchants from across the globe—and this includes enabling businesses to run subscription services.

With the steep rise of subscription-based online stores in recent years and well into 2023, Shopify has become the clear go-to and top choice for promoting and managing subscription-based products and services.

With the help of Shopify’s arsenal of subscription-based features and its third-party Shopify subscription apps, all manner of online businesses can run and customize their subscription offerings.

Some examples of Shopify-run subscription-based businesses that have made it big on the platform include: Deathwish Coffee Company, Huel, Wild Deodorant, and Foot Cardigan.

FAQ: Shopify Subscriptions Apps:

1. How to select the best Shopify subscription app for my online store?

Selecting the best Shopify subscription app for your online business can depend on several factors. The top 5 mentioned above are some of the best and safest choices. To select the right one, you must consider the following:

• Features: look up the subscription app features and see if the app has what you want and need.
• Reviews: View the app's star rating and read other merchant reviews to see what positive or negative experiences users have had while using the subscription app.
• Pricing: consider your budget and find a subscription app to suit it. There are free and paid subscription apps for you to use.
• Customer support: Select a subscription app that has reliable customer support to help you through any issues while using the app.

 
2. Why do you need Shopify Subscription apps?

Shopify subscription apps are a must for those who wish to offer customers a recurring service of product delivery. Use subscription apps if you wish to:

• Create a source of recurring revenue with subscription services
• Improve customer retention with a recurring service
• Create upselling and cross-selling opportunities
• Stay ahead of ecommerce trends and competitors

3. When and how to install a Shopify Subscription app?

First, do your research on the app you wish to install. Once you have decided on the app, download the subscription app of choice from the Shopify App Store. Click on the Add App button that you’ll find at the top of the page and then configure it to work with your store. You’ll then be able to create the subscription services you wish to offer customers.

4. How much does a Shopify subscription app cost per month?

The cost of a Shopify subscription app can vary, some are entirely free, while the most expensive service we mention in this article comes from Recharge at $499/month. Remember to consider your budget and the functions you need.

5. What are the payment methods that support Shopify subscription apps?

There are a variety of payment methods that Shopify and its subscription apps support, including all the major payment methods, including, but not limited to:

• Shopify Payments
• Third-Party Payment Gateways ( with Stripe, PayPal, etc.)

Have a question in mind about Shopify and the best options for your subscription service? Reach out to us for expert advice on Shopify and Shopify Plus.

Conclusion:

To conclude the article, subscription-based e-commerce is an exciting industry that is growing quickly, and Shopify provides merchants with the right tools to flourish with a variety of Shopify subscription apps you can choose from, based on your needs and budget.

Offering subscription-based goods and services is a wise business move that can benefit both retailers and customers in the long run. It keeps you ahead of the curve and offers your customers value and convenience. Businesses of all sizes with all budgets can efficiently manage and modify their subscription offers with the aid of Shopify's sophisticated features and third-party subscription apps.

Consider using one of the top 5 subscription apps mentioned in this post if you want to launch a Shopify subscription-based business and turn one-time customers into lifelong shoppers that will help you grow your business in 2023 and the coming years!

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Ecommerce Pro is a top-rated Shopify Plus Expert Agency, based in Toronto, Canada. We specialize in all things Shopify, from new website launches to redesign, working closely with your goals. Want to start a subscription-based online business or add subscription features to your online store? Simply contact us today and we’ll discuss your expectations and objectives.

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