Overview
Offering discounts is a popular way to encourage new signups, reward loyal customers, or promote special offers in your Shopify store. Shopify allows you to create both automatic discounts (applied automatically at checkout) and discount codes (codes customers can enter at checkout). This article explains how to create discount codes specifically for subscription purchases, how to set limits, and how your subscribers can use them.
What types of Shopify discounts can I create?
Shopify lets you create different types of discounts, grouped into three main categories:
Discount Classes
Order discounts: Reduce the total order price
Product discounts: Reduce the price of specific products
Shipping discounts: Offer free or discounted shipping
Using an order discount code with a Subi bundle or box? The bundle or box discount is a product discount. For both to apply, turn on Order discounts in the plan page's Combinations card, and tick Product discounts under Combinations on the order code. Combining discounts with bundles and boxes
Discount Types
Buy X get Y: Give a free or discounted product when specific items are purchased
Free shipping discounts: Offer free shipping on qualifying orders
Amount off discounts: Take a percentage or fixed amount off the order or products
You can manage all your discounts from the Discounts page in your Shopify admin.
How do I set up a discount code for subscription purchases?
To make a discount code work with subscription purchases:
In your Shopify admin, go to Discounts.
Click Create discount.
Select your preferred discount type (e.g., percentage off, fixed amount, etc.).
Under Method, select Discount code.
In the Purchase type section, choose Subscription or Both.
When you select Subscription or Both, a new section called Recurring payments for subscriptions will appear. Here, you can decide how many recurring subscription orders will be eligible for the discount (for example, just the first order, or multiple orders).
Now, your customers can use this discount code when checking out with a subscription product.
For a step-by-step visual guide, see Shopify’s discounts documentation.
Now your customers can apply this Shopify discount code to their subscription orders.
Can Subi open my sale code to new subscribers for me?
Yes. If your own sale code or automatic discount takes an amount off one-time purchases only, a shopper who picks the subscription can't use it, so new subscribers pay more than one-time buyers. Subi checks your discounts every day and, when it finds one like this on products you also sell on a subscription plan, shows a card on Subi's Home page, for example Your discount code SALE25 skips subscriptions.
To let new subscribers use it:
On the card, click Review change.
Check the table. Purchase type changes from One-time purchase to Both, and On subscriptions changes from Not used to First payment only. The discount, its products and its end date don't change.
Click Apply to new subscribers.
New subscribers then get the discount on their first payment, and their renewals stay at your plan's price. For example, with a 25% code on a product whose plan price is $10.20, a new subscriber pays $7.65 on their first payment, then $10.20.
How do I undo it?
After you apply it, the card reads New subscribers can use SALE25. Click Undo on that card to put the discount back to one-time purchases only. If you edited the discount in Shopify after applying it, Undo leaves your edit as it is. You can always edit the discount yourself on Shopify's Discounts page.
What else should I know?
Subi only changes a discount when you click Apply to new subscribers, and it changes only the purchase type and the recurring payments setting.
Click × on the card to hide it. Subi then shows the next discount that skips subscriptions, if there is one.
An existing subscriber who enters that code in their customer portal sees "This discount code can't be applied to this subscription." The code is for new subscribers' first payment. You can still apply it to a subscription yourself from Subi's admin.
Subi doesn't show the card for a 100% discount, a code that can be used only once in total, or a fixed amount that is as large as the product's price.
Can I limit a discount code to only the first subscription order?
Yes, when setting up your discount code and you select the Subscription or Both purchase type, you’ll see the Recurring payments for subscriptions options.
Choose Limit discount to the first payment if you want the code to apply only to the first order in the subscription.
If a subscriber applies the discount code through their customer portal, it will only be applied to the next upcoming order in their subscription.
How can subscribers use a discount code on their existing subscription?
To let subscribers use a discount code on an existing subscription:
Share the discount code with your subscriber.
Direct them to their customer subscription portal where they can enter the code for their active subscription.
For details, see Customer portal: How your subscribers can manage their subscriptions.
Shopify free shipping discount codes can also be used on subscriptions.
You can set the discount code to apply only to the next order or limit it to a single use per customer. For more information, see our guide on limiting discount codes for subscription purchases.