A subscription ecommerce platform with billing built in
Swell is a subscription ecommerce platform with recurring billing built into the core. Subscription and one-time products share one catalog, cart, checkout and customer record on every plan, so you don’t need a separate subscription app.
Updated November 2026
- What a subscription ecommerce platform does
- Built-in vs. app-based subscriptions
- What Swell subscriptions include
- Subscription models you can run
- How to choose a subscription ecommerce platform
- When Swell isn’t the right fit
- What subscriptions cost on Swell
- How to launch subscriptions on Swell
- Customer stories
- Frequently asked questions
What a subscription ecommerce platform does
A subscription ecommerce platform sells products on a recurring schedule. It stores the customer’s payment method, charges it on each billing date, creates the order to fulfill, retries failed payments, and lets customers pause or cancel their plan.
- A customer chooses a subscription plan on the product page and checks out. The platform saves the payment method.
- The platform charges that payment method on each billing date and creates an order for any physical items.
- If a charge fails, the platform retries it and can email the customer.
- The customer skips, pauses or cancels the subscription from their account.
Built-in vs. app-based subscriptions
Shopify and Swell can both sell subscriptions. On Shopify they run through an app. On Swell they run in the core platform.
- Where subscriptions live
- Swell: In the core platform, on every plan
- Shopify: In an app from the Shopify App Store, including Shopify’s free Shopify Subscriptions app
- Payment gateways
- Swell: Gateways that support Swell’s card vault, including Stripe, Authorize.Net and Braintree
- Shopify: Shopify Payments, PayPal Express, Authorize.net, Adyen or Stripe
- Subscription bundles
- Swell: Fixed product bundles on a subscription plan
- Shopify: Not compatible with the free Shopify Subscriptions app, so these need a third-party subscription app
- Subscription software cost
- Swell: Included in your plan
- Shopify: Free with Shopify Subscriptions. Recharge starts at $149 a month plus 1.5% + 20¢ per transaction
Shopify’s free app is a reasonable choice for a simple subscribe-and-save offer. Built-in subscriptions matter more when recurring revenue is central to the business, when billing and shipping run on different schedules, or when you want one system for subscriptions, one-time orders and customer data.
See the full comparison in Swell vs Shopify, or read why brands look for a Shopify alternative.
What Swell subscriptions include
- Flexible plans
- Bill daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, with intervals such as every two weeks.
- Trials and fixed terms
- Add free trial days, or end a plan after a set number of billing cycles.
- Separate billing and shipping
- Bill on one schedule and ship on another.
- Mixed carts
- Sell subscription and one-time items in one cart and one checkout.
- Bundles
- Sell fixed product bundles on a subscription plan.
- Failed payment recovery
- Retry failed card payments automatically.
- Pause, skip and cancel
- Customers can cancel, and you can turn on settings that let them pause or skip the next billing cycle. Swell’s Sunrise theme includes account pages for subscriptions, and custom storefronts use the Frontend API.
- Plan changes
- Move subscribers between plans from the dashboard. The price difference is prorated on the next invoice.
- Discounts
- Match or discount the one-time price, and apply coupons to subscriptions.
- Customer groups
- Through the API, limit a product’s subscription option to specific customer groups, such as wholesale accounts or members.
- One dashboard
- Manage subscription plans, invoices and payments alongside orders and customers.
Subscription models you can run
Replenishment
Deliver coffee, supplements or other consumables on a schedule, with a subscribe-and-save price.
Boxes and bundles
Sell curated boxes on a recurring schedule. Customer-built boxes need a custom storefront.
Memberships
Charge a recurring membership fee. Applying perks such as free shipping or member pricing takes a custom flow or an app.
Digital products
Sell recurring access to digital products. Subscriptions with only virtual products bill through invoices and create no orders to fulfill.
B2B reorders
Offer recurring orders to wholesale customers.
Made to order
Charge customers before you buy ingredients or materials, then fulfill on a separate schedule.
How to choose a subscription ecommerce platform
Compare platforms on how they handle renewals and failures, not only on the first order.
