Subi vs Recharge
Both run subscriptions on Shopify. The difference that matters is what you pay as you grow, and whether you are tied in. Here is the arithmetic, with the dates the numbers were checked.
The short version
Recharge's Plus plan is sold on 12-month terms. Subi has no contract, you can leave any month.
Recharge gives Starter-plan customers 60 days free; their Plus and Custom plans get none. Subi gives 7 days plus a 3-month money-back guarantee. If a long free runway matters most to you, Recharge wins that one outright.
On the plan that actually fits your volume, Subi came out cheaper at every order volume we checked below.
What you would actually pay
Monthly cost at different volumes of subscription revenue processed. Subi figures from our own billing configuration; Recharge figures from their public pricing page, both checked 12 August 2026. Recharge's 19c per-transaction fee is not included below because it depends on your order count, so their real figure is a little higher than shown.
| Monthly subscription revenue | Subi (best-fit plan) | Recharge (best-fit plan) |
|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $109 on Starter | $174 on Starter |
| $20,000 | $279 on Subi | $397 on Starter |
| $50,000 | $519 on Subi | $844 on Starter |
| $100,000 | $879 on Subi Plus | $1,589 on Starter |
Where Recharge is the better choice
We would rather you pick correctly than pick us.
- →You want a long free evaluation. 60 days on their Starter plan is a lot more room than our 7-day trial, even with our 3-month money-back guarantee.
- →You are already deep in Recharge with heavy custom API work. Migration is real work, and if what you have is stable and paid for, inertia is a legitimate answer.
- →You need something we do not do yet. Ask us before you switch, and we will tell you straight, a merchant who moves and then finds a gap is worse for us than one who stayed.
Where Subi is the better choice
- ✓You do not want a 12-month commitment to find out whether a subscription app suits your store.
- ✓Your subscription revenue is growing, and a percentage rate roughly half the size compounds into real money as it does.
- ✓You are starting out and $99/mo before you have made a single recurring sale is not where you want your budget going.
If you do decide to move
Subscription migration is not a CSV import. Existing contracts have to keep billing on their own schedules, with their own discounts, without asking your customers to re-enter anything.
Talk to us first with your numbers. We will tell you which plan actually fits and what it will cost.
We map your existing plans, discounts and billing dates before anything moves.
Contracts transfer with their schedules intact, your subscribers do not re-subscribe and do not re-enter payment details.
We stay on it through the first billing cycle, which is the one where problems actually surface.
Questions merchants ask
Will my subscribers have to sign up again?
No. Contracts move with their existing billing dates and discounts. Asking subscribers to re-enter payment details is how a migration loses customers, so the whole process is built to avoid it.
Is Subi cheaper than Recharge?
On the plan that fits your volume, at every volume we compared above, yes. The one exception worth naming: our entry plan's rate (1.60%) is slightly higher than Recharge's entry rate (1.49%), so if you stayed on our $29 plan past roughly $63,600/mo of subscription revenue you would pay more than on their $99 plan, but by then our $119 plan is cheaper than both.
Am I locked into a contract?
No. Subi is month to month and you can leave whenever you like. Recharge's Plus plan is sold on 12-month terms according to their pricing page.
How long does switching take?
It depends on how many active contracts you have and how customised your current setup is. That is exactly what the first conversation is for, we would rather give you a real answer than a marketing one.
Still weighing it up?
Bring us your numbers and we will tell you which plan fits, honestly — 4.9 stars from over 890 reviews on the Shopify App Store.
›Talk to us about switching