Guide
Shopify Recurring Payments: How to Accept Them
Shopify supports recurring payments through its Subscriptions APIs plus a subscription app. Charges run on supported gateways (Shopify Payments, PayPal Express, Authorize.net, Adyen, Stripe). The app tokenizes the customer’s card and automatically bills it each cycle. RecurX adds recurring billing with zero transaction fees and built-in failed-payment recovery.
Recurring payments turn a single sale into ongoing revenue. Here’s how recurring billing works on Shopify, which payment gateways support it, and how to start charging subscriptions automatically — securely and without transaction fees.
What are recurring payments?
A recurring payment is an automatic charge billed to a customer’s saved payment method on a set schedule — weekly, monthly, or yearly — without them re-entering card details each time. On a store, recurring payments power subscriptions: [subscribe and save](/glossary/subscribe-and-save), memberships, prepaid plans, and subscription boxes. The result is predictable [monthly recurring revenue](/glossary/mrr) instead of one-off sales.
How recurring payments work on Shopify
Shopify provides the underlying subscription and payment infrastructure, but not a billing interface on its own. A subscription app sits on top and handles the cycle:
- The customer chooses a subscription option on the product page and checks out.
- Their payment method is securely tokenized — the store never stores raw card numbers.
- On each billing date, the app automatically charges the saved method through Shopify’s payment rails.
- A new order is created and fulfilled, repeating until the customer pauses or cancels.
Which gateways support recurring payments on Shopify?
| Gateway | Recurring billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments | Supported | Best for automatic card updates; most reliable |
| PayPal Express | Supported | Widely available |
| Authorize.net | Supported | Limited accelerated-checkout support |
| Adyen | Supported | Region-dependent |
| Stripe | Supported | Region-dependent |
Gateway availability varies by country and can change — confirm current support before launching.
Security & compliance
Recurring payments on Shopify are handled through PCI-compliant gateways. Card details are tokenized and stored by the gateway, not the merchant, and all data is encrypted in transit. Customers must be able to cancel from a self-service portal — both a best practice and a Shopify App Store requirement.
Protecting recurring revenue from failed payments
The biggest threat to recurring revenue is [involuntary churn](/glossary/subscription-churn) — charges that fail because a card expired or was declined. [Dunning](/glossary/dunning) recovers these automatically with smart retries and card-update emails. RecurX includes dunning on every plan, charges zero transaction fees, and lets you start accepting recurring payments in minutes. See the full [Shopify subscriptions setup guide](/shopify-subscriptions).
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify support recurring payments?
Yes — Shopify supports recurring payments through its Subscriptions APIs, but you need a subscription app to create the plans and manage billing. Recurring charges run on supported gateways: Shopify Payments, PayPal Express, Authorize.net, Adyen, and Stripe (availability varies by region).
How do recurring payments work on Shopify?
When a customer subscribes, their payment method is securely tokenized. On each billing cycle the subscription app automatically charges that saved method through Shopify’s payment infrastructure and creates a new order, repeating until the customer pauses or cancels.
Which payment gateways support recurring billing on Shopify?
Shopify Payments, PayPal Express, Authorize.net, Adyen, and Stripe support recurring subscription billing, depending on your region. Shopify Payments is the most reliable for automatic card updates that keep recurring charges from failing.
Are there fees for recurring payments on Shopify?
Your payment gateway charges its standard processing fee per transaction. Subscription apps may also add a fee — but RecurX charges zero transaction fees on every plan, so you only pay your gateway’s normal rate.
How do I reduce failed recurring payments?
Failed recurring charges (expired cards, declines) cause involuntary churn. Automated dunning — smart retries plus card-update emails — recovers a large share of them. RecurX includes dunning on every plan.
Launch Shopify subscriptions without RecurX transaction fees
Start free on Shopify, or book a migration audit before changing subscription apps.