Aisles / Subscriptions / Recharge
Recharge review and real cost
Subscription billing with a customer portal, cancel flows and failed payment recovery.
Recharge bought the rival subscription app Skio in April 2026, and both apps keep running on their own5.
Verdict
Install it if
- Stores that want two months free before paying
- Brands that need bundles, SMS and loyalty inside the subscription app (Plus)
- Merchants who need a SOC 2 Type II report from their vendor
Skip it if
- Stores with thin margins, since every plan takes a share of subscription sales
- Merchants who want to avoid 12-month terms on the higher plans
Good
- 300 orders$164Starter
- 2,000 orders$533Starter
- 10,000 orders$2,267Starter
The bill follows subscription sales: 1.49% plus 19¢ on each subscription transaction, on top of the $99 Starter fee1.
Public prices, billed monthly, checked October 8, 2026.
The eight checks
Recharge passes 8: easy pick. What each check means.
- Free to start: passedStarter comes with a 60-day free trial1.
- Prices public at every size: passedStarter's fee and transaction rates are public with no order cap, so all three store sizes can be priced1,2.
- Built for Shopify: passedThe listing shows the Built for Shopify badge1.
- Rated 4.7 or higher: passedRated 4.8 on the Shopify App Store1.
- 500+ merchant reviews: passed3,129 reviews on the Shopify App Store1.
- Works with Shopify Flow: passedShopify Flow is listed under Works with1.
- You can take your data: passedRecharge documents a public REST API for subscriptions, customers, charges and orders4.
- Security report named: passedThe Recharge Trust Center names a SOC 2 Type II report3.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Includes | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25-50 | $25/month1 | No transaction fees for the first 50 subscribers | First 50 subscribers |
| Starter | $99/month + 1.49% + 19¢ per transaction1,2 | Product page widget, no-code customer portal, upsell and cross-sell, cancellation prevention, failed payment recovery, analytics | — |
| Plus | $499/month + 1.34% + 19¢ per transaction1,2 | Starter plus hands-on implementation, bundles and tiered discounts, concierge SMS, loyalty and referrals, JavaScript SDK and Storefront API | 12-month term |
| Custom | Volume-based rates, by quote2 | For high-volume subscription brands | 12-month term |
New stores can start on a $25 plan with no transaction fees for the first 50 subscribers1. After that, Starter costs $99 a month plus 1.49% + 19¢ per transaction, with a 60-day trial1,2. At $60 an order that comes to about $164 a month for 60 subscription orders, $533 for 400 and $2,267 for 2,000. Plus costs $499 a month at 1.34% + 19¢ on a 12-month term, and still costs more than Starter at 2,000 orders1,2.
Usage charges: Starter: 1.49% + 19¢ per transaction. Plus: 1.34% + 19¢ per transaction1. Concierge SMS from $0.03 per message segment in the US and Canada2.. Free trial: 60 days on Starter1,2.
How we worked out the bill
| Store size | Per month | Arithmetic |
|---|---|---|
| Small, 300 orders | $164 | Starter $99 + 1.49% × $3,600 ($53.64) + 60 × $0.19 ($11.40) = $164.04. The $25 plan covers only the first 50 subscribers1. |
| Growing, 2,000 orders | $533 | Starter $99 + 1.49% × $24,000 ($357.60) + 400 × $0.19 ($76) = $532.601. |
| Large, 10,000 orders | $2,267 | Starter $99 + 1.49% × $120,000 ($1,788) + 2,000 × $0.19 ($380) = $2,267. Plus would cost $499 + $1,608 + $380 = $2,4871. |
What it does
Recharge has been on the Shopify App Store since October 20141. It runs recurring orders with a no-code customer portal, cancellation prevention and failed payment recovery1. The Plus plan adds bundles, concierge SMS and a loyalty and referral program1.
In April 2026 Recharge bought Skio, another subscription app. Recharge says both apps keep running as before5.
- No-code customer portal where subscribers manage their own orders1.
- Cancellation prevention and failed payment recovery on Starter1.
- Subscription widget for product pages, plus upsell and cross-sell tools1.
- Bundles with tiered discounts, concierge SMS, and loyalty and referral rewards on Plus1.
- REST API for subscriptions, customers, charges, orders and discounts4.
What merchants say
Recharge is rated 4.8 from 3,129 reviews; 89% are five stars and 5% are one star1. Recent reviews praise smooth migrations and knowledgeable, hands-on support1. Recent one-star reviews describe billing errors, slow support and rising costs6.
Complaints worth knowing
- Several recent one-star reviews describe billing errors, such as wrong shipping charges and failed payments after a migration6.
- Merchants complain that support is slow and that it is hard to reach a person6.
- Some small stores say the fees are too high for their size6.
What the developer claims
Numbers the developer publishes about itself. We have not verified them.
- Recharge says that, with Skio, it powers more than 20,000 brands and processes over $20B in GMV a year5.
Your data
Recharge publishes a REST API for subscriptions, customers, charges and orders, so you can take your data with you4. Its Trust Center names a SOC 2 Type II report and PCI DSS certification, and says the service is hosted on Google Cloud Platform3. Recharge also states it complies with GDPR and CCPA3.
App languages: English. Works with: Checkout, Customer accounts, Shopify POS, Shopify Flow, Attentive, Avalara, Gorgias, Klaviyo, Stripe, Triple Whale. On the App Store since: October 14, 2014.
Other subscription apps
Sources
- Recharge Subscriptions App - Shopify App Store, Shopify App Store. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- Recharge pricing, Recharge. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- Trust Center, Recharge. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- Recharge API reference (2021-11), Recharge. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- Recharge welcomes Skio to build the future of subscription commerce, Recharge. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- Recharge Subscriptions App reviews - Shopify App Store, Shopify App Store. Accessed October 8, 2026.
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