- Billing flexibility
- Can it bill and ship on different schedules, and handle trials and fixed terms?
- Payment gateways
- Does it work with your gateway, and can saved cards move with you if you switch?
- Failed payments
- Does it retry failed charges and warn customers about expiring cards?
- Customer self-service
- Can customers change, pause, skip or cancel without contacting support?
- Connected data
- Do subscriptions, orders and customers live in one system, or do you sync them between tools?
- Total cost
- Add plan fees, app fees and per-transaction charges at your expected volume.
When Swell isn’t the right fit
Another option may fit better when:
- You run a simple subscribe-and-save on Shopify
- Shopify’s free app covers that case.
- You sell in person
- Shopify POS supports subscriptions, and Swell doesn’t offer a first-party POS.
- You rely on a large app ecosystem
- Shopify’s app store is much larger than Swell’s.
- You want packaged retention tools
- Specialist apps such as Recharge sell dedicated retention and payment recovery features.
- You need net terms
- Swell doesn’t include net terms. Orders paid on account take a manual or app-based flow.
- You need a custom flow without a developer
- Subscription plans work on the Sunrise theme, and custom flows need development.
What subscriptions cost on Swell
Subscriptions are included on every Swell plan. Each plan covers sales up to a yearly ceiling, with a percentage fee on sales above it. Prices are billed yearly, and payment gateway fees are separate.
- Starter
- $29 a month, up to $50K in sales, then 2%
- Basic
- $79 a month, up to $250K in sales, then 1.5%
- Standard
- $299 a month, up to $1M in sales, then 1%
- Unlimited
- $2,250 a month, up to $5M in sales, then 0.4%
- Custom
- Negotiated pricing for merchants above $10M in annual sales
A 14-day free trial is available with no credit card required. See Swell pricing for what each plan includes.
How to launch subscriptions on Swell
- Add a subscription plan to a product in the dashboard, with a billing schedule and a price.
- Connect a payment gateway that supports vaulted cards.
- Choose Swell’s Sunrise theme, or build your own storefront on the Frontend API.
- Place a test subscription order on your gateway, including a failed renewal.
- Open the store to customers and watch the first renewals.
Customer stories
Frequently asked questions
What is a subscription ecommerce platform?
A subscription ecommerce platform sells products on a recurring schedule. It charges customers automatically, creates orders to fulfill, and handles failed payments, plan changes and cancellations.
What is the best ecommerce platform for subscriptions?
It depends on how central subscriptions are to the business. Shopify with its free Shopify Subscriptions app suits a simple subscribe-and-save offer. Swell suits brands that want subscriptions in the core platform, with separate billing and shipping schedules, and one system for subscriptions, one-time orders and customer data. Compare Swell and Shopify.
Can you sell subscriptions on Shopify without an app?
No. To manage subscriptions in the Shopify admin, you need a subscription app. Shopify’s own Shopify Subscriptions app is free.
Does Swell charge extra for subscriptions?
Subscriptions are included on every plan. Your plan’s sales ceiling and overage still apply, and your payment gateway charges its own fees.
Can one order include subscription and one-time products?
Yes. One-time and subscription items can share a cart and go through checkout together.
Can customers pause or skip a subscription?
Yes, if you turn it on. Customers can cancel by default, and settings let them pause or skip the next billing cycle. Custom storefronts can offer the same actions through the Frontend API.
Which payment gateways work with Swell subscriptions?
Swell’s card vault enables recurring billing with payment gateways that support vaulted cards. Swell’s built-in card gateways are Stripe, Authorize.Net, Braintree, Saferpay and QuickPay.
Do I need a developer to sell subscriptions on Swell?
Not on Swell’s Sunrise theme. You can add subscription plans to products in the dashboard and sell through Sunrise. Other themes need subscription templates, and custom flows and custom storefronts need development.
Can I move subscribers from Shopify to Swell?
Yes, with a developer. Subscribers move by script through the API. Saved cards move only if your payment gateway can transfer them, and otherwise customers re-enter them. Read the migration guide.
Start selling subscriptions on Swell
