Subscriptions allow you to offer customers recurring purchases for eligible products. You can enable Subscribe for everyday products or create Subscription Boxes that bill and ship on a recurring schedule.
Customers can purchase subscriptions directly from the product page, manage their subscriptions from their account, and receive automated subscription emails throughout the subscription lifecycle. As a shop, you can configure subscription settings for each product, manage customer subscriptions, and monitor recurring revenue using the Subscriptions report.
Before You Start
Before using Subscriptions, ensure that:
- You use Stripe or CommentSold Payments as its payment processor.
- The products you want to sell as subscriptions are not Shopify-synced or Square-synced products.
- You understand that coupons and gift cards do not currently apply to subscription purchases.
Subscription Types
CommentSold supports two subscription experiences.
Subscribe
Offer recurring deliveries for standard products, such as:
- Beauty products
- Supplements
- Coffee
- Consumables
Customers can choose to purchase these products as either a one-time purchase or a recurring subscription. Subscribers automatically receive future deliveries based on the billing schedule you configure and can receive a shop-defined discount.
Subscription Box
Sell a standalone recurring subscription product, such as:
- Monthly subscription boxes
- Seasonal subscription clubs
- Membership shipments
Subscription Boxes are created as their own product type and cannot be purchased as a one-time purchase. Each subscription follows the billing and shipping cadence you configure, allowing customers to receive recurring shipments automatically.
What Both Subscription Types Include
Both subscription types provide the following features:
- Recurring billing on a configurable schedule
- Automated email notifications throughout the subscription lifecycle
- Customer self-service subscription management
- Pause, resume, and cancellation options
- Payment method updates
- Automatic recurring renewals
Subscription Statuses
| Status | Description |
| Active | Subscription is active and will renew automatically. |
| Payment Failed | The most recent renewal payment failed. |
| Paused | Customer has temporarily paused renewals. |
| Cancelled | Subscription has ended and will no longer renew. |
| Waitlist / Pre-Auth | Renewal could not be fulfilled because the item is out of stock. The payment has been pre-authorized and will complete after inventory becomes available. |
Out-of-Stock Renewals
When a Subscribe product is out of stock during renewal:
- The renewal is placed into a pre-authorized waitlist.
- The subscription is not immediately cancelled.
Subscription Box inventory is handled differently because each shipment cycle represents a unique product release.
Subscription Notifications
Customers automatically receive email notifications to keep them informed about their subscriptions.
These notifications include:
- Subscription Confirmation – Sent after a customer successfully subscribes.
- Subscription Renewal Reminder – Reminds customers before their next renewal.
- Subscription Failed Payment Notification – Sent if a renewal payment cannot be processed.
The Subscription Renewal Reminder is the only subscription email that can be customized. To edit this email, navigate to Setup > Templates > Email
| Note: The Subscription Confirmation and Failed Payment Notification emails are system-generated and cannot be customized. |
Limitations
The current release includes the following limitations:
- Stripe or CommentSold Payments is required.
- Square payment processing is not supported.
- Coupons cannot be applied to subscription purchases.
- Buy Now is not currently supported for subscriptions.
- Shopify synced, Square synced, dropship, gift card, and mystery item products are not eligible for Subscribe.
- Subscription purchases do not earn loyalty rewards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Subscriptions with Square?
No. Subscriptions currently require Stripe or CSPay.
Can customers pause their subscription?
Yes. Customers can pause, resume, or cancel subscriptions from Account → Subscriptions.
Can customers update their payment method?
Yes. Customers can update the payment method used for future renewals.
Why can't I disable subscriptions for a product?
Once a product has active subscribers, the subscription setting is locked to prevent interrupting existing subscriptions. You must cancel all active subscriptions before disabling the feature.
Where can I monitor subscription performance?
Navigate to Reports → Subscriptions to view recurring revenue, subscriber activity, payment failures, and customer subscription details.