Subscriptions, whether simple or variable, are a recurring product that you can offer to your customers. You can offer products such as course, services, or even SaaS (software as a service) products.

A simple subscription let’s you offer recurring payment plans for a single subscription option, charging your customers at fixed times (e.g., monthly) without variations in pricing or features. This is ideal for straightforward subscription-based products or services with a consistent cost and billing cycle.

A variable subscription product let’s you create subscription-based products with multiple variations, allowing different pricing, billing periods, and features for each option. This is useful for offering tiered subscription plans, customizable service levels, or product variations with their own recurring payment structures.

This article will cover the specifics for subscriptions. All of the aspects for listing subscriptions are the same for listing simple and variable products and you can find the details in their respective help documents.

Select the type of listing

From your Seller Dashboard, go to Products > Add new product > Product Type. In this case, choose “Simple Subscription” or “Variable Subscription”. You can also select “Downloadable” and “Virtual” product options here.

Note: You can learn about other types of listings here.

Set up a simple subscription

A “Simple Subscription” lets you offer a single subscription plan with a set price and billing schedule.

1. Go to the product edit screen.
2. From the Product Type dropdown, select Simple Subscription.
3. Enter your Price.
4. Choose a Billing Period by selecting a frequency: every, every 2nd, every 3rd, etc. and time period: day, week, month, or year (e.g., “2nd week” for bi‑weekly or “every 3rd month” for quarterly billing).
5. Set the expiration date under Subscription Expire After by choosing an expiration time frame between 1 and 24 months, or select Do not stop until cancelled to have it auto‑renew indefinitely.
6. (Optional) Add a one-time Sign‑Up Fee to charge during the initial checkout—for example, a $70/month plan with a $100 sign‑up fee results in a $170 upfront payment.
7. (Optional) Configure a Free Trial period before billing begins (e.g., a 1‑month free trial added to a 6‑month subscription for a total of 7 months).
8. Click Save Product to publish your “Simple Subscription”.

Set up a variable subscription

If you’d like to offer different subscription options under one product, a “Variable Subscription” is the way to go.

1. Go to the product edit screen.
2. From the Product Type dropdown, select Variable Subscription.
3. Scroll down to the Attributes section, then click Add Attribute.
4. Enter an Attribute Name (e.g., “Location” or “Plan Type”).
5. In the Value(s) field, list each option separated by a pipe (Option A | Option B | Option C).
6. Check Used for variations, then click Save Attribute.
7. The Variations section will appear.
8. Click Add variation, or use the bulk‑create dropdown to generate all combinations.
9. For each variation, expand its panel and configure:
   • Sign‑Up Fee (one‑time charge)
   • Free Trial (length of trial period)
   • Subscription Price
   • Billing Period
   • Subscription Expire After
10. Once all variations are configured, click Save Variations.
11. Hit Save Product on the main product to publish your changes.
12. Preview or visit the product page to confirm that each subscription option displays correctly.

Managing a buyer’s subscriptions

To keep track of which subscriptions your customers have signed up for, navigate to the User Subscriptions section in your Seller Dashboard. This area provides an overview of all active subscriptions and makes it easy to manage customer access.

Creating subscription coupons

You can also create coupons to offer discounts on the first payment of your subscription products. Go to the Coupons section in your Seller Dashboard. When you set up a coupon, it will reduce both the sign-up fee and the recurring amount, but only for the initial payment. For instance, if your subscription costs $25 per month with a $50 sign-up fee (totaling $75 upfront), applying a $10 coupon will lower the initial payment to $65. If you want the discount to only apply for a set number of payments, select the “Recurring Product Discount” option, choose “Recurring Product % Discount” as the discount type, and enter the number of payments in the “Active for x Payments” field. Once that limit is reached, the coupon will automatically drop off.