Systems Stack
Subscriptions: native, ReCharge, or Bold.
Native Shopify Subscriptions, ReCharge, or Bold. When free native covers the job, when you need an app for skip/swap/build-a-box, and when to migrate off one.
Last updated: September 10, 2026
| Band | Install / use | Skip | Replace with |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50K/year | Native Subscriptions (free) | ReCharge, Bold | Nothing yet, stay native |
| $250K/year | Native, or ReCharge if complex | Bold unless already on it | Native if simple subscribe-and-save |
| $1M/year | ReCharge or Bold, by fee structure | Paying an app for basics native does free | Migrate to native if requirements simplified |
Subscriptions stack at $50K/year
Install: Shopify's native Subscriptions app (free, native). No monthly fee, no transaction cut beyond normal payment processing. It covers subscribe-and-save at a fixed cadence, and now ships with a customer portal so subscribers can skip, swap, pause, or cancel without emailing you. That used to be the argument for paying for an app. It isn't anymore.
Skip: ReCharge, Bold. Both start around $25–$99/month before you add transaction fees. At $50K/year you don't have the subscriber volume to justify a monthly platform fee for features you're not using yet, build-a-box, gift subscriptions, prepaid terms.
Kill signal: You installed ReCharge for basic subscribe-and-save and never touched the advanced features. If skip, swap, and pause are all you use, native Subscriptions does the same job for free. Cancel the app.
Subscriptions stack at $250K/year
Install: Stay native if it's still simple subscribe-and-save. Native's customer portal covers most of what a subscription brand actually needs at this band. Don't install an app because a competitor has one.
Or install: ReCharge Standard (around $99/month plus roughly 1.49% and $0.19 per transaction). Worth it once you need build-a-box, multiple prepaid terms, bundled subscriptions, or a loyalty integration native doesn't support. Read the fee structure carefully, the percentage cut compounds with volume in a way the flat monthly number doesn't show you.
Skip: Bold, unless you're already on it. Bold's flat-tier pricing can beat ReCharge's transaction fee at higher volume, but at $250K/year you likely haven't crossed that line yet. Don't switch platforms to save a fee you're not paying much of.
Kill signal: You're paying ReCharge's transaction fee and only using basic skip/swap/pause. Run the math on what that percentage actually costs per year. If it's more than a flat-fee alternative, or more than the app is worth for features you're not using, that's the leak.
Subscriptions stack at $1M/year
Install: ReCharge or Bold, chosen by fee structure, not brand recognition. At this volume, ReCharge's percentage-plus-per-transaction fee and Bold's flat tiered pricing can land very differently depending on your order count and average order value. Model both against your real numbers before renewing either one.
Watch for: requirements that quietly simplified. A lot of $1M-band stores keep paying for build-a-box or gift-subscription features they added two years ago and stopped using. If your actual subscription logic is back down to skip/swap/pause, native Subscriptions now covers that for free, and migrating off the app is worth the project cost.
Kill signal: The app's percentage fee outgrew the features you use. A flat-fee migration project (moving active contracts, payment methods, and billing schedules) costs real dev time, but a transaction fee that compounds forever eventually costs more. Do the comparison with real numbers, not a gut feeling.
Native narrowed the gap
Install/skip: Shopify's native Subscriptions app now covers the job most stores actually need: fixed-cadence subscribe-and-save with self-service skip, swap, pause, and cancel. Apps earn their fee on build-a-box, multi-tier prepaid, gift subscriptions, and loyalty integration, not on basics native already does free.
Kill signal: You're paying a transaction fee for a feature set native now matches. Check what you actually use against what native supports before renewing.
When to call us
We audit the subscriptions stack, migrate active contracts on or off an app when the math supports it, and build the storefront components (subscribe-and-save widgets, portal links, upsells) either way. Storefront, business automations, and email. A project or a retainer.
Straight answers.
Yes. No monthly fee, no transaction fee beyond your normal Shopify payment processing. It now includes a customer portal with skip, swap, pause, and cancel.