The subscription economy is projected to grow by $2.3 trillion between 2022 and 2028, and WooCommerce store owners are racing to capture their share. Stores that implement recurring billing see 2.3 times higher customer lifetime value compared to one-time purchase models, with average subscriber retention rates around 85%. The math is simple: predictable monthly revenue beats hoping customers come back on their own.
But choosing the wrong subscription plugin can create billing failures, customer frustration, and hours of administrative overhead. Each plugin handles recurring payments, trial periods, and subscription management differently, and the pricing models range from one-time purchases to annual licenses that exceed $250.
This comparison breaks down the five leading WooCommerce subscription plugins based on real features, pricing, payment gateway support, and the specific store types each one serves best.
What to Look for in a WooCommerce Subscription Plugin
Before diving into individual plugins, understanding the core capabilities that separate adequate solutions from excellent ones will save you from a costly migration later.
Payment gateway compatibility determines whether your customers can actually complete recurring transactions. Some plugins only support Stripe and PayPal natively, while others connect to 25 or more gateways. If your customers prefer local payment methods or you sell internationally, this becomes a dealbreaker fast. For a deeper look at gateway options, see our WooCommerce Payment Gateways setup guide.
Subscription management flexibility covers what happens after the initial purchase. Can customers pause and resume? Can they upgrade or downgrade plans? Does the plugin handle proration automatically, or does your team need to calculate partial refunds manually?
Trial and sign-up fee support directly impacts conversion rates. Free trials reduce purchase hesitation, while sign-up fees help recover acquisition costs upfront. Not every plugin handles both, and some charge extra for these features.
Dunning management addresses failed payments, which account for roughly 9% of subscription revenue loss across ecommerce. Automated retry logic, expiration reminders, and grace periods keep subscriptions alive without manual intervention.
WooCommerce Subscriptions (by Woo)
The official extension from Automattic carries the weight of being the platform’s native subscription solution. It integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce core and receives priority compatibility updates whenever WooCommerce releases new versions.
Key Strengths
WooCommerce Subscriptions supports over 25 payment gateways, including Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.Net, Amazon Pay, Mollie, and MultiSafepay. This breadth of gateway support is unmatched by any competitor and makes it the default choice for stores selling to international audiences with diverse payment preferences.
The plugin handles both simple and variable subscription products, meaning you can offer multiple pricing tiers within a single product listing. Customers can mix subscription and one-time products in the same cart, and the checkout process handles both transaction types cleanly.
Built-in analytics provide subscription-specific metrics including monthly recurring revenue (MRR), annual recurring revenue (ARR), subscriber counts, and churn rates. These dashboards eliminate the need for external analytics tools to track subscription health.
Limitations
At $199 to $279 per year (depending on current pricing), this is the most expensive option on this list. There is no free version or trial period, so you commit financially before testing the plugin on your store. For smaller stores still validating whether subscriptions fit their model, this upfront cost represents meaningful risk.
Best For
Established WooCommerce stores with proven subscription demand, international customer bases requiring diverse payment gateways, and teams that prioritize long-term compatibility guarantees with the WooCommerce ecosystem.
YITH WooCommerce Subscription
YITH offers one of the few subscription plugins with a genuinely useful free version available on WordPress.org, making it an accessible entry point for stores testing the subscription model.
Key Strengths
The free version supports basic subscription plans for simple, virtual, and downloadable products with PayPal integration and customer subscription management through the My Account page. This is enough functionality to validate subscription demand before investing in premium features.
The premium version introduces subscription boxes, a feature designed specifically for curated product subscription businesses. Customers can choose products, quantities, and preferences through a step-by-step builder with configurable minimum and maximum rules. This is a specialized feature that competing plugins lack entirely.
Payment synchronization allows you to align all subscriber billing dates to a specific day of the month or week, simplifying fulfillment logistics and cash flow forecasting. Proration calculations handle the initial partial payment automatically.
Advanced coupon controls let you apply discounts specifically to initial payments, recurring charges, or both. You can configure promotions like discounted first three months without affecting long-term pricing.
Limitations
The free version lacks trial support, payment synchronization, and subscription box functionality. Gateway support covers approximately eight payment processors, which is adequate for most stores but significantly less than the official extension. Support response times can be slower compared to Automattic’s dedicated team.
Pricing
Free version available on WordPress.org. Premium starts at approximately $99.99 to $199.99 per year depending on the license tier.
Best For
Stores wanting to test subscriptions without upfront investment (free version), subscription box businesses needing a built-in box builder, and stores already using other YITH plugins that benefit from ecosystem integration.
SUMO Subscriptions
SUMO takes a fundamentally different approach to pricing: a one-time purchase of $49 with no recurring license fees. For budget-conscious store owners, this pricing model alone makes it worth serious consideration.
Key Strengths
The grouped subscription feature allows you to bundle multiple subscription products into a single offering, enabling tiered packages that customers can subscribe to as a unit. This works well for digital product bundles, course access packages, or curated service combinations.
Built-in Stripe and PayPal gateways handle automatic renewals without requiring separate payment gateway plugins. Manual renewal support extends compatibility to any WooCommerce payment gateway, so customers can still subscribe even if their preferred gateway does not support tokenized recurring charges.
A master transaction log records every subscription event site-wide, giving administrators a single view of all subscription activity including payments, renewals, pauses, and cancellations. This centralized logging simplifies troubleshooting and financial reconciliation.
SUMO supports order subscriptions, which convert regular one-time products into subscription orders after purchase. This is useful for stores that want to offer subscription options on existing product catalogs without creating separate subscription product listings.
Limitations
Native automatic renewal support is limited to Stripe and PayPal. While manual renewals work with any gateway, the customer experience is less seamless. Documentation and support resources are less extensive than the official WooCommerce extension. The plugin receives less frequent updates compared to larger competitors.
Best For
Budget-conscious stores that want to avoid annual license fees, developers building custom subscription implementations who need a flexible foundation, and digital product stores where grouped subscriptions add clear value.
Subscriptions for WooCommerce (by WP Swings)
This free plugin on WordPress.org has gained traction as a legitimate zero-cost alternative for stores that need basic recurring billing without premium pricing.
Key Strengths
The free version offers daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly billing intervals with Stripe and PayPal support. Customers can cancel subscriptions from their account dashboard, and administrators receive automated email notifications for subscription lifecycle events.
Compatibility with both simple and variable subscription products means stores can offer tiered pricing without upgrading to a paid plugin. The plugin also supports selling subscription and non-subscription products in the same cart.
The pro version adds trial support, subscription coupons, manual subscription creation by administrators, and shipping cycle synchronization for physical product subscriptions.
Limitations
The free version lacks trial periods, advanced coupon support, and administrative subscription management tools. The plugin ecosystem is smaller, meaning fewer third-party integrations and extensions are available. Feature development tends to follow rather than lead the market.
Pricing
Free core plugin on WordPress.org. Pro version starts at approximately $89 per year.
Best For
New stores testing the subscription model with zero budget, simple subscription implementations that do not require advanced features, and stores that prioritize using free WordPress.org plugins.
Flexible Subscriptions (by WP Desk)
A newer entrant that has earned attention for delivering solid core subscription functionality without cost or complexity.
Key Strengths
Completely free with no premium upsell required for core recurring payment functionality. Supports custom billing schedules across daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly intervals with Stripe and PayPal integration.
Free trial support is included in the free version, a feature that most competing free plugins lock behind premium tiers. Customer cancellation controls are built into the My Account page, and automated email notifications keep both administrators and subscribers informed.
The plugin also supports rental products with automatic subscription end dates, which serves niche use cases like equipment rental businesses or time-limited digital access.
Limitations
As a newer plugin, it has a smaller user base and fewer community resources. Advanced features like subscription boxes, grouped subscriptions, and extensive analytics are not available. Long-term development trajectory is less proven compared to established alternatives.
Best For
Stores that need free trial support without paying for a premium plugin, simple subscription setups with Stripe or PayPal, and rental or time-limited access businesses.
Feature Comparison Table
| Feature | WooCommerce Subscriptions | YITH Subscription | SUMO Subscriptions | WP Swings | Flexible Subscriptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $199-$279/year | Free / $99-$199/year | $49 one-time | Free / $89/year | Free |
| Free Version | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Payment Gateways | 25+ | 8+ | Stripe, PayPal (auto); all (manual) | Stripe, PayPal | Stripe, PayPal |
| Free Trials | Yes | Premium only | Yes | Pro only | Yes |
| Subscription Boxes | No | Premium only | No | No | No |
| Grouped Subscriptions | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Variable Products | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Upgrade/Downgrade | Yes | Premium only | Yes | Pro only | No |
| Analytics Dashboard | Yes (MRR, ARR, churn) | Premium only | Master Log | Basic | No |
| Billing Sync | Yes | Premium only | Yes | Pro only | No |
Which Plugin Should You Choose?
Choose WooCommerce Subscriptions if you need maximum payment gateway coverage, built-in analytics, and guaranteed WooCommerce compatibility. The annual cost pays for itself at scale, but it requires commitment before you can test.
Choose YITH WooCommerce Subscription if you want to start free and upgrade later, or if you specifically need subscription box functionality. The free version is genuinely usable for validating your subscription model.
Choose SUMO Subscriptions if you want a one-time purchase with no recurring license fees and need grouped subscription support. The $49 price point makes it the most cost-effective option for stores that know they need subscriptions but want to minimize ongoing costs.
Choose Subscriptions for WooCommerce (WP Swings) if you need a free starting point with a clear upgrade path. The pro version at $89 per year adds the features most stores eventually need without the premium pricing of the official extension.
Choose Flexible Subscriptions if you need free trial support in a free plugin and your payment processing runs through Stripe or PayPal. It is the best free option for stores that specifically need trial periods to drive conversions.
Implementation Considerations
Regardless of which plugin you select, test subscription flows thoroughly in a staging environment before going live. Verify that automatic renewals process correctly with your payment gateway, confirm that customers can manage their subscriptions from their account page, and test edge cases like failed payments, plan changes, and cancellations.
Start with a single subscription product to validate the technical setup before expanding your recurring product catalog. Monitor your first 30 days of subscriber data closely, paying particular attention to failed renewal rates and customer support tickets related to billing.
If you are migrating between subscription plugins, export your existing subscriber data before making the switch. Most subscription plugins store data in custom database tables that are not interchangeable, so plan for a transition period where some subscribers may need to re-enter payment information. Optimizing your checkout flow alongside your subscription setup can further reduce friction during the sign-up process.