Articles on: FAQ

How subscription discounts work

There are two different ways to discount a subscription, and knowing which one to use saves a lot of confusion. This guide explains the difference between a subscription bar discount (your everyday "subscribe & save") and Shopify discounts (codes and promotions), including how to make a discount apply only to the first order or to every renewal.


Table of contents



The two kinds of discount


Bar discount = the recurring "subscribe & save" built into your offer. Shopify discount = a promotion or code you create in Shopify's Discounts area.


  • Subscription bar discount: configured inside Super Subscriptions on each subscription bar. It's the percentage or amount customers see in the widget ("Subscribe and save 10%") and it applies to every order in the subscription by default.
  • Shopify discount: created in Shopify admin > Discounts (outside the app). Use this for discount codes, seasonal promos, free shipping, and offers that should only apply to the first order.


You can use both together.


Subscription bar discounts (subscribe & save)


This is the most common way to reward subscribers. To set it:


  1. Go to Super Subscriptions > Offers and select an offer.
  2. Open a subscription bar.
  3. In the Discount box, choose a type and enter the value:
    • No discount
    • Percentage: e.g. 10% off every order.
    • Amount off: e.g. $5 off every order.
    • Fixed price: set the exact price the customer pays for the subscription product.


The discount you set here applies to every recurring order, not just the first one. It's reflected in the storefront widget and in every contract created from that bar.


  • The Fixed price can be set higher than the product's one-time price if you want subscriptions to cost more (for example, to bundle in a service).
  • Heads up: a Fixed price sets that price for every product on the subscription, replacing each product's own price (this is a Shopify behavior). So if you add a second or third product to a subscription that uses a fixed price of, say, $84, all of them will show as $84. If a subscription can include several different products, use Percentage or Amount off instead, unless you genuinely want them all at the same price.
  • For bundles, Amount off and Fixed price discounts apply per product in the bundle.


For more pricing methods (variants, prepaid), see How to set the price of a subscription.


Shopify discounts and discount codes


For promotions and codes, use Shopify's native Discounts:


  1. In Shopify admin > Discounts, click Create discount and pick a type (amount off, free shipping, etc.).
  2. Choose Discount code (if customers will type a code) or Automatic.
  3. Under Purchase type, select Subscription so the discount targets subscription orders.


You only see the Purchase type option once you have at least one product in a subscription offer.


First order only vs every renewal


When a Shopify discount targets subscriptions, you control how many orders it applies to with the Recurring payments for subscriptions setting:


  • Limit discount to the first payment: applies to the initial order only. Great for a "welcome" offer.
  • Limit discount to multiple recurring payments: applies to the first N orders you choose.
  • Discount applies to all recurring payments: applies to every order, forever.


A popular setup is a bigger one-time welcome discount for new subscribers that can't be reused by canceling and resubscribing. That uses a customer segment based on the Has subscription contract tag. See the step-by-step in How to Offer a One-Time Use Subscription Discount.


Automatic discounts can't be restricted to a customer segment. Use a discount code when you need to target specific customers.


Bundle discounts and subscription discounts together


By default, a bundle discount and a subscription bar discount both apply when a customer buys a bundle on subscription. If you would rather not stack them, switch the bundle discount off for subscription orders:


  1. Go to Super Subscriptions > Offers and open the bundle offer.
  2. Select the bundle bar you want to change.
  3. Uncheck "Apply this bar's discount to subscription orders".


The bundle discount will then apply to one-time purchases only, and subscribers get the subscription discount alone.


Free shipping


Free shipping for subscriptions is a Shopify Free shipping discount with Purchase type = Subscription, and you can use the same "first / first N / all" recurring control above. Follow How to set up free subscription shipping. If it isn't applying, see My subscription free shipping discount is not working.


Changing a discount on an existing subscription


Editing a bar's discount only affects new subscriptions. Existing contracts keep the terms they were created with. To change the discount on an active subscription, open the contract in Super Subscriptions > Subscriptions and click Edit discount in the bottom card of the subscription edit page. See Editing a Subscription Contract and How to ADD or REMOVE discount from the existing subscription contract.



Updated on: 07/29/2026

Was this article helpful?

Share your feedback

Cancel

Thank you!