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The best Shopify subscription apps in 2026: six apps, two fee models

Shopify Subscriptions, Recharge, Skio, Loop, Seal and Appstle. Free plans, transaction fees, limits and a worked cost table at one volume.

Rohin AggarwalRohin AggarwalCo-founder & CTO · Idukki.io · October 12, 2026 · 9 min readLast updated
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Subscription apps split into two camps. Some take a percentage of every order. Others charge a flat fee and take nothing. At $20,000 a month, that gap is several hundred dollars. Here are six apps, what each one charges, and a worked cost table.

In this article

Which products suit subscriptions

Subscriptions suit things people run out of. Coffee, vitamins, pet food, razors and skincare all fit. Make skipping and pausing easy. A shopper who can skip a month stays. One who has to email you to cancel does not come back.

AppPlan feeTransaction feeFree plan or trial
Shopify SubscriptionsFreeNone from the appFree
Appstle$10 to $100 by subscription revenueNoneFree up to $500 a month
SealFrom $5.95 a monthNoneFree, capped by subscriptions
Loop$99 or $399 a month1.0% or 0.75%Free up to 50 active subscriptions
Recharge$99 on Starter1.49% + 19¢60 days on Starter
Skio$599, or $499 yearly1% + 20¢None found
From each vendor's pricing page, help centre or Shopify listing, checked 12 October 2026.

Shopify Subscriptions: free and first-party

Shopify's own app is free. It handles renewals, skips, pauses and cancellations. Its limits are in the Help Center. Bundles do not work with it, and neither do draft orders. Gift cards and some discounts apply to the first payment only. Apple Pay is limited to Visa and Mastercard.

Appstle: flat plans, no transaction fee

Appstle takes no transaction fee on any plan. Plans step up by monthly subscription revenue. The listing shows free up to $500 a month. Then $10 a month covers up to $5,000, $30 covers $15,000 and $100 covers $100,000. Its blog shows different limits, so trust the listing.

Seal: low flat price

Seal takes no transaction fee on free or paid plans. Its listing shows paid plans from $5.95 a month. The free plan caps the number of subscriptions. Seal's listing and blog give different caps, so check before you launch.

Loop: lower percentage, no per-order fee

Loop's free plan covers up to 50 active subscriptions. Starter costs $99 a month plus 1.0% per transaction. Pro costs $399 a month plus 0.75%. Both paid plans have a 14-day trial. Loop charges no flat fee per order.

Recharge: the long-standing default

Recharge has a $25 plan with no fees for your first 50 subscribers. Starter costs $99 a month plus 1.49% and 19¢ per transaction. It has a 60-day trial. Recharge charges on gross processing, including shipping, taxes and refunded orders. Bundles need the Plus or Custom plan.

Skio: one plan, now owned by Recharge

Skio has one plan at $599 a month, or $499 billed yearly. It adds 1% and 20¢ per subscription order. Build-a-box bundles, cancel flows and SMS are on that plan. Recharge bought Skio on 30 April 2026. Both products still run.

A worked example at $20,000 a month

This table is plain arithmetic on the published rates. It assumes $50 orders, so 400 a month. It leaves out Shopify's own payment fees, which apply to every app. Recharge's fee base also includes tax and shipping, so its real figure runs higher.

App and planMonthly app cost
Shopify Subscriptions$0
Appstle, $100 plan$100
Loop Starter$299
Recharge Starter$473
Skio Scale, billed monthly$879
Illustrative app cost per month at $20,000 in subscription revenue, $50 orders. Payment processing not included.

Which one to try

Start here

What matters most?

  • Lowest cost, simple products

    Shopify Subscriptions

    Free, from Shopify.

    • Need bundles: Price Appstle or Seal
  • No percentage on revenue

    Appstle or Seal

    Flat plans only.

    • Over $100,000 a month: Ask Appstle for a quote
  • Advanced cancel flows at scale

    Recharge, Loop or Skio

    Percentage plus a plan fee.

    • Over $100,000 a month: Read Recharge vs Skio
A starting point from each vendor's published plans. Confirm on the live listing.

Where Idukki fits (ours)

We make Idukki. It runs no subscriptions. It shows customer photos and video on your store, tagged to the cart. For two of these head to head, read Recharge vs Skio.

Questions store owners ask

  • Does Shopify have a free subscription app?

    Yes. Shopify Subscriptions is free. It does not support bundles or draft orders.

  • Which subscription apps charge no transaction fee?

    Appstle and Seal charge a flat plan only, with no transaction fee.

  • Did Recharge buy Skio?

    Yes, on 30 April 2026. Both products still run.

  • What does Loop charge?

    Starter is $99 a month plus 1.0%. Pro is $399 plus 0.75%. A free plan covers 50 active subscriptions.

Sources

  1. 1Shopify Subscriptions on the Shopify App Store · Free.
  2. 2Shopify Help: Subscriptions considerations · Limits.
  3. 3Appstle on the Shopify App Store · Plans by revenue.
  4. 4Seal on the Shopify App Store · Plans and fees.
  5. 5Loop on the Shopify App Store · Plans and fees.
  6. 6Recharge pricing · Plans and fees.
  7. 7Skio pricing · Scale plan.
  8. 8Skio blog: Skio is now part of Recharge · Acquisition.
#subscriptions#best-of#shopify-apps#recharge#skio#retention

Continue reading

2 pieces in this cluster

These long-form pieces on the Idukki blog link back to this article, go deeper on the cluster.

